RockBLOCK chosen for Cryologger deployments in the Canadian Arctic

Water and ice play a critical role in Canadian landscapes, ecosystems, and infrastructure. The effects of a rapidly changing climate are expected to result in profound environmental changes in the Canadian Arctic.

The Water and Ice Research Laboratory (WIRL) at Carleton University, Canada, aims to better understand the effects of climate change through research focused on aquatic and cryosphere environments. A prerequisite for successful research is the ability to gather as much data from as many sources as possible.

In the past, expensive proprietary hardware was a major constraining factor in the ability of researchers to gather field data. With the development of open-source software and inexpensive, modular, and user-friendly hardware, it’s now possible for the WIRL to better observe and monitor the cryosphere.

Adam Garbo did just that by developing the Cryologger – an Arduino-based, multi-purpose datalogger and telemeter designed to collect data such as temperature, pressure, orientation, and GPS coordinates. The Cryologger was designed to be robust and is intended for deployments in the Canadian Arctic of one year or more.

In the summer of 2018, six Cryologgers were deployed as ice-tracking beacons in the Canadian Arctic. They’ll allow the WIRL to monitor the drift patterns of icebergs and ice islands along the coasts of Ellesmere and Baffin Island. Data from these Cryologgers is being transmitted hourly via a RockBLOCK 9603 to Rock Seven (now trading as Ground Control) and then pushed to the Cryologger tracking website.

An assessment of the Cryologger’s performance will determine if low-cost, open-source hardware and software can provide a reliable and cost-effective alternative to commercially available equipment for use in the demanding polar regions. Given the success of many similar RockBLOCK enabled projects in the past, we can’t be anything but optimistic about the verdict.

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Get in touch with us and find out if the RockBLOCK 9603 is the right device for your needs. Either complete our online form, or call us to be connected directly with one of our expert team. Call +44 (0) 1452 751940 (Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania) or +1.805.783.4600 (North and South America).

With over 20 years experience in satellite tracking we have the knowledge and experience to ensure you are equipped with everything you need to make the right choice.

Supporting the Eldorado Space Program

In 2014, Paul McWhorter, a 17-year veteran of Sandia National Labs and founder of a Silicon Valley nanotechnology company, returned to his hometown of Eldorado, Texas, to start a new career as a high school teacher.

When not teaching math and engineering classes at Eldorado High School, Paul devotes time to lecturing on subjects ranging from how to become a successful engineer, programming with Arduino/Raspberry Pis, and learning 3D CAD. Paul uploads his lecture videos on his website and YouTube channel.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Paul also established the high school’s first space program. He oversees a four-year high school engineering program where younger students are encouraged to join the space program in their junior and senior years.

Eldorado Space Program

With his guidance, students design, build, and program instrumentation packages sent into the upper atmosphere via high-altitude balloons. He documents the missions in a dedicated YouTube channel.

The instrumentation packages, called Eagles, are sent to the edge of space and transmit back temperature, pressure, and GPS data, as well as live video. A 9-axis inertial measurement system also sends data on the Eagle’s orientation. In all, twenty different data channels are telemetered back to ‘Mission Control’ in the classroom. Some of the additional data channels include down range velocity, vertical ascent rate, latitude, longitude, elevation, system health, signal strength, downrange distance, heading, and trajectory.

A unique accomplishment of these student engineers is their development of an ability to stream live video from the edge of space back to the classroom. The students use standard 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radios and reconfigure them to operate on the 2.39Ghz HAM microwave radio band. Each member of the program has a HAM radio license, so they can legally operate on this microwave band.

Since the instrument packages can reach altitudes over 115,000 feet and can travel 100 miles down range, maintaining a live video link is a formidable challenge. Technical and regulatory requirements limit the space-bound microwave radio to 1 watt transmit power. In order to communicate over these large distances at such a low power level, a high-gain antenna is required on the ground-based tracking system.

The challenge of using a high-gain antenna on the ground is that it must be pointed with precision at the space-bound instrument package. A pointing error of just a few degrees can lead to loss of signal. According to Mission Commander Jack Griffin: “The challenge becomes even more formidable since the instrument package can reach speeds of over 150mph, as the package ascends through the jet stream. Imagine trying to hit a target with one-degree precision that’s over 100 miles away, traveling at over 150mph.”

Griffin, who is a 17-year-old high school senior, continues: “We’re definitely solving real-world problems in this program. It’s more like working for a Silicon Valley start-up than being in a high school class.”

The ground-based tracking antenna is mounted on a Pelco Pan/Tilt platform. The position of this platform is controlled by relays in a closed-loop feedback system run on a Raspberry Pi microcontroller. The control system works as follows: A GPS on the space-bound instrument package measures the package’s latitude, longitude, and altitude. This data is then transmitted back to the ground- based tracking system. The system then takes these data points and applies the complex Haversine computation to calculate the necessary heading and elevation for the antenna to be precisely pointed to the instrument package. A feedback loop then moves the Pelco such that the antenna is precisely pointed at the target coordinates. In order to maintain the microwave video link, this feedback loop must constantly and quickly adjust the antenna position.

High school junior and Ground Tracking Specialist Benjamin McGee claims: “This is definitely a challenge and mission success depends on keeping the ground-based antenna pointed precisely at the package, no matter where or how fast it goes.”

The team is busy working on preparations for the launch of Eagle IX. Mission Commander Jack Griffin is confident that this will be the best launch ever. Griffin says: “We have our flight designed and expect to get our highest-quality images and most precise data to date, which we will live-stream on our YouTube channel so anyone on Earth can see it.”

The key element for this entire system to work is to have a reliable way to get the GPS data back from the space-bound instrument package to the ground-based tracking system.

Mission Specialist Christine Lindsey says: “Mission success depends on reliable transmission of GPS coordinates from the instrument package back to the ground, We’ve chosen the RockBLOCK modem and Iridium satellite network because it provides rock-solid connectivity. Initially we sent the GPS data coordinates over our microwave link, but if we lost connection, there was no way to regain it. With the RockBLOCK, we always know where the package is and how to point to it. With this system, we can maintain our microwave data link.”

This high-frequency radio beam has poor propagation, meaning it’s important to aim the antenna precisely at the Eagle. To achieve this, GPS data is transmitted via RockBLOCK to Ground Control’s servers. It’s then pushed via HTTP post to Paul’s own server which adjusts the high-gain antenna position accordingly, thus maintaining the video link.

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With over 20 years experience in satellite tracking we have the knowledge and experience to ensure you are equipped with everything you need to make the right choice.

Why Choose Iridium for IoT?

IoT (internet of things) has become a massive buzzword over the past few years, as more and more devices exchange data. In a majority of cases these devices can use land-based networks, such as GSM or LoRa, but a significant number of projects need to get data back from remote areas, where satellite is the only option. There are a number of satellite communications solutions offering IoT capabilities out there – so what are the benefits of choosing an Iridium/Ground Control product?

Truly Global Coverage

Iridium’s 66 satellites orbit the Earth at a low altitude, allowing for global coverage that includes the poles. Because of their low altitude they move in the sky, going from horizon to horizon in a matter of minutes. Thanks to this satellite ‘movement’, you’ll always be able to transmit as long as your device has a view of the sky. It’s a reassuring fact when you or your device are tucked away in a deep valley or traversing the polar regions – in a deep valley, for example, you would just wait a few moments until an Iridium satellite came into view and you could then transmit your message.

In contrast, geo-stationary satellites are always ‘fixed’ at a certain point in the sky. If you wanted to place a sensor in a valley, and your sensor’s view of a geo-stationary satellite was blocked by a mountain, you’d never be able to transmit.

Global Communications Protocol

For two decades, the oil and gas, maritime, rail, aeronautical, and energy industries, as well as government and defense, have been exchanging mission-critical data with the help of Iridium’s short burst data (SBD) service. Iridium SBD will continue to be the backbone for IoT in the most remote parts of the world, where information can be sent and received in a stream of data packets of up to 340 bytes each.

Iridium’s ‘NEXT’ constellation complements SBD with high-speed broadband. It also ensures that Iridium’s satellite network and services have another 15+ years of guaranteed longevity – something that gives you confidence if you’re planning a long term deployment of remote sensors.

Off-the-Shelf Technology = Rapid Deployment

Rock Seven (now trading as Ground Control)’s products and APIs let you quickly enable satellite communications on a variety of popular hardware and software based devices. In fact, the record for someone receiving their RockBLOCK to transmitting their first message successfully stands at just seven minutes.

Many of our customers use an off-the-shelf Arduino or Raspberry Pi as the heart of their project, while others use more industrial and heavyweight PLCs. This is important for enterprise customers that want to keep costs down for hundreds or thousands of units and for small businesses, researchers, and even hobbyists who want the lowest possible development costs for just a few units.

Personal and Rapid Customer Support

Iridium partners with value-added resellers (VARs) like Ground Control who package all the required hardware and software into a solution for you, the end customer. That means your questions will be directly answered by knowledgeable, real people, rather than by a generic scripted helpdesk. We’re experts in Iridium solutions and will always be able to help you find a solution to your remote data needs.

Do you want to learn more about how our SBD-enabled devices can help you and your organization communicate, coordinate, learn, or stay safe? Contact us.

Mapping Ocean Fronts with Robotic Fleets and the RockBLOCK

Led by Dr. João Borges de Sousa of the Laboratório de Sistemas e Tecnologia Subaquática (LSTS) of Portugal, a multinational, multidisciplinary team of scientists have designed, built, and deployed seven autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in the North Pacific Subtropical Ocean Front using the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor.

Ocean fronts are areas where drastic changes occur in the properties of waters. These changes are of interest to scientists studying Earth’s climate and marine ecosystems. The particular ocean front examined by the teams is situated about 1,000 nautical miles SW of Southern California. It’s here that less dense and cold waters coming from the Arctic meet the otherwise saline waters of the Pacific.

Three scout ASVs (autonomous surface vehicles) were sent to detect the ocean front ahead of the Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition. The area was then mapped for three weeks by a fleet of AUVs, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and the R/V Falkor.

In order to map the 3D structure of this dynamic front, the AUVs cycled in a ‘saw-tooth’ pattern between the water’s surface at a depth of 100 meters. The AUVs were controlled from either the R/V Falkor or across the world from an ocean space center in Portugal, with commands sent via RockBLOCKs and the Iridium network.

Operating 24/7, the AUVs would also periodically upload preliminary sensor data, like temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, and turbidity profiles (water properties at different measured depths).

When interesting features would appear, UAVs were deployed to measure the same features from the air using thermal and multispectral cameras. This feat wouldn’t have been possible using only traditional marine/aerial vehicles, due to the logistical and financial restrictions involved with these larger assets.

In less than three weeks, the AUVs traversed over 1,000 nautical miles, operating approximately for 500 hours and sending over 12,000 transmissions – or 2.5 megabytes of Iridium data – to researchers via Rock Seven (now trading as Ground Control)’s servers.

The mission’s success proves that lower-cost, autonomous, and connected vehicles can play a key role in collecting abundant data sets from remote locations. This allows research vessels like the R/V Falkor to shift their role from being a primary sampling unit to a command center, reducing operational costs while increasing scientific knowledge.

Iridium connectivity also allowed the replica command center based in Portugal to take over the second shift, giving scientists round the clock control of their research assets.

More information about this research can be found in the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s expedition page.

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With over 20 years experience in satellite tracking we have the knowledge and experience to ensure you are equipped with everything you need to make the right choice.