Infrasound in wildfire

Background
 It has recently been found that large wildfires generate infrasonic waves that can be detected by infrasound observatories. Advances in measurement technology has made it possible for measuring devices that are both portables and inexpensive. 

Problem Statement
 Design a deployable self sustaining package that can continuously measure infrasonic wave data at 2kHz/s and transmit that data wirelessly. The package must be able to operate for 3 months without relying on existing power infrastructure. 

Deliverables & Specifications
 2-3 months of continuous power Battery powered with possible solar generation and power switching technology Wireless access to measure and upload data within 6 hours Lora to cell tower or Zigby to cell tower Possible chain network to increase range from package to communication infrastructure GPS time sync stored with data Prototype must cost under $1000 <li>Portable package for one person to carry <li>Error correction on transmitted data <li>Possible command signals from control cente </ul>

Goals
Currently as a group we have pinpointed our design constraints, what we want the system to do and what we believe will be an engineering solution for the project at hand. We have found that the major issue within our project will be power consumption, since we will not be relying on any major infrastructure to power our system we need to be able to run it for a couple of months. We have also found that for the communication we have to piggyback on the cell towers to connect to the internet. This will require setting up a 3G/4G/LTE network for the system. We currently are researching what this will take to communicate. In the near future we are wanting to learn how to pull data from the sensor using only an RP-3B and write/send that data in a readable format. This will involve setting up a daisy chained network, using Xbee or Zigbee, to send the data long distance. Our future goals is to set up and have testing of the communication network with the sensor data collection incorporated. We will continue to try to find solutions to the power issue and how we will power the entire design system. Future plans will look into green energy, DC-DC conversion, and restrictions of 3G/4G/LTE network communication.

Communication Module
 <li>Used Xbee’s XTCU program to establish communication with a PC and a raspberry pi <li>Established communication between two raspberry pi’s with serial commands <li>Set up LEDs to confirm a communication link was established <li>Confirmed voltage regulator functionality with digital multimeter </ul>

Reference
Top Right Photo credit: Stacy Isenbarger

Team Information
=Documentation Archive=

Below you can find the sub-links to our project portfolio.

<li>Project Portfolio Links:
 * Agendas
 * Budget
 * Contract
 * Data Sheets
 * Design Review
 * Flow Diagrams
 * Gantt Chart
 * Meeting Minutes
 * Project Goals
 * Snap Shot