HARDWARE DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC TAG FOR MARINE WILDLIFE A Master's Thesis

134 Pages·2017·5.45 MB·English

HARDWARE DESIGN OF AN ELECTRONIC TAG FOR
MARINE WILDLIFE

A Master's Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of the
Escola Tècnica d'Enginyeria de Telecomunicació de
Barcelona
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
by
Javier Vallés Tomàs

In partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING

Advisor: Miguel J. García Hernández

Barcelona, October 2017
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Title of the thesis: Hardware Design of an Electronic Tag for Marine Wildlife.

Author: Javier Vallés Tomàs.

Advisor: Miguel J. García Hernández.

Abstract
This thesis is a summary of the process of design of the hardware and firmware associated
of an electronic tracking tag for marine wildlife. It includes the aspects of analysing the tags
already existing and its main features. Then, proposing a design that fulfils the
requirements of these devices. Assemble a first prototype, designing the PCB previously
and test its functionality using the firmware designed for the tasks it has to perform as a
real product. Finally, proposing a second version of the hardware, attempting to provide a
final solution that can be used in a next stage of the project of designing a completely
functional electronic tag.

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To Laura and my parents for always being there.

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Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Miguel for helping me through all the process and every stage. I have
learnt a lot thanks to you. Thanks also to Oliver for teaching me how to solder and unsolder
SMD properly. Would not have figured it out alone.

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Revision history and approval record
Revision Date Purpose
0 08/09/2017 Document creation
1 13/10/2017 Document revision
2 17/10/2017 Document revision

Written by: Reviewed and approved by:
Date 10/10/2017 Date 17/10/2017
Name Javier Vallés Tomàs Name Miguel J. García Hernández
Position Project Author Position Project Supervisor

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Table of contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................ 1
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 3
Revision history and approval record ................................................................................ 4
Table of contents .............................................................................................................. 5
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... 8
List of Tables .................................................................................................................. 11
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 12
1.1. Statement of Purpose ....................................................................................... 12
1.2. Requirements and specifications ...................................................................... 13
1.2.1. Project Requirements ................................................................................ 13
1.2.2. Project Specifications ................................................................................ 13
1.3. Work Plan ......................................................................................................... 13
1.4. Eventualities ..................................................................................................... 18
2. State of the art of the technology used or applied in this thesis ................................ 19
2.1. Tag Market ....................................................................................................... 19
2.1.1. MiniPAT-348A ........................................................................................... 19
2.1.2. SeaTag S.A.M. .......................................................................................... 21
2.2. Light-based Geolocation ................................................................................... 22
2.3. Electronics ........................................................................................................ 25
3. Methodology / project development. ........................................................................ 27
3.1. Mechanical Design ........................................................................................... 27
3.1.1. PCB Characteristics .................................................................................. 28
3.1.2. Battery Pack and Pressure Sensor ............................................................ 29
3.1.3. Ejection System ......................................................................................... 30
3.2. Electric Schematic Design ................................................................................ 31
3.2.1. Microcontroller ........................................................................................... 32
3.2.2. Power Management .................................................................................. 34
3.2.2.1. Photovoltaic Energy ................................................................................ 35
3.2.2.2. Battery Charger System .......................................................................... 37
3.2.2.3. Battery Fuel Gauge ................................................................................. 39
3.2.2.4. Thermistor ............................................................................................... 40
3.2.3. Power Storage ........................................................................................... 42
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3.2.4. Power Supply ............................................................................................ 43
3.2.5. Sensors ..................................................................................................... 46
3.2.5.1. Luminosity Sensor ................................................................................... 46
3.2.5.2. Temperature Sensor ............................................................................... 48
3.2.5.3. Magnetic Field Sensor ............................................................................. 49
3.2.5.4. Pressure Sensor ..................................................................................... 50
3.2.5.5. Salinity/Conductivity Sensor .................................................................... 53
3.2.6. Memory ..................................................................................................... 55
3.2.7. Local Communications .............................................................................. 56
3.2.8. Satellite Communications .......................................................................... 58
3.2.9. Ejection ..................................................................................................... 59
3.3. Printed Circuit Board Design ............................................................................ 60
3.4. Firmware Design .............................................................................................. 63
3.4.1. Bluetooth Mode ......................................................................................... 66
3.4.2. Acquisition Mode ....................................................................................... 70
3.4.3. Ejection Mode ............................................................................................ 71
3.4.4. Satellite Communications Mode ................................................................ 72
3.5. Consumption and Power Analysis .................................................................... 74
3.6. Test Implementation ......................................................................................... 76
4. Results .................................................................................................................... 77
4.1. Power Management Results ............................................................................. 77
4.2. Power Storage and Supply Results .................................................................. 77
4.3. Sensors Results ............................................................................................... 77
4.3.1. Luminosity Sensor ..................................................................................... 78
4.3.2. Temperature Sensor .................................................................................. 78
4.3.3. Magnetic Field Sensor ............................................................................... 78
4.3.4. Pressure Sensor ........................................................................................ 79
4.3.5. Salinity/Conductivity Sensor ...................................................................... 80
4.4. Memory Results ............................................................................................... 81
4.5. Local Communications Results ......................................................................... 81
4.6. Ejection System Results ................................................................................... 82
4.7. Firmware Results.............................................................................................. 82
5. Budget ..................................................................................................................... 83
6. Environment Impact ................................................................................................. 86
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7. Conclusions and future development ....................................................................... 87
7.1. Future Work ...................................................................................................... 88
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 89
Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 91
Appendix A. Circuit Schematic ........................................................................................ 91
Appendix B. PCB Specifications (Seeed Studio) ............................................................. 99
Appendix C. PCB Layout Layers .................................................................................. 108
Appendix D. Complete Firmware of the Project ............................................................ 112
Appendix E. Pressure Sensor Conditioning Circuit ....................................................... 113
Appendix F. Corrosion Experiment ............................................................................... 119
Appendix G. Bluetooth Mode Protocol .......................................................................... 122
Appendix H. Acquisition Power Consumption Analysis ................................................. 127
Glossary ....................................................................................................................... 130

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List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Gantt Diagram. .............................................................................................. 17
Figure 2.1 MiniPAT 3D Model. ........................................................................................ 20
Figure 2.2 MiniPAT PC Interface Messages Window. ..................................................... 21
Figure 2.3 SeaTag LOT Picture. ..................................................................................... 22
Figure 2.4 Ambient Light Profile (4 days). ....................................................................... 23
Figure 2.5 Mean Sunrise Threshold. ............................................................................... 23
Figure 2.6 Surface Temperature in a Sector of the Pacific Ocean................................... 24
Figure 2.7 US/UK World Magnetic Model - Epoch 2015.0. ............................................. 25
Figure 3.1 Block Distribution in the Tag. ......................................................................... 27
Figure 3.2 Measurements of the PCB Board. ................................................................. 28
Figure 3.3 Base Connector for the Battery Pack and Pressure Sensor. .......................... 29
Figure 3.4 Battery Pack and Pressure Sensor. ............................................................... 29
Figure 3.5 Ejection System Structure. ............................................................................. 31
Figure 3.6. Side drawing of the PIC24FJ128GB204 microcontroller. .............................. 33
Figure 3.7. Typical Connection of the ICD3. ................................................................... 33
Figure 3.8 Tag-Connect Special Connector Cable. ......................................................... 34
Figure 3.9 Pin-out for Tag Connect Connector................................................................ 34
Figure 3.10. Non-rechargeable Battery. .......................................................................... 35
Figure 3.11 Rechargeable Battery Cell. .......................................................................... 35
Figure 3.12 Flexible Solar Cell layout. ............................................................................ 36
Figure 3.13 Battery Charger System Implementation. ..................................................... 37
Figure 3.14 Solar Cell IV Curve. ..................................................................................... 38
Figure 3.15 Detail of the Battery Charger Interruption (BatChar) in the Microcontroller pins.
....................................................................................................................................... 39
Figure 3.16 Fuel Gauge IC Implementation Circuit ......................................................... 39
Figure 3.17 LTC4070 example of how the Thermistor is driven and measured. .............. 41
Figure 3.18 NTC Driver Circuit. ....................................................................................... 41
Figure 3.19 Bed Type NTC Thermistor. .......................................................................... 42
Figure 3.20 Set of Regulators used in the circuit ............................................................. 43
Figure 3.21 Typical curve of a LDO Voltage Regulator (note the values are representative
and not the actual TPS780 values). ................................................................................ 44
Figure 3.22 TPS78001 Dropout Voltage vs Output Current. ........................................... 45
Figure 3.23 TPS780330220 Dropout Voltage vs Output Current. ................................... 45
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