Monday, July 13th, 2015

Today I will assemble two complete Mars Modules, programming them for use at the HPA gate and the Robotics Classroom.

Each module consists of six components: an Arduino Uno, and Arduino PoE Ethernet Shield, a Parallax RFID Reader, an LED, a 4x7.5x2.5 inch styrene enclosure, and a gigabit Cat5e Network Cable. These components are assembled and modified apropriately to produce the complete Mars Module.

I have successfully built and programmed two Mars Modules for use at the Tennis Gate (called TennisGate) and in the Robotics Classroom (called Robotics). Following is a visual walkthrough of the assembly process with descriptions.

Module Components still in the Box

Module Components out of the Box

Top Left: Arduino PoE Ethernet Shield

Bottom Left: Arduino Uno SBC

Right: PArallax RFID Reader

Middle Right: A Green LED

Not Shown: Cat5e Ethernet Cable, Styrene Enclosure

An RFID Card Front and Back

An Open Mars Module

The module in this state is ready to be programmed via a USB cable connected to a computer running the Mars Remote Control. At current, this module has its Cat5e Cable plugged in instead and is ready to be closed.

Complete Mars Module

Though not particularly flashy, this device allows for incredibly population surveying. Each module communicates to the Mars Server of your choosing to compile data collected by the components inside.

As for today, I was able to complete two of these modules, called TennisGate and Robotics. These modules are ready for use anywhere within the local network of the school. These modules can be used anywhere in the world though if programmed to communicate through the WAN with a Domain name or a WAN IP routed to a Mars Server.

The cords at the bottom are the 48V PoE injector and its associated cords. This is the hardware necessary to power and Mars Module and allow it to access the network.

Tomorrow will be spent modifying the Server Program to accommodate the new Attendance Program I have been working on. Also, I need to continue work on the EML Curriculum. Hopefully I can complete two additional lessons by the end of this week.

Today: 7

Week: 7

Total: 173.5