XMOS XC-2 Development Board for Mechanical Control and Data Collection

The scanning microwave limb sounder (SMLS) will use technological improvements in low-noise mixers to provide precise data on the Earth’s atmospheric composition with high spatial resolution. This project focuses on the design and implementation of a real-time control system needed for airborne engineering tests of the SMLS. The system must coordinate the actuation of optical components using four motors with encoder readback, while collecting synchronized telemetric data from a GPS receiver and 3-axis gyrometric system. A graphical user interface for testing the control system was also designed using Python.