AltOS is the name of Keith's firmware "operating system" for
[TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum/) and [TeleDongle](../TeleDongle/).
-In addition to the firmware for [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum) and
-[TeleDongle](../TeleDongle) boards, the AltOS source tree also includes a
-number of utilities useful for monitoring and logging telemetry during flight,
-post-processing flight data for analysis, plus utilities for updating firmware,
-and developing and debugging new functionality. The first generation of these
-utilities were Linux-only, but our current second-generation software written
-largely in [Java](http://java.com) with a small platform-specific library
-works identically on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems!
+In addition to the firmware for [TeleMetrum](../TeleMetrum) and
+[TeleDongle](../TeleDongle) boards, the AltOS source tree also
+includes AltosUI, which provides for flight monitoring, post-flight
+analysis, device configuration and firmware updating. AltosUI runs on
+Linux, Mac OS X and Windows. It's written in [Java](http://java.com)
+and offers the same functionality and interface on all three
+platforms. A small platform-specific library communicates with the USB
+interface on the Altus Metrum devices.
-The firmware and associated software are licensed [GPL version 2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html)
+There are also Linux-specific tools that provide lower level access to
+the devices which are useful for developing firmware for the devices.
+
+The firmware and associated software are licensed [GPL version
+2](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html)
## Available Versions ##
in the project [fw/sdcc](http://git.gag.com/?p=fw/sdcc;a=summary). This is
not necessary if you just want to rebuild AltOS and use it.
-## Features ##
+### Version 0.8 Features ###
+
+Version 0.8 offers a major upgrade in the AltosUI
+interface. Significant new features include:
+
+* Post-flight graphing tool. This lets you explore the behaviour of
+ your rocket after flight with a scroll-able and zoom-able chart
+ showing the altitude, speed and acceleration of the airframe along
+ with events recorded by the flight computer. You can export graphs
+ to PNG files, or print them directly.
+
+* Real-time moving map which overlays the in-progress flight on
+ satellite imagery fetched from
+ [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com). This lets you see in pictures
+ where your rocket has landed, allowing you to plan recovery
+ activities more accurately.
+
+* Wireless recovery system testing. Prep your rocket for flight and test
+ fire the deployment charges to make sure things work as
+ expected. All without threading wires through holes in your
+ airframe.
+
+* Optimized flight status displays. Each flight state now has it's own
+ custom 'tab' in the flight monitoring window so you can focus on the
+ most important details. Pre-flight, the system shows a set of
+ red/green status indicators for battery voltage, apogee/main igniter
+ continutity and GPS reception. Wait until they're all green and your
+ rocket is ready for flight. There are also tabs for ascent, descent,
+ landing and
+
+* Monitor multiple flights simultaneously. If you have more than one
+ TeleDongle, you can monitor a flight with each one on the same
+ computer.
+
+* Automatic flight monitoring at startup. Plug TeleDongle into the
+ machine before starting AltosUI and it will automatically connect to
+ it and prepare to monitor a flight.
+
+* Exports Google Earth flight tracks. Using the Keyhole Markup
+ Language (.kml) file format, this provides a 3D view of your rocket
+ flight through the Google Earth program.
+
+### Version 0.7.1 Features ###
Version 0.7.1 is the first release containing our new cross-platform Java-based user interface. AltosUI can:
A number of features are implemented or in process in the sources available
in our publicly visible repository that are not part of the current stable
-release. Some of these features are already available in our C utilities,
-but not yet part of our second-generation Java user interface altosui.
-
-* [Google Earth](http://earth.google.com) "KML" file export. The
- first-generation C program ao-postflight can do this, the implementation
- in altosui has improvements.
-
-* Data plotting. The first-generation C program ao-postflight can output a
- set of standard plots as an svg file. The plotting code we're integrating
- into altosui supports direct interaction with the data and is much more fun!
-
-* State-dependent display. When the rocket is on the pad, you mostly want to
- know if it’s ready to fly. When the rocket is descending on a chute, you
- want to know where it is in the sky and how fast its falling. Presenting a
- limited amount of information that represents what is most interesting to
- the user at any given time should make the display easier to read.
-
-* Ejection charge testing. The TeleMetrum firmware has the ability to be
- commanded to fire ejection charges over the USB or radio links. Safely
- hooking this up to the user interface will allow for wireless ejection
- system testing. It is possible to do this today with a terminal program,
- but we want this to be a feature in altosui. The key here is “safely”, of
- course, which means figuring out a ‘fool proof’ user interface.
+release.
* A Kalman-filter based approach to apogee detection using more than just the
baro sensor, so that we can safely control apogee ejection on flights to
firmware. It may therefore be a while before this becomes part of a stable
firmware release.
+* Motor characterization. Because TeleMetrum contains a
+ high-resolution, high-frequency accelerometer, it is possible to
+ take the data from that and compute an accurate thrust curve for
+ the motor.
+
+* Comprehensive PDF and/or HTML -based flight report. Construct a
+ complete report of the flight suitable for publication on the web
+ that includes graphs of the flight and details about motor
+ performance etc.
+
+* Publish flight data to the Altus Metrum web site. This will allow
+ you to share your flight data with others, and let you download
+ flights published by others.
+
There are any number of additions that could be made to this list; feel free
to send along ideas that you’ve got. Of course, all of this software is
licensed under the GNU General Public License, so you can get the source and
### Mac ###
-A Mac OS X package that is compatible with
-versions 10.5 "Leopard" and later (including 10.6 "Snow Leopard") is
-available. The Mac operating system includes Java, and all Altus Metrum
-products show up as simple USB serial ports, so this should just work
-with no additional drivers or other dependency issues. Older versions of
-the Mac operating system come with Java versions that are too old for use
-with Altus Metrum software, and we know of no way to update the Java version
-other than upgrading to a newer operating system.
+A Mac OS X package that is compatible with versions 10.5 "Leopard" and
+later (including 10.6 "Snow Leopard") is available. The Mac operating
+system includes Java, and all Altus Metrum products show up as simple
+USB serial ports, so this should just work with no additional drivers
+or other dependency issues. Older versions of the Mac operating
+system, and even newer versions for PowerPC-based machines, come with
+Java version 5 or older, which is too old for use with Altus Metrum
+software. We know of no way to update the Java version other than
+upgrading to a newer operating system (for Intel based macs) or
+purchasing new hardware (for PowerPC based macs).
### Windows ###
the required USB serial device driver, and our package should do the right
things to bind it to our devices, but if you get a complaint about the device
being unrecognized, try pointing to the copy of the telemetrum.inf file
-included in the package directory manually. Reports of success or failure
-with other versions of Windows would be appreciated!
+included in the package directory manually.
projects / web / altusmetrum / commitdiff