Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
36 Braille Study Aid
 Aris Karnavas
Emma Erickson
Luis Aragon
 Dean Biskup design_document1.pdf
design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
other1.pdf
presentation1.pptx
proposal1.pdf
# **Problem**
While Braille offers complete command of written language only 10% of blind children are learning Braille. The drastic jump in employment based on Braille literacy is important as well, as 90% of Braille literate adults are employed compared to only 33% of adults who can not read Braille. However, because most seeing people cannot read or teach Braille, there is a need for more accessible Braille learning.

# **Solution Overview**
A Braille Study Aid will contain a database of common english words and translate each word to the Braille code in array format. Each character will be actualized by motorized pins and the reader will feel each character. While a new word is displayed, a speaker will say the currently displayed word aloud. A button will be placed to allow the student to cycle between new words once each is read. As far as hardware goes, there would need to be a mechanism to interchange the Braille symbols into the appropriate location, as well as some form of a button to detect that the reader has finished a given word. The software would need to convert a given text file and partition the words of Braille to be sent out one at a time to the hardware, as well as outputting the correct audio to the speaker.

# **Solution Components**
## Braille characters
-An array of pins as well as actuators to move them up and down into the appropriate characters. We are investigating both push/pull solenoids and motors as possible actuators.
## Audio system
-Audio representation of current word/character shown for learning purposes.
-Will contain speakers and necessary accessories to output speech.
## Microcontroller (on PCB)
-Handles translation, sends signals to Braille characters and audio system components.

# Criterion for Success
-When the user pushes a button, translate a word from text loaded to the microcontroller into braille by raising and lowering a pin array to form the braille letters.

-The audio signal will be relayed to the user based off of the requested word.

ATTITUDE DETERMINATION AND CONTROL MODULE FOR UIUC NANOSATELLITES

Shamith Achanta, Rick Eason, Srikar Nalamalapu

Featured Project

Team Members:

- Rick Eason (reason2)

- Srikar Nalamalapu (svn3)

- Shamith Achanta (shamith2)

# Problem

The Aerospace Engineering department's Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois (LASSI) develops nanosatellites for the University of Illinois. Their next-generation satellite architecture is currently in development, however the core bus does not contain an Attitude Determination and Control (ADCS) system.

In order for an ADCS system to be useful to LASSI, the system must be compliant with their modular spacecraft bus architecture.

# Solution

Design, build, and test an IlliniSat-0 spec compliant ADCS module. This requires being able to:

- Sense and process the Earth's weak magnetic field as it passes through the module.

- Sense and process the spacecraft body's <30 dps rotation rate.

- Execute control algorithms to command magnetorquer coil current drivers.

- Drive current through magnetorquer coils.

As well as being compliant to LASSI specification for:

- Mechanical design.

- Electrical power interfaces.

- Serial data interfaces.

- Material properties.

- Serial communications protocol.

# Solution Components

## Sensing

Using the Rohm BM1422AGMV 3-axis magnetometer we can accurately sense 0.042 microTesla per LSB, which gives very good overhead for sensing Earth's field. Furthermore, this sensor is designed for use in wearable electronics as a compass, so it also contains programable low-pass filters. This will reduce MCU processing load.

Using the Bosch BMI270 3-axis gyroscope we can accurately sense rotation rate at between ~16 and ~260 LSB per dps, which gives very good overhead to sense low-rate rotation of the spacecraft body. This sensor also contains a programable low-pass filter, which will help reduce MCU processing load.

Both sensors will communicate over I2C to the MCU.

## Serial Communications

The LASSI spec for this module requires the inclusion of the following serial communications processes:

- CAN-FD

- RS422

- Differential I2C

The CAN-FD interface is provided from the STM-32 MCU through a SN65HVD234-Q1 transceiver. It supports all CAN speeds and is used on all other devices on the CAN bus, providing increased reliability.

The RS422 interface is provided through GPIO from the STM-32 MCU and uses the TI THVD1451 transceiver. RS422 is a twisted-pair differential serial interface that provides high noise rejection and high data rates.

The Differential I2C is provided by a specialized transceiver from NXP, which allows I2C to be used reliably in high-noise and board-to-board situations. The device is the PCA9615.

I2C between the sensors and the MCU is provided by the GPIO on the MCU and does not require a transceiver.

## MCU

The MCU will be an STM32L552, exact variant and package is TBD due to parts availability. This MCU provides significant processing power, good GPIO, and excellent build and development tools. Firmware will be written in either C or Rust, depending on some initial testing.

We have access to debugging and flashing tools that are compatible with this MCU.

## Magnetics Coils and Constant Current Drivers

We are going to wind our own copper wire around coil mandrels to produce magnetorquers that are useful geometries for the device. A 3d printed mandrel will be designed and produced for each of the three coils. We do not believe this to be a significant risk of project failure because the geometries involved are extremely simple and the coil does not need to be extremely precise. Mounting of the coils to the board will be handled by 3d printed clips that we will design. The coils will be soldered into the board through plated through-holes.

Driving the inductors will be the MAX8560 500mA buck converter. This converter allows the MCU to toggle the activity of the individual coils separately through GPIO pins, as well as good soft-start characteristics for the large current draw of the coils.

## Board Design

This project requires significant work in the board layout phase. A 4-layer PCB is anticipated and due to LASSI compliance requirements the board outline, mounting hole placement, part keep-out zones, and a large stack-through connector (Samtec ERM/F-8) are already defined.

Unless constrained by part availability or required for other reasons, all parts will be SMD and will be selected for minimum footprint area.

# Criterion For Success

Success for our project will be broken into several parts:

- Electronics

- Firmware

- Compatibility

Compatibility success is the easiest to test. The device must be compatible with LASSI specifications for IlliniSat-0 modules. This is verifiable through mechanical measurement, board design review, and integration with other test articles.

Firmware success will be determined by meeting the following criteria:

- The capability to initialize, configure, and read accurate data from the IMU sensors. This is a test of I2C interfacing and will be tested using external test equipment in the LASSI lab. (We have approval to use and access to this equipment)

- The capability to control the output states of the magnetorquer coils. This is a test of GPIO interfacing in firmware.

- The capability to move through different control modes, including: IDLE, FAULT, DETUMBLE, SLEW, and TEST. This will be validated through debugger interfacing, as there is no visual indication system on this device to reduce power waste.

- The capability to self-test and to identify faults. This will be validated through debugger interfacing, as there is no visual indication system on this device to reduce power waste.

- The capability to communicate to other modules on the bus over CAN or RS422 using LASSI-compatible serial protocols. This will be validated through the use of external test equipment designed for IlliniSat-0 module testing.

**Note:** the development of the actual detumble and pointing algorithms that will be used in orbital flight fall outside the reasonable scope of electrical engineering as a field. We are explicitly designing this system such that an aerospace engineering team can develop control algorithms and drop them into our firmware stack for use.

Electronics success will be determined through the successful operation of the other criteria, if the board layout is faulty or a part was poorly selected, the system will not work as intended and will fail other tests. Electronics success will also be validated by measuring the current consumption of the device when operating. The device is required not to exceed 2 amps of total current draw from its dedicated power rail at 3.3 volts. This can be verified by observing the benchtop power supply used to run the device in the lab.