Virtual Lab 7: Martian Rescue

By: Steve Badelt and Daniel D. Stancil

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA

Purpose:
• Control the operation of a reversible motor drive for a camera
• Capture video remotely
• Add program documentation and create reports

Equipment:
• HP 34401A Multimeter
• HP 54601A Oscilloscope with HP 54657A Measurement/Storage Module
• HP 8116A Pulse/Function Generator or HP 33120A Function/Arb Generator
• HP 6236B Triple-output Power Supply
• Connectix Video Camera
• Intel 100MHz Pentium computer, 32MB Ram with HPIB Card
• HP VEE for Windows software, Version 3.2
• Timbuktu (remote access) software
• QuickPICT software
• Text: Robert Helsel, “Graphical Programming: A Tutorial for HP VEE”, Prentice Hall, 1995
• HP VEE executable file

Introduction:
During the Viking 1 and 2 missions to Mars, the orbiters took extensive photographs of the
surface of the planet. Subsequent careful analysis of these photographs revealed several
clusters of objects that looked sufficiently different from the other Martian features that
some suspected that they may not be of natural origin. However, the orbiting photographs
were not of high enough resolution to clearly determine the nature of the objects. To
follow up on this possibility, the Viking 3 spacecraft has recently made a successful
landing near one of these clusters. The lander is equipped with a video camera to take
close-up pictures of the objects. However, shortly after landing, a failure was detected in
the driver circuitry that controls the left-to-right motion of the camera. It is crucial for the
mission to find some “fix” using available instrumentation to restore the motion of the
camera. After making the camera operational again, you must scan the video images from
the lander and determine if there is any evidence of life.

The camera motor drive requires a +4 V signal to pan right, and a -3 V signal to pan left.
The voltage should be set to 0 to stop and remain in a given position. Although the circuit
that generates these voltages has failed, a D/A module associated with another experiment
is able to generate the required voltages and is available for use with the motor at times
when the other experiment is not in progress. In addition, a system voltmeter was included
on the spacecraft to assist in monitoring various critical voltage points. This voltmeter can
be used to monitor the voltage applied to the motor drive. The circuit diagram of the
motor drive and the connections to the substitute instrumentation are shown below.
 + +5V
Voltmeter
(multimeter)
2N3904
33Ω
+
D/A Mot
(Function
generator)
2N3906

-5V

Procedure:

Part 1: Construct a Virtual Motor Controller

Design and construct a virtual motor controller using the multimeter and function generator.
The panel view of the instrument should have two items: a set of “radio buttons” for motion
control labelled, “Right,” “Stop,” and “Left;” and an indicator displaying the voltage applied to
the driver circuit. The panel should be sized so that it takes up no more than half the screen.
(The other half of the screen will be needed for the video window.) When the “Right” button is
pushed, +4 V should be applied to the motor until the “Stop” button is pressed. Similarly, when
the “Left” button is pressed, -3 V should be applied to the motor until the “Stop” button is
pressed. Debug your program using the meter to check the voltage, since only one motor
assembly and camera are available. When your program is working, you may test it by remotely
connecting to a machine in the lab to which the test camera assembly is connected. (Hint: The
voltage produced by the function generator is not always that specified, but depends on the
load resistance. Do you expect the load resistance in this case to be large or small compared to
50 Ω? How will this affect the voltage to which the function generator should be set?)

Part 2: Program Documentation

In every object menu, there is an entry called Edit Description. When this is selected, a
text window is opened that allows you to enter a description and/or comments explaining the
function of the object. You must make an entry for every object in your program. The descrip-
tion will naturally be longer for more complex objects (e.g., userobjects), but it must be at
least one sentence for every object.
Another object useful for documenting programs is the display→Note Pad object. These
can be located at various points throughout your program to provide additional comments or
explanations about program operation and flow. You must use at least two notepad objects to
help explain the operation of the program in the detail view.
Finally, you must create a text document describing your program using the veedoc command.
Follow the steps below to automatically generate this document (see pp. 2-13 through 2-15 in the
text):
1. Go to a DOS window under MS Windows
2. From the WINDOWS directory, type cd .. then enter cd\vee3 at the prompt to change to
the HP VEE home directory
3. To print the document to the screen, enter veedoc C:\path\filename.vee, where
filename.vee is the name of the file that holds your program, and path is the complete
path to the file.
4. To save the veedoc output, enter veedoc C:\path\filename.vee >
C:\path\filename.txt

Part 3: Capturing Video and Solving the Mystery

The image from the camera can be viewed using the QuickPict application in the Connectix
QuickCam folder. This application opens a small window that can be placed alongside the
panel from your motor control program. The image will not be updated when the window is
not active, so you will need to click in the HP VEE window, move the camera, stop the camera,
then click back on the QuickCam window to see the new image. Use your program to scan the
view from the lander to see if you can discover any evidence of life. If you find an image that
gives evidence of life, capture the image to be included in your report. To avoid tangling the
connecting cable, be careful not to rotate the camera more than a half turn in either direc-
tion before turning it back to its orginal position.
To capture an image using a remote PC, press the “Print Scrn” button on the keyboard. This
copies the screen to the clipboard. You can then open a paint or word processing application
and paste it in place. You can edit or crop the picture with your application.
To capture an image using a remote Macintosh, click on the camera-shaped icon in the left
margin of the Timbuktu window. This copies the screen to the clipboard. You can then open an
application and paste/crop as before.

Part 4: The Report

You must turn in a written report that has the following sections:

1. Cover page

This page must have the lab number and title, your name(s), course number and title,
semester and year, department (Electrical and Computer Engineering), and university
(Carnegie Mellon University!!).

2. Introduction (begin on next page)

Give some background on the problem. You may draw from the material in this lab
handout, but you are also free to embellish as you are inspired. Conclude with summariz-
ing what is in each section of your report. Point out the software that you are using to
solve the problem (HP VEE and Timbuktu).

3. Program Description

Organize your program so that the functional blocks can all be seen at once on the HP VEE
screen (use UserObjects as necessary to simplify the highest level view). Capture the
HP VEE screen and use this as a figure in your report. Add a description with words
(a few paragraphs) explaining how the program works and referring to the major objects
in the figure. Refer to the program documentation generated by veedoc and include this
documentation as an Appendix (see below).

4. Experimental Observations

Describe your remote observations. Include the date and time of the observations, and the
remote machine or location from which you accessed the experiment. Capture the screen
showing your program panel and the video image that you think sheds the most light on
the question of the evidence for intelligent life on Mars, and include this as a figure.
Comment on the significance of your observation.
5. Summary and Conclusions

Briefly summarize the original problem, the solution addressing the problem (design of a
virtual motor controller), and the conclusions from the observations.

6. Appendix

Include a listing of the documentation generated with the veedoc command as an appen-
dix. This documentation must include at least one sentence for every object.

Part 5: Grading

As indicated in the Course Syllabus, this lab is worth 3 points. The points will be distributed as
follows:

Working program meeting the specifications: 1 pts

Report 2 pts

Total 3 pts

Lab Logistics:
The video camera and driver will be set up on machine B during lab periods on Nov. 1 and
Nov. 8. You should debug your program locally. When you are ready for a test, you may
transfer your program to machine B and try it out with the camera. The camera will be set
up for observations (also on machine B) between 5:00 pm Friday and Noon the following
Monday on the following weekends: Nov. 2-3, Nov. 9-10. Reports will be due Friday, Nov. 15.

You should be able to:

Demonstrate your test program with the test camera in the lab. The program should have
the following features:
• Radio buttons for Right, Stop, and Left
• An indicator for the motor voltage
• Panel should take up no more than half the screen

Present a report conforming to the format specified above.