Ulysses Ground Control Station (GCS)

Real-Time Telemetry • Serial Radio Interface • 3D Rocket Visualization

The Ulysses Ground Control Station is a cross-platform telemetry and control application built with Qt 6, designed for UBC Rocket's development and mission operations.
It provides real-time serial communication with RFD900x radio modems, sensor telemetry decoding, 3D visual orientation, system alerts, and modular UI panels optimized for engineering workflows.

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🚀 Features

📡 Dual-Mode Serial Communication

1. Single-Port Mode

• One COM port handles both RX and TX
• Automatic RX pause during TX to prevent echo/loopback issues
• Ideal for bench testing with a single modem

2. Dual-Port Mode

• Dedicated RX and TX ports
• Per-port capabilities:
  • Separate baud settings
  • Periodic command sender (1–200 Hz)
  • Manual send panel
  • Real-time text logging
  • Independent connect/disconnect

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📶 RFD900x Modem Integration

• Automatic scanning of COM ports
• FTDI + CP210x radio-adapter detection
• AT-mode probing (+++ guard sequence)
• OS error reporting displayed in UI
• Prevents assigning same port to both P1 and P2

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📊 Sensor Telemetry Parsing

Incoming telemetry is 14-field CSV: x, y, z, roll, pitch, yaw, pressure, altitude, raw_angle, filtered_angle, velocity, temperature, signal, battery

Decoded into:

• IMU: linear accel (x,y,z) + gyro (roll, pitch, yaw)
• Barometer: pressure, altitude
• Kalman: raw angle, filtered angle
• Telemetry: velocity, temperature, signal, battery

Each value updates QML-bound properties via SensorDataModel.

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🛰️ 3D Rocket Visualization

Built with Qt Quick 3D:

• Real-time orientation driven by IMU data
• Euler rotation mapped for Qt’s Y-up coordinate system
• Axis helper lines
• WASD camera movement
• Clear visualization of rocket tilt/roll

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⚠️ System Alert Classification

Using AlarmReceiver, incoming text is classified into:

• ERROR
• WARNING
• SUCCESS

Displayed visually as alert chips in the System Alert panel.

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🧱 Modular Architecture

Backend (C++)

Component	Description
SerialBridge	Serial I/O layer, port scanning, RX/TX, modem detection
CommandSender	Manual & periodic command transmission
AlarmReceiver	Classifies incoming text messages
SensorDataModel	Parses CSV telemetry, exposes data to QML

Frontend (QML)

File	Purpose
Panel_Control.qml	Serial configuration + TX console
Panel_IMU_Data.qml	IMU vector display
Panel_Baro_And_Telemetry.qml	Pressure, altitude, velocity, temp
Panel_Rocket_Visualization.qml	3D visualization of rocket
Panel_System_Alert.qml	Error/Warning/Success logs
Items/	Reusable UI components

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📁 Project Structure

/ ├── src/ │ ├── SerialBridge.h/.cpp │ ├── CommandSender.h/.cpp │ ├── AlarmReceiver.h/.cpp │ ├── SensorDataModel.h/.cpp │ └── main.cpp │ └── qml/ ├── Panel_Control.qml ├── Panel_IMU_Data.qml ├── Panel_Baro_And_Telemetry.qml ├── Panel_Rocket_Visualization.qml ├── Panel_System_Alert.qml ├── Items/ └── MainWindow.qml

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🧰 Build Instructions

Requirements

• Qt 6.6+ (must include Qt Quick and Qt Quick 3D)
• CMake (Qt Creator recommended)
• Windows / macOS / Linux

Build using Qt Creator

File → Open Project → CMakeLists.txt Configure Kits → Desktop Qt 6.x.x Build → Run

Build using terminal

cmake -B build -S .
cmake --build build
./build/ulysses-ground-control     # or .exe on Windows