Remote Sensing Wireless Station Fyp 1 Proposal

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Introduction

There is a need sometimes to obtain readings at hard to reach places on the ground or in the air. The purpose of this project is to create a device to measure various environmental parameters at just these kinds of places. The device will take reading of more than 1 environmental parameter and transmit it to the base station on the ground either sequentially or periodically.

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Client Requirements

The device will be a small scale model of a remote-sensing mobile weather monitor. This device will be installed on a helicopter to fulfill the mobility requirement. The whole equipment will be compact and lightweight and it will cut setup costs and time. The client will fly the helicopter to whatever location it wants the reading for, and all the readings will be available to it on the pc monitor. The client will be totally oblivious to the inner workings of the device.

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Background of the Project

We aim to design a sensing and transmission system which will gather data and transmit it to the user wirelessly. It involves concepts of digital communications, microcontroller interfacing, antenna interfacing, serial port interface, and wireless transmission.

CHAPTER Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Technical Description of Project

The outline technical description of the project is as follows; from the sensing to the receiving end: The sensors available in the market are almost always analog, so we will need to make use of an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC), to convert the signal into digital for transmission. Then, since we are measuring more than one parameter, we will have to find a way to send them (almost) at the same time; this can be done by either making a packet containing all the info we need on the transmitting end, and send this as a whole, or multiplexing the different signals, and de-multiplexing at the receiving end (we are still researching which of these two is better and also looking for other viable alternatives). Then, we will encode the signal and send it. On the receiving end, we will decode the signal; convert it back to analog using a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC), transfer this data to the pc serially, and show it on the pc monitor. The exact specifications of the components we are going to use cannot be mentioned as yet as we are still traversing through several alternatives simultaneously.

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Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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High-level Architectural Block Diagram

RF Receiver

Helicopter (RC) / Balloon RF Transmitter

Encod er

Sensors Temperature, Humidity, Pressure

Decod er

PC Display

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Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Test Requirements

We intend to receive all the information, transfer it to the pc serially, and represent it in a possibly diagrammatical fashion. Before that, we will analyze our signal using CRO and digital multimeters (to confirm the fidelity of our signal).

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Dependencies

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Our dependencies are MATLAB for signal processing and simulation and Keil (or any other microcontroller compiler) for the working of the microcontroller used. Other than these, we would probably have to use some software to transfer the data into the pc serially to be displayed.

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Comparison with Similar Projects

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Going through the previously completed projects’ books placed in NU Library, we are yet to find projects dealing with sensors (or analogue devices) and their interfacing. Most of them are related to interfacing digital components only. Though there are quite a number of projects which use frequency modulation principles. In most of the projects the data transfer has been done through GSM (SMS based). One such project is Car Tracking System and there is another project Remote Monitoring. Our project will have both process, analog to digital conversion and then transmitting it over the wireless channel which is RF.

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Deliverables

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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By the end of FYP-I, we intend to perfect the Analog to Digital and Digital to Analog conversions, not only in simulation, but in hardware as well. By the end of FYP-II, we intend to complete the encoding and decoding phases, and have successful wireless transmission. Simply we intend to, by the grace of God, finish our project.

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Estimated Cost

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

10 We will require, other than a PC, RF Modules, Transmitters, Receiver, Temperature Sensor, Humidity Sensor, ADC and DAC, Multiplexers, Antennae and obviously a helicopter. Estimated cost will be about Rs 10K for the components and around the same for the helicopter.

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Risk Factors and Contingency Plans

We have already kept in mind the relative unavailability of some complex components, so we have tried to find components which are available locally. Possibly the biggest risk Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

11 factor would be the availability of a suitable helicopter for the project. We have not decided on the exact specifications of the helicopter as yet, but if, for some reason, we see that it is not feasible for our project, we shall use a helium balloon for the same purpose.

References

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

B.P Lathi, Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems, (3rd Edition) I. Scott MacKenzie, The 8051 Microcontroller (3rd Edition) B.P Lathi, Linear Signals and Systems (2ND edition) Muhammad A. Mazidi, The 8051 Microcontroller and Embedded Systems (2nd Edition) Nicholas Gray. (Augutst 13, 2004). ABCs of ADCs, Analog-to-Digital Converter Basics. Daniel H Sheingold. Transducer Interfacing Handbook, A Guide to Analoge Signal Conditioning. Theodore S. Rappaport, Wireless Communications (2nd Edition) William Stallings, Wireless and Mobile Communications (2nd Edition) Stephen E. Derenzo, INTERFACING – A Laboratory Approach Using the Microcontroller for Instrumentation, Data Analysis and Control(1st Edition).

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

12 [10]Jack G. Ganssle, The Art of Designing Embedded Systems. [11]AUTHOR RF Circuit Design (EDITION) [12]Mark Dapper, Jeffery S. Wells, Tony Schwallie and Leak huon. RF Propagation in Short Range Sensor Communication [Link] http://www.nova-eng.com/downloads/wp_rfprop.pdf [13]RF Propagation Basics [Link] [http://www.sputnik.com/docs/rf_propagation_basics.pdf]

Glossary

[1] Transmission: transfer of information/signal from one place to another. [2] ADC: An analog-to-digital converter (abbreviated ADC, A/D or A to D) is an electronic integrated circuit, which converts continuous signals to discrete digital numbers. [3]DAC: A digital-to-analog converter (abbreviated DAC, D/A or D to A) is an electronic integrated circuit, which converts discrete digital numbers to continuous signals. [4]Environmental: relating to Environment. [5] Remote: separated by an interval or space greater than usual. [6] Sequentially: relating to or based on a method of testing a statistical hypothesis that involves examination of a sequence of samples for each of which the decision is made to accept or reject the hypothesis or to continue sampling. [7] Periodically: at regular interval of time. [8] Interfacing: to connect with an interface (a machine with a computer). [9] Antenna: a metallic device for radiating or receiving radio waves. [10] Multiplexing: Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

13 [11] Encoding: to convert from one system of communication to another. [12] Decoding: to convert a message into intelligible form. [13] Microcontroller: a programmable IC with on chip RAM on it. [14] Client: a person/machine that uses the services of another person/machine. [15] Design: to conceive or execute a plan.

ADC, 8, 13, 14

Ground, 5

Antenna, 7

Helicopter, 6, 14

Analog, 8, 13

Interfacing, 7

Base, 5

Matlab, 11

Compact, 6

Measure, 5

Cost, 6

Microcontroller, 7, 10, 13

CRO, 10

Mobile, 6

Communication, 7

Monitor, 6, 8

Client, 6 Description, 8

IndexMultiplexing, 8, 14

Multimeter, 10

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.

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Station, 5 Serial, 7 Signal, 8 Sequentially, 5 Transmit, 5, 7, 8 Transmission, 7, 8, 13 Wireless, 7, 13 Weather, 6

Digital, 7

Purpose, 5

Design, 7

Project, 5, 8, 13

Decoding, 13

Parameters, 5

Device, 5, 6

Port, 7

DAC, 8, 13, 14

Periodically, 5

Environmental, 5

Reading, 5

Encoding, 13

Remote sensing, 6

FYP-1, 13

Requirement, 6

FYP-2, 13

Risk, 15

Basim Ghulam Nabi, TE04-0153. Haseeb Mubarik, TE04-0280. Maria Waqar, CE05-0236. Mujab Ramzan, Te04-0231.