The goal of the Alaskan Ice Buoy project is to develop a buoy that collects environmental data from the Arctic and transmits that data back to Vermont. The project is also being used to gain experience with CubeSat Kit hardware, in hopes of using the CubeSat Kit platform to launch a satellite into space as a subsequent project.
The project was conceived in collaboration with the University of Vermont, which has been studying and mathematically modeling arctic sea ice. The ice forms in the colder months in the arctic regions, and melts in the spring and summer months. Unlike terra firma, this ice is constantly moving and shifting in relation to many variables, such as temperature, wind speed, and wind direction. One of the problems that the researchers at the University of Vermont have encountered is that they do not have enough data about the sea ice to model it completely. In order to better model the mechanics of sea ice, they need data to be collected from on the ice itself, which is the goal of the buoy.
The project is supported by grants from the Vermont Space Grant Consortium, a part of the NASA Space Grant program. Vermont Tech also received generous donations of commercial software from AdaCore, SofCheck, Praxis, and Rowley Associates to support using high integrity software tools and methods in the programming of the buoy.
Dr. Carl S. Brandon, Principal
Investigator
Dr. Brandon is a professor of Science and Aeronautical Engineering
Technology at Vermont Tech. Dr. Brandon oversees the project and works on the satellite
communication systems.
Prof. Peter C. Chapin, Software Developer
Prof. Chapin is a professor of Computer Information Systems at Vermont Tech. Prof.
Chapin is a software developer on the project, working especially on the high integrity
software tool chain used.
Chad Loseby, Software Developer
Chad is a senior in the Computer Engineering Technology program at Vermont Tech. Chad is a
software developer on the project, focusing on the integration of and communications
between the software and the hardware.
Michael White, Hardware Developer
Michael is a junior in the Electromechanical Engineering Technology program at
Vermont Tech. Michael is a hardware developer on the project, working on the circuitry
involved in connecting sensors to the system as well as other hardware concerns.
The software for the buoy is written in SPARK, a strict subset of the Ada programming language. This was chosen because of its high integrity and reliability. Once the buoy is deployed, there will be no opportunity to correct software bugs or errors, so a solid program is essential.
Unfortunately, the microcontroller we chose (Texas Instruments MSP430) has no Ada compiler available. In order to combat this, a software toolchain has been created, which can be seen at right.
In detail, the SPARK code written by the developers is run through Praxis Systems' SPARK examiner to ensure that the annotations match the code. The code is then run through SofCheck's AdaMagic compiler, which compiles the Ada code into C code. That C code is then combined with microcontroller device drivers written in C and called from Ada, and it is compiled for the MSP430 platform using Rowley Associates' CrossWorks.