NASA MicroG NExT

High Concept

Submission for the NASA MicroG NExT project "SAVISARR", an autonomous rescue boat for astronauts stranded in aquatic environments upon landing.

Details

This project was an ongoing effort of half a year by several talented undergraduate engineers at The Ohio State University between 2022 and 2023. The project involved tackling the SAVER challenge of NASA MicroG NExT - creating a drop-resistant signal-finding autonomous rescue drone for aquadic environments. We achieved funding through the university to implement the project.

My primary contributions were in the design and implementation of the signal-finding component of the boat, implemented with an software defined radio (SDR), a Raspberry Pi, and a custom designed 3D printed pole.

The software defined radio signal-finding component was implemented using four antennas placed in a circular configuration. The picture is from a successful initial test of the system, tracking a portable broadcast signal. For testing I implemented a neopixel "compass" with an Arduino. It was quite fun to see the light follow my collegue as she moved around the field.

Making the electronics waterproof was an interesting challenge - here is a picture of the project box we ended up using.