| Description |
The objectives of this project are to build a controller circuit for an existing "robot", to write software to control the movement of the robot and to read a spectrum analyzer and record the power received at each position of the robot, and use the resulting measurement system to carry out measurements of the propagation of WLAN radio signals in the indoor environment.
Students in a previous capstone project built a heavy-duty robot platform designed to carry a laptop computer, spectrum analyzer, and measurement antenna. The robot is intended to follow a path defined by masking tape on the floor. The robot has an elementary electronic controller. The first objective of the project is to re-build the existing controller or to build a new controller. The controller must operate the robot's motors to follow the tape step by step, and move a pre-set distance at each step. The robot controller will receive a "move" command from the laptop computer, move the required distance along the tape, and then respond with a "ready" command, and wait for the next "move".
The second objective of the project is to write a Labview program that runs on the on-board laptop computer. The program will begin by opening an output data file, and then order the movement of the robot platform, step by step, following the tape. The program will send a "move" command, and then, on receipt of the "ready" command from the robot, read the signal strength received by the spectrum analyzer, and record the step number and the signal strength to the data file. After a pre-defined number of steps, or when the end of the tape is found, the program will close the data file and exit.
In the final stage of the project, the measurement system will be used to measure the signal received in the corridors and labs of the fifteenth floor of the EV building and in the microwave lab in the Hall Building.
Four students are needed:
* Build a microcontroller hardware board for the robot that can advance the motors, read the position, and follow the tape on the floor.
* Write a program that runs on the microcontroller to achieve these functions and to communicate with the laptop computer.
* Write a Labview program to control the robot and to read the spectrum analyzer and save the data.
* Carry out simulations of indoor propagation for the 15th floor of the EV building and the microwave lab, using existing ray-tracing software.
For further details contact Mehdi Ardavan (m_ardav@ece.concordia.ca) or Tiago Leao (t_freir@encs.concordia.ca).
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