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SAE TECHNICAL PAPER SERIES

2013-36-0064

The Design Process of a Wireless Data Transmission System Applied to a Formula SAE Vehicle
Paulo Bosquiero Zanetti Formula UFSC Team, Federal University of Santa Catarina

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2013-36-0064

The Design Process of a Wireless Data Transmission System Applied to a Formula SAE Vehicle
Paulo Bosquiero Zanetti
Formula UFSC Team, Federal University of Santa Catarina

Copyright 2013 SAE International

ABSTRACT
Data analysis is an important way to validate and optimize engineerings designs. With the development of wireless transmission systems, race cars use telemetry as a solution to measure the cars behavior by the analysis of acquired data. Wireless communication systems provide the possibility to analyze data in real-time situations, allowing tactical decision making based on the vehicles embedded signals interpretation. This paper intends to describe the design process of a wireless data transmission system applied to a Formula SAE vehicle. Based on the prototyping microcontroller Arduino and the radio-transmission module Xbee, the wireless transmission system here described is capable of transmitting 16 analog and 54 digital embedded signals and can be easily adapted for the users requirements, through the systems open -source characteristics.

trough real-time data analysis. Telemetry provides the nonphysical connection between the used transducers, and the control unit. This characteristic of wireless communication systems allows the monitoring of moving systems, such as a race car.

FORMULA SAE CATEGORY

The Formula SAE [9] is a student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) [10], where students have to design and build an open wheeled race car, to dispute a competition against other students teams. Inside the product design process, the teams have to test each solution that was proposed, as the behavior of the car can be improved. In this way, a low cost open source wireless data transmission system, capable to collect and supply the desired amount of data in real time situations will become a useful and important instrument. This paper intends to describe the design process of a simple and reliable wireless data transmission system, based on the open source concept, which allows the Formula SAE teams to modify the current system in order to use different types of sensors installed on the vehicle, conceding the possibility to adapt the wireless system to any design requirement.

INTRODUCTION MOTOR RACING TELEMETRY SYSTEMS

Through the advance of wireless and signal processing systems, the industry is now able to monitor processes with much accuracy and speed. Telemetry can be defined as the idea of transmitting and receiving data through wireless communication technologies [1], and is, nowadays, applied in every industry niche. In this paper, telemetry will be considered as a tool for motor racing sports, allowing designs validation, adjustments of mechanical and electrical components, and tactical decisions Page 1 of 6

OPEN SOURCE CONCEPT

The open source concept can be defined as a methodology which allows the access to a products design and implementation details [3] This characteristic is sought by Formula SAE teams in order to undervalue the system through the possibility of change and adaptation of the system to the teams requirements, without the need of hardware change.

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SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT HARDWARE

The wireless data transmission system described consists basically in two components, the Arduino prototyping board, responsible for processing the acquired data and the Zigbee radio-frequency module, Xbee [1], [4]. The Arduino Mega 2560 board [1], [2] is the open-source prototyping platform chosen for the data transmission system. It is based on the Atmega2560 microcontroller and has a 10 bits A/D converter for the 16 analog inputs and has its own programming language, similar to C/C++. The signals acquired by the transducers installed on the car are applied to the Arduino inputs and from there, are processed by the microcontroller, communicating itself directly and instantaneously with the Zigbee module. Zigbee is a wireless communication specification for low power electronic devices, based on the IEEE 802.15.4 [7], [8] standard. It allows bidirectional communication between small digital radios for personal area networks (PAN) [8]. The Xbee modules of the wireless communication system described in this paper, work as a point to point communication bridge. The transmitter sends the acquired data processed by the microcontroller to the receiver module, which is connected to an Ultra Serial Bus (USB) port to a computer that displays the data through a graphic interface. For the hardware connections, an Arduino board adapter hack is needed (figure 1). This adapter connects the source, serial channel, grounding and inputs of the Arduino board to the Xbee module. In the same manner, the receiver Xbee module must be connected serially to the USB computer port by a USB adapter (see figure 2).

Figure 2. USB adapter.

COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL
In communication systems, a protocol can be defined as a assembly of rules and digital messages formats used for exchanging data between two or more electronic devices. According to Faludi (2010, p. 113) [1], more complicated protocols will define whether there is bilateral communication between the devices to set up the exchange, timing issues, what replies are sent in response to what messages, routing strategies, and so forth. For our purpose, a simple point to point network, where only the radio on board will send data, and the receiver will serially send the information to a computer for analysis, the simpler the protocol the better. To program the Xbee radios, the AT commands [1] will be used. This protocol allows editing the registers found inside the radios. Each register has a name, prefixed by the AT characters. For example, if you want to access the Personal Area Network ID that is currently assigned to the radio, the ATID command will print it in the programming screen.

PROGRAMING THE ARDUINO BOARD

In this section, it will be explained how the Arduino board should be programmed to send data from the installed sensors serially to the transmitter Xbee.

Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Writing the algorithm in the Arduino microcontroller can be done with the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that can be downloaded in the Arduino website [2]. This software 1 is written in Java and is based on Processing and other opensource software. Figure 1. Arduino board adapter hack. Processing is an open-source programming language for visual solutions (i.e. images, animations, etc.). Page 2 of 6
1

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Once the Arduino environment is installed on the development computer, the correct prototype board needs to be selected. The code that will be here explained was tested on an Arduino Mega2560 board, but it can be written also in other Arduino boards.

//-------------------------------------------------------------------------void setup(){ Serial.begin(9600); } void loop(){ //-------------------------------------------------------------------------int brakepin = 2; pinMode(brakepin, INPUT);

Figure 03. Arduino Mega 2560 board selected. With the source-code that will be explained in the following section written in the Sketch window, click the Verify button to check for errors. Then, press the Upload button, on the upper left side of the softwares window to write the code into the microcontroller. If no errors are found, the data acquisition and processing system will be ready to be used.

int ea1 = analogRead(0), ea2 = analogRead(1), ea3 = analogRead(2), ea16 = analogRead(15), in1 = map(ea1, 0, 1023, 0, 255), in2 = map(ea2, 0, 1023, 0, 255), in3 = map(ea3, 0, 1023, 0, 255), in16 = map(ea16, 0, 1023, 0, 255), //-------------------------------------------------------------------------brakelight = digitalRead(brakepin); Serial.print('A'); Serial.print(in1, DEC); Serial.print('B'); Serial.print(in2, DEC); Serial.print('C'); Serial.print(in3, DEC); Serial.print('P'); Serial.print(in16, DEC);

Source-code
At this point, before writing the algorithm that will send analog and digital data to the Xbee serial input, it is important to remember that the Arduino board has a 10 bit A/D converter, and the Xbee transmits the information in 8 bit, so at some point of the algorithm, the 10-bit reading must be converted to a 8-bit data format. For example, if all 16 analog inputs are required for the transducers installed on the car, and one digital input will read the break switch, the Arduino board will read the analog and digital inputs, convert to an 8 bit data, and send that information through the serial output to the Xbee module. The issue here is how to divide the number sequence into the 16 analog inputs. This is accomplished by printing between the data sent by the sensors characters that will relate the following number to the transducer responsible for that data. To split the 16 analog signals, we could, for example, print characters from A to P between the serial data. That way, the graphic interface on the computer connected to the receiver divides the serial data by getting the value in-between the sent characters. Considering these two aspects, the source-code can now be presented in the following example.

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Serial.print('Q'); Serial.print(brakelight); delay(2); } //-------------------------------------------------------------------------The first section of the code initializes the routine, sets the baud rate of 9600 bits per second for the microcontroller and opens the loop for the data reading. To define the variables of each sensor value, and remap from a 10 bit to a 8 bit data format, the second section of the code uses the analogRead() and map() functions. These functions are also described in the Arduino website. Finally, the third section sends the acquired signals alternately with the chosen characters to the serial output pin. After it, the delay function waits two milliseconds before repeating the routine, providing a 500 Hz sample rate. The delay time will define the sample rate of the system, and it must be calculated from the higher frequency read, according to the Nyquist2 Shannon sample theorem [6] .

modem configuration tab, the Always update firmware option, as shown in the figure 04. Every Xbee module has a 64-bit serial address printed on the back. It is important to write the address from each module before connecting it to the USB adapter, so we configure the network on the next step.

Figure 04. Firmware updating. At this point, we must choose which radio will be the coordinator and which one will be the router. Both of them are able to be configured as coordinator and router, but it is important to know that in any network, only one coordinator can exist, so the network can be properly defined and managed. With one of the modules connected, click the Read button on the upper left side of the X-CTU software to list the current firmware. With this first step done, select the function set ZIGBEE COORDINATOR AT, to set this module as the networks coordinator, than, ch oose the correct Xbee modem and version of the firmware (see figure 04). Any version 2070 or greater should work fine, so in general, select the higher hexadecimal number presented on that item. To program the Xbee with the coordinator firmware, click on the Write button. It is also important to identify with a small sticker which one of the modules are configured as the coordinator module. It is possible to change the networks configuration only through the coordinator radio. Remove the first radio from the USB adapter and seat the second module, which is going to be programed with the router firmware. Analogously to the fist programming process, this time we will configure the radio with the ZIGBEE ROUTER AT function set, and also the higher firmware version.

PROGRAMING THE XBEE RADIO DEVICES

Coordinator and Router
With the purpose of programming the two Xbee modules, a serial terminal program is fundamental. This kind of software allows the user to update and change the current firmware written in the internal Xbee microcontroller. Also, through the serial terminal program, we can program the module by typing AT commands previously introduced. This way, it is possible to configure the radio modules to communicate just to each other, by writing its ID number from one to the other. This process will be described with more details later. The chosen serial terminal program is the X-CTU, developed by Digi, the same manufacturer as the Xbee modules. It can be freely downloaded from the Digi website [5] Once the X-CTU software is installed and with one of the Xbee radios connected to the computer, we first need do check if there are firmware updates available by selecting in the

Command Mode and Transparent Mode

The Xbee modules can use their local serial connection in two different ways: The transparent and the command mode. The transparent mode is the default state for the Xbee modules using the AT command firmware [1]. In this state, the radio simply passes the received information to the destination radio. The information gets to the destination radio just as it has been received by the transmitter.

According to the Nyquist-Shannon sample theorem, any band limited signal can be reconstructed if the higher signal frequency is no greater than of the sample rate Page 4 of 6

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The command mode is used to stop the communication for a moment, to access the configuration of the local radio. In this case, the user wants to communicate to the radio, and not to send the information through the Xbee module [1]. To set the radio in command mode, the user has to wait one second, type +++ and wait another second, in the X-CTU terminal tab. After typing +++, the software will respond OK, meaning that the command mode has been activated, and will be activated for 10 seconds before dropping out the command mode, getting in transparent mode and starts sending or receiving data again.

command will write the current configuration on the radios microprocessor. For the router, the same process must be done. This time, the coordinators high and low address must by written with the ATDH and ATDL commands. Write the configuration with the ATWR command (Figure 05).

AT Commands
In this section, it will be briefly explained some of the most common and important AT commands. Those commands will be used later, when we start programing the Xbee radios.

ATID
With the radio on command mode, typing ATID by itself will show the Personal Area Network (PAN) ID assigned to the module. This hexadecimal number defines the network that the module will join to. To assign a new PAN ID number, type the ATID command followed by any hexadecimal number in the range 0x0 0xFFFF. Figure 05. Programming the Xbee module. At this moment, the point to point wireless network is ready to be used. Once back in transparent mode, the on board radio is prepared to receive data from the Arduino board and transmit to the radio connected to a computer.

ATDH/ATDL
Every radio module has a serial number. The first part of this number is called the high address, and normally the same number is printed on every Xbee. The second part of the serial number is called the low address, and each radio has its own. By typing ATDH, the user is able to read or assign the destinations high address number, while by typing the ATDL command, the destination low address number can be read or assigned.

DATA RECEPTION
At this point, the wireless system described is able to transmit serial data to the receiver. The data format, however, is a sequence of numbers separated by some indicators in this case, the characters from A to P were used as shown in figure 06 below.

ATWR
After configuring the radio through AT commands, typing ATWR will write the current configuration to firmware.

Building a point to point network

With the coordinator radio placed on the USB adapter, and connected to the serial terminal software, we will set the radio to command mode by typing +++. Once in command mode, the PAN ID must be assigned. Any address from 0 to FFFF works perfectly. Then, set the routers high address with the ATDH command, and the routers low address with the ATDL command. After it, the ATWR Page 5 of 6 Figure 06. Serial test values. A 5V step applied to the A sensor, and the other inputs grounded. There are several software solutions that could implement the graphic interface, to make de understanding and data interpretation easier for the user. The idea of the graphic interface is to split again the sensor values that are divided by the chosen characters. This way, the user would have an

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intuitive panel with gauges and displays, showing and recording the transmitted data. An example of this graphic interface can be seen in figure 07.

REFERENCES
1. 2. 3. FALUDI, R. Building Wireless Sensor Networks. USA: OReilly, 2010. 300 p. ARDUINO. Available on <http://www.arduino.cc/> on 10 March 2013. OPEN SOURCE INITIATIVE. About The Open Source Initiative. Available on <http://www.opensource.org/about> on 10 March 2013. DIGI. Xbee module. Available on <http://www.digi.com/products/wireless-wiredembedded-solutions/zigbee-rf-modules/> on 10 March 2013. DIGI. X-CTU software. Available on <http://www.digi.com/support/productdetail?pid=335 2> on 10 March 2013. LATHI, B.P. Sinais e Sistemas Lineares. 2 ed. Brazil: Bookman, 2008. 856p. IEEE 802. 15.4. Available on <http://standards.ieee.org/about/get/802/802.15.html > on 12. March 2013. GUTIRREZ, J. A; CALLAWAY, E, H; BARRETT, R. L. Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks: Enabling Wireless Sensors with IEEE 802.15.4. USA: IEEE, 2004. 149 p. FORMULA SAE. Available on < http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaserie s/> on 12. March 2013.

4. Figure 07. Graphic interface example The concept of the system described in this paper is the opensource characteristic. The development of a graphic interface that fits to the systems open-source requirements is subject for an upcoming paper. 5.

CONCLUSIONS
The telemetry concept shows itself the most convenient system to measure and transmit information of moving objects. Its capability of transmitting data in real-time situations allows tactical decisions in the automotive racing categories, concedes design validation and optimization. The wireless system introduced in this paper appears to be a good solution for Formula SAE and other categories. The most important characteristic of the presented system is the open-source methodology, which makes the systems adaptation to almost every situation possible. The team can change the configuration of the radio modules or the digital signal processing stage, having complete knowledge of how the system works, without the need to change the hardware or buying new upgrades and firmware. With the data transmission system designed, the next step is the development of a graphic interface for a full open-source telemetry system. On an upcoming paper, the evaluation of the transmitted data must be possible by selecting the sensor value sent in-between chosen indicators on the serial sequence. Each of these separated sensor values is sent to different gauges and displays, providing the user a quick and intuitive interpretation of the cars behavior.

6. 7.

8.

9.

10. SAE INTERNATIONAL. Available on < http://www.sae.org/> on 12. March 2013.

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