Robotics Team 236 Update!

The FIRST Innovation Challenge presented by Qualcomm invites teams to identify a real-world global issue and develop an innovative solution.  This year’s challenge, Identify a problem or opportunity and design a solution to help people (or a community of people) keep, regain, or achieve optimum physical and/or mental health and fitness through active play or movement.

Here is how Team 236 addressed the challenge:
by Team 236 / screenshots by Anna Davis.
​Team 236 is focused on the connection between a healthy environment and a healthy lifestyle. Lyme-Old Lyme and East Lyme High Schools are located in a place of abundant natural beauty, including rural forests, farmland, estuaries, and beaches. Each town has significant green space set aside for preservation and recreation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the team noted increased walking activity but has verified that our local hiking trails are underused, and many people are unaware of this valuable resource. The team is concerned about the environment, both in our backyards and globally, and wants to raise awareness of issues that affect our climate and preservation of our natural resources.
Team 236 recognizes that technology can be used to motivate people to get outdoors and to learn more about their local ecosystems. Using state-of-the-art technology, our team is creating an opportunity to connect our community with our local and world-wide environment through hiking, a physical activity proven to benefit both the mind and body.
By encouraging our community to explore our natural surroundings they will become healthier both physically and mentally, and our environment will gain new protectors which are important to our planet’s and all people’s health.
 
Team 236 is engineering a mobile application and companion cube-sized satellite to motivate people to explore our local hiking trails and engage with the environment. A unique aspect of our project is that the app will work in tandem with the CubeSat to monitor natural resources. This solution provides information about the surroundings including vernal pools and foliage and informs the users about changes in the environment around them.
Our mobile app, Trailight, will allow users to navigate through layers of information about each trail, including location, level of difficulty, interesting features, seasonal plants and wildlife, and more. On the main page, users can choose from a list of all local trails and green spaces and obtain information, points of interest, and trail conditions. Trailight also includes social networking, encouraging users to engage with each other.
Our CubeSat, Satlight, will transmit data on local environmental conditions such as temperature, air quality, and aerial photos. This information will be incorporated into our Trailight app to provide local conditions.
The app, in tandem with our CubeSat, will provide localized information that is currently unavailable for a rich and detailed local trail experience that will connect users with the environment and each other.
 
Working entirely with remote technology, our team gained new collaboration skills, using Zoom, Mac Stadium to remotely access computers, and distributed methodologies for codesharing. The app subteam programs in Apple’s Xcode, uses Figma to sketch and prototype and utilizes Splashtop and Firebase for authentication and data storage.
The CubeSat prototype includes an Arduino controller, air quality and temperature sensors, real-time clock, two cameras, a 915 MHz transceiver, and a LiPo battery, all packaged in a 10cm3 box with GPS tracking. Components are modeled in OnShape and Altium is used to design a PCB. The prototype will be launched via a weather balloon.