Role
Satellite Developer & App Designer
Tools
Figma, Sketch, Protopie, Miro
Focus
Mobile UI/UX, Data Visualization
Duration
Jan - May 2022
Results
65% Time Reduction
Abstract Lab
@ Carnegie Mellon University
Enter the Portal NanoSat: A mobile application to centralize monitoring, testing, and optimization of nano-satellite operations. Does it sound super unique?
How often do you hear about an app made for satellites?
And also something that is made for in-house testing and use? This is one such times!
Make, Bake, not a Cake
So yes, it wasn't a cake walk. I had to learn the art of PCB design, soldering (which also included infrared baking), and testing, before I could properly design the app. At a glance, some of the highlights of this project are:
PCB Design and Soldering
What good is the app if the test subject is missing? So this was the first step, to create the satellite itself. Getting the subsystem boards ready and integrated was the first task at hand.
All Subsystems Go for Launch
The Satellite was now ready, to be tested in and out. All that was left was to make a mobile app to systematize this testing procedure. Although before I could do that, I had to understand the testing process completely.
App Interface
As usual Figma to rescue, I designed the app interface to be as user friendly as possible. The main reason for going with a mobile app for testing was to monitor the satellite remotely. The team had bigger plans.
Testing and Monitoring
Now that we had a super easy and quick way to interact with the satellite testing process, it was time to play around with the data. The team now had more freedom and flexibility to test the satellite in different ways.