Rounded Corners, I2C, and more!

Hardware

Today, I exposed I2C for expansion modules. Currently, I only plan to support GPS, Cryptographic Acceleration, and AQ Sensing, but you’re welcome to implement your own. I still have to verify the hardware to make sure it’s the best it can be, and then I’ll move on to the CAD for the case. Honestly, I’m really excited to start using FEA and other stuff for the design.

For

Software

I never really thought about how tight of a fit 3kb of RAM and 32kb of flash is until I tried compiling my program with all the libraries. I’m not gonna lie, I used AI to optimize. Anyways, I got the RAM and flash usage pretty low, so writing the rest is gonna be a breeze.

So far I’ve implemented the:

• Config structure
• GPS initialization
• Cryptographic acceleration initialization

To be implemented (in this order)

• AQ sensor initialization
• Debug mode
• The main loop (a big one)
• Flood relay functionality
• Any optimizations necessary

Honestly, this project’s flexibility enables tons of possibilities, and I want to make the best firmware that I can.

Architecture

Basically, this thing is a mini relay/GPS tracker/Commlink. With the hardware, there are tons of possibilities. For one, you could flood relay communications, or even attach an external module to send text messages! This module can truly be anything.

A basic architecture diagram is attached in this post.

Conclusion

This is coming along pretty well, and I hope I can finish this up by the start of August. Thanks you for all your support!

PS: I made a Trello board to track my progress, don’t mess with anything please: https://trello.com/invite/b/6a67d2a116633f723e29757a/ATTI45aaea3b451149421603f40ca402ff3c79AEE3B5/vanguard-project-task-tracker.