Helmholtz Coil Track System

Helmholtz Coil Track System

The track system and carriage.

The research lab I'm currently working for has a one-axis Helmholtz coil, which was originally built to test magnetometers. A Helmholtz coil pair, in theory, produces a uniform magnetic field along the axis between the two coils. Therefore, to test a magnetometer, there needs to be a mechanism to move it axially between the each coil.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle - Assembly

I am part of BU's Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) club. This club provides the mentoring and resources for small teams to build, design, and fly their own UAVs. Starting in September of 2014, my team has planned and built the structure of what will become a working UAV.

Weatherstation - Project Overview

This entry is a quick overview of how the weatherstation operates. Previous posts go into more detail about how the device was programmed and constructed.

Weatherstation - Receiving the data

In a previous post, I went over how the weatherstation data will be accessed--an Arduino-based webserver. However, this implementation had a major limitation: no data logging or visualization. I decided to switch to uploading the received data to Xively, which provides the data logging and visualization.

Robot - Update

Here's a quick video showing what the robot can do.

Weatherstation - Programming the Chip

The MSP430G2553 was programmed using Energia. This final script is essentially a culmination of code from my previous posts, with an emphasis on maximizing battery life. As such, I have decided to only have the microcontroller poll the sensors every 30 s, so most of its operation will be in deep sleep mode.

Robot - Wireless Communication: Receiver

In this post, I'll go over how to make the robot respond to commands sent by the transmitter. You'll need the parts outlined in a previous post. These parts include a motor driver, 433 MHz receiver, and some Arduino-compatible device. The robot chassis has limited space, so I used an Arduino nano clone.

Robot - Wireless Communication: Transmitter

Now that the robot can respond to commands programmatically, the next step is to get the robot to listen for and respond to wireless commands. RF communication will be accomplished using the same library (VirtualWire) and components as my previous post, entitled Arduino Weatherstation – RF Communication. 

I'll split this part into two posts. The first will go over how to make the transmitter. The second will detail how to get the robot to respond to the transmitter's commands.

Robot - Motor Driver

This post is the first in a series of posts outlining the components needed to get a tank chassis robot up and running.

Weatherstation - Internals

The weatherstation's internals are pretty much complete. I just have to solder the antennas onto the transmitter/receiver and the headers onto the barometric pressure sensor. I'll split this entry into three parts: first I'll go over how I made the antennas, second I'll go over the parts/operation of the transmitter, and third, I'll go over the operation of the receiver.

Arduino Weatherstation

I'm currently gathering the components to make an Arduino-powered weatherstation. Currently, I plan to measure temperature, barometric pressure, and relative humidity. One Ardiuno will sit outside, preferably near an outlet and measure and transmit weather data via a 433 MHz transmitter. The second Arduino will have a 433 MHz receiver and will receive the first Arduino's weather data, displaying real-time stats.