Ground Truth System - Carleton-SRCL/SPOT GitHub Wiki

During experiments, ground truth data is required to compare the perceived performance of the spacecraft to its actual performance. For this reason, a PhaseSpace X2E camera system was purchased. It consists of 10 cameras that are positioned around the lab, facing the granite table. All 10 cameras are connected to a provided server that processes the output from the 10 cameras, and returns the resolved position and attitude of the spacecraft platforms, in real time, at up to 960Hz. It is important to have multiple cameras covering each section of the table. A picture of the lab is shown in the Figure below, where the black PhaseSpace cameras are visible attached to the walls.

Lab with phasespace

The camera with the antenna communicates with the Microdrivers (battery packs) that turn on and off the LEDs mounted on the platforms. The Microdrivers, shown below, are turned on by pressing the white button. To turn off a Microdriver, press and hold the white button until the light no longer blinks (about 10 seconds).

Microdriver

The microdrivers are assigned to each platform through software. The ID numbers associated with each platform are shown in the following Table

Microdriver IDs

Any Microdriver can be used for any platform, as long as its ID is set to the correct one for that platform. To set the ID of any Microdriver, follow the steps listed below:

  1. Open the PhaseSpace Configuration Manager at 198.168.1.109.

  2. Login - user: admin, password: phasespace.

  3. Click the LED Devices tab.

  4. Click Scan & Monitor Devices.

  5. Click Scan. Ensure the Microdrivers are turned on. They should be recognized by the software under the Microdrivers heading.

  6. The current Microdriver software ID numbers are listed on the right of the screen. The Microdriver with software ID#1 must be used on the RED platform. Identify the Microdrivers by matching the Hardware ID with the Hardware ID number written on each Microdriver.

  7. To change the software ID number of a Microdriver, click edit IDs when the desired Microdrivers are connected to the system.

  8. Edit the software ID numbers to your preference.

  9. Select the check boxes beside the Microdriver Hardware ID and then click Force Encode Selected to upload the new software IDs to the Microdrivers.

This way, if a Microdriver fails, another one can easily take its place by simply changing the software ID.

To pair a new Microdriver to the system, follow the above steps to enter Scan mode. Then, click and hold the white button on the Microdriver until the LED flashes 3 times. This puts the Microdriver into pairing mode and will be detected by the PhaseSpace system.

Once the cameras are installed and the microdrivers are paired, the system needs to be calibrated. This is done by moving an object with a known size through the field of view of all the cameras. A wand is provided by PhaseSpace and is used to calibrate and align the camera system.

Reach out to Phasespace support if you have any questions.