JK Fab Academy

applications & implications

This week we're "nailing down" our final projects - exciting (and maybe a little scary)! The assignment is essentially answering a series of questions that will define the project. I actually really like planning, so I'm excited to be figuring this stuff out. So here goes...

What will it do?

The project (clever title TBD) will consist of visual representations of up to four active spacecraft plus a digital display for each (a small OLED screen). The displays will show some kind of real-time data from each spacecraft, e.g. an arrow and the words "Look up!" when the ISS is passing overhead, or a countdown showing how long until New Horizons enters orbit around Pluto. The project will be modular, so as new spacecraft are launched and older ones are retired, they can be swapped in and out. The project will be displayed in my classroom next year, and my hope is that it will be something my students look at and talk about on a regular basis, and will increase their awareness of space exploration.

Who's done what beforehand?

The ISS tracker is one of many online applications to find the position of the ISS. Given your latitude and longitude, you can even have emails sent to you to let you know when it will be overhead.

See Pluto Now is, again, one of several places online to count down to this summer's encounter with Pluto.

There are similar online resources to keep track of Cassini, Juno, Curiosity, and pretty much every ongoing mission. What I would like my project to do is to collect these in one visual display that will be always in front of my students (instead of something they have to actively decide to visit online).

For the form factor, there are several projects from last year that are helping me think about what I'd like my project to look like:

I like Fiore Basile's Digital Companion, with a laser-cut base and a 3D printed model on top, with the screen embedded. I think that setup would look really nice - a single base with models for each spacecraft. However, spacecraft are really complex and I'm really new to 3D design. So if I can find existing 3D designs online I'd like to do it this way, but otherwise I probably won't.
Aisha Jandosova's Full Nest is sort of an example of the alternative - a wall-mounted screen that displays the data. The wall-mounted version of my project would similarly have a cutout for the screen, but it would also have a pocket cutout for a laser-etched plaque with a line drawing of the spacecraft.

What parts and systems will be made?

For the electronics, I will make a small network where a Raspberry Pi connects to the internet and gets the data, then sends the data to individual OLED boards to be displayed. For the housing, I will make either a laser-cut base and several 3D printed models, or a flat machined base made from MDF and several laser-etched plaques.

What materials and components will be required?

MDF - for base (maybe)
thin plywood - for laser-cut "plaques" of each spacecraft or a laser-cut base for 3D printed models
filament (maybe)
OLED displays (up to 4)
other components for OLED boards:

FR1
microprocessors
resonators
resistors
capacitors
headers

Raspberry Pi to receive data

Where will they come from?

Pretty much all the supplies will come from AS220, though I do have a Raspberry Pi at home I can use, and I may also have to order the OLED screens.

How much will it cost?

spreadsheet link

What processes will be used?

machining - for the base (maybe)
laser-cutting - for the plaques/base
3D printing - for the spacecraft models (maybe)
electronics design & production
embedded programming

What tasks need to be completed?

make a new OLED board (update from output week)
program the board
get the Raspberry Pi running
figure out how to get the Raspberry Pi to gather data from an RSS feed
program the OLED board to display that data
make the housing for the electronics (either the 3D printed or wall-mounted display)
if possible, repeat for multiple spacecraft

What questions need to be answered?

What would be the most interesting data to display from each spacecraft?
How can I get the data from the spacecraft? RSS feeds?
How will using the Raspberry Pi for this work? (I've never used one before.)
Can it collect data from more than one spacecraft at a time, or will each one need its own board?
What should the form of the display be?
Can I find 3D models for these spacecraft or should I make a wall-mounted display?

What is the schedule?

I put together a tentative schedule, that would get me to a display with two spacecraft.

How will it be evaluated?

I'll know the first iteration of the project is successful if it displays real-time data from the ISS. The bigger goal is to make it work for four spacecraft, and to house it in an attractive display in which new spacecraft can be easily swapped in and out. The ultimate goal - how I'll really know it's successful - is if the displays spark ongoing interest and discussion from my students around space exploration.