Welcome to the TeslaScythe project — a cutting-edge ambient energy harvesting system designed for spacecraft and high-reliability applications. This README provides comprehensive build, deployment, and operational details to ensure full clarity and professional usability.
📦 Project Scope
- Goal: Harvest ambient energy sources inside a spacecraft cabin or technical bay
- Dimensions: 3 ft × 2 ft × 2 ft
- Output Objective: Continuous power feed or 200Wh/day storage
- Deployment: Internal-only; no moving parts; radiation-tolerant and safe
🧩 Core Subsystems
- RF Antenna Grid: Fractal antenna arrays capturing 100 kHz to 5 GHz RF energy
- Signal Rectifier + Smart Matching: Wideband Schottky rectifiers with adaptive impedance tuning
- Power Combiner Bus: Aggregates energy from RF, thermal, vibration, and radiation harvesters
- TEG Array: Thermoelectric generators converting heat gradients to electricity
- Voltage Stabilizer: Ultra-low dropout regulators and MPPT DC-DC controllers for smooth output
- Graphene Buffer: High-rate graphene supercapacitor bank for transient buffering
- Li-Si Battery Bank: Solid-state lithium-silicon batteries for primary energy storage
- Vibration MEMS: Piezoelectric arrays tuned to environmental vibrations (~60–120 Hz)
- Radiation Layer: Betavoltaic cells capturing ionization energy in orbit/high-altitude environments
- Casimir Cells: Quantum vacuum energy harvesters for supplemental charge maintenance
- Power Bus Regulator: Buck/boost, MPPT, and load balancing controlled by MCU with diagnostics
🛠️ Firmware Build & Deployment
- Build Environment:
- Compatible with GCC toolchains targeting AVR, STM32, MSP430 MCUs
- Source files in
/firmware/src/with headers in/firmware/include/
- Configuration:
config.hdefines all pin assignments, fault thresholds, UART baud rates, and enabled features- Easily customizable parameters for ADC inputs, telemetry toggling, and protection settings
- Flashing:
- Use ISP, JTAG, or bootloader method specific to your MCU
- Examples:
- AVR:
avrdude -c usbtiny -p m328p -U flash:w:main.hex - STM32: ST-Link or DFU tools
- MSP430: mspdebug or Code Composer Studio
- AVR:
- Telemetry:
- CSV format output via UART, enabling easy serial monitoring and data parsing
- Sample output:
VBAT,VOUT,IBAT,TEMP_BATT,TEMP_REG 3.74,2.90,0.13,36.2,40.7
- Safety Features:
- Overvoltage, undervoltage detection
- Temperature monitoring of battery and regulators
- Automatic shutdown and restart upon fault recovery
- Controlled via firmware flags like
ENABLE_FAULT_PROTECTION
📡 Telemetry & Monitoring
- Real-time diagnostics implemented in MCU firmware
- Data includes battery voltage, current, regulator voltages, temperatures, and fault status
- Firmware supports OTA updates through a secure bootloader interface
🔧 Hardware Documentation
- Detailed schematics, pinouts, and component lists located in
/circuits/ - Modular design with MIL-Spec connectors and star grounding to minimize interference
- Designed for radiation tolerance and extreme temperature ranges (-50°C to +120°C)
- This system is a prototype for research and development; all components chosen for spaceflight viability or equivalent lab-grade testing
- PCB layouts and manufacturing files are to be added and updated in
/boards/ - Simulation files and proof-of-concept demos will be included in future releases
Thank you for exploring TeslaScythe. I welcome collaboration and feedback to push spaceflight energy harvesting technology forward!
Last updated: 2025-05-15