Inspired by my previous article of having an automated home defense system, I thought of going larger than just having a communication system based on protecting a house and communicating the goings on. What if instead I had a wireless comms system that didn’t require a contract, had a decent range, and could be used to route signals to different people depending on their location and relation to the sender/ receiver and to the network? The point is not to compete with previously established networks as this is not a commercial product, but more of an experiment to test my ingenuity & ability to create a comms network from scratch & no formal background. So let’s begin!
Blog Posts
Project Castle Guardian
I finally have enough technical skill and time to create one of my most advanced projects. This project will consist of having a self-arming home monitoring system complete with an alarm and a satellite communication network. The Satcomm (satellite communication) unit will alert me via email if Castle Guardian is armed, disarmed, detects an individual & from where, as well as track their movements around the house. It will also have night vision IP cameras installed which upon activation will give me a bird’s eye view of the house complete with servos to adjust the angle. I intend on this system being nearly autonomous with the only activities requiring human input is the arming and disarming of the system.
I also intend to integrate Castle Guardian with my AARCS (Automated Animal Residency Control System) Unit, which has already been installed, but needs an upgrade. AARCS+ is the upgraded system complete with radio control, allowing each unit to communicate with Satcomm in cases such as the enclosure gets too hot/cold or if the humidity exceeds bounds. It’ll also allow me to monitor each AARCS+ enclosure at a glance anywhere around the world. This by far will be my most complicated project, & I’m ready to make it.
Arduino Controlled Boat
Project ROWAN, or the R(emotely) O(perated) W(aterborne) A(rduino) N(avigator) is a remote controlled boat I’m planning to make for river/ocean navigation. Its a design I’ve seen other programmers build on Youtube & would like to make my own boat with the added function of being able to work remotely. The system itself is very complicated for me, but I’ll do my best to break down the subsystems so that its easy to understand while also not tripping myself up in the process.
[Oct 3 2020] Arduino Weather Balloon Project
Project AALAB, or the A(utomated) A(rduino) L(ow) A(ltitude) B(alloon) is a weather balloon project I’ll be researching for a projected launch date of summer 2021. The point of the project is to show that an arduino controlled balloon could launch, communicate its findings, & be successfully recovered for future relaunches. The ultimate goal is to have a weather balloon connect to an AURA unit so that I may have a drone fly from the edge of space down to the ground. I’m sure there’s some legislation that I must abide by, but I’m sure there’s a permitting system to navigate around to make my dream com true. Despite the dream, we will focus on the easily attainable & work with the AURA attachment at a much later date.
Continue reading “[Oct 3 2020] Arduino Weather Balloon Project”
[6April2020] Project Aurora
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End Goal: To have a fully automated solar panel system that maintains the health & welfare of all animals stowed there.
The time has finally come to move all of my animals to a larger, more comfortable space as their current location is becoming crowded. As I’ve grown my collection I’ve known that eventually I’d move to another space & that it’d have to be automated per the usual, which is where project Aurora comes in.
Aurora is a solar panel based project that uses the energy from the sun in order to power all arduino boards. The intent is for this to be a long term location for the animals as not only my collection grows but my programming abilities as well. I’d also like to spruce up the overall facility it’s in with a lighting system, office desk, & move my programming table out there as well. For now, here are the overall requirements for Aurora.