Minmus Flight Computer

Research Portfolio | August 2023 - Ongoing

FreeRTOS ESP32 PCB Design I2C BLDC Control Embedded C

Embedded Systems Architecture

Real-Time Operating System

Developed firmware on the FreeRTOS kernel running on ESP32 microcontrollers, enabling deterministic task scheduling and efficient resource management for time-critical flight control operations.

Distributed Processing Architecture

Engineered a custom I2C communication protocol connecting three ESP32 boards: a main flight controller handling sensor fusion and two auxiliary BLDC motor driver boards. Achieved zero dropped packets during flight operations through robust error handling and timing synchronization.

High-Speed Motor Control

Implemented a 32kHz interrupt service routine (ISR) for precision BLDC motor control, generating sinusoidal pulse-width modulation signals for smooth, efficient motor commutation with minimal torque ripple.

Flight Data Logging

Designed a rotating buffer system for SD card data logging, ensuring continuous high-frequency telemetry capture without blocking critical flight control tasks or risking data loss during write operations.

Description

Minmus is a series of custom-printed circuit boards that I designed to replace the hassle of wiring on my different projects. These boards started as simple breakout boards and gradually evolved into multi-layer boards with special power, impedance, and signal integrity considerations.