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Objectives
The increasing significance of data for our planet’s wellbeing calls for inspiring and innovative educational approaches. This ESA project offers a fantastic opportunity for educators and students to engage with cutting-edge technologies and make a meaningful impact.
Internet of Things (IoT) data plays a larger role in our daily life than just a few years ago and supports the growth of the economy worldwide. At the same time, satellite-based connectivity is transforming society. Therefore, it is paramount that we have a skilled workforce able to implement, use, and further develop the underlying technology. The future of renewable energy, sustainable supply chains, smart farming or climate protection, heavily depends on our capabilities with all things data.
Students in today’s classrooms will be the ones embracing this fourth industrial revolution. To ensure Europe can supply the skilled workforce needed to meet this demand, we must ignite a passion for digital innovation within our schools.
The objective of this ARTES activity is to develop a bespoke satcom IoT solution for educational purposes, providing students with hands-on learning experience in collecting, processing, and transmitting IoT data via satellite networks. This initiative aims to inspire the IoT and satcom experts of the future. In addition to being an intuitive and easy to use framework on its own, the developed components can also be integrated with existing educational kits such as LEGO, Arduino, Micro:bit, and others.
Challenges
School curriculums are evolving to keep pace with the rapid advancements in technology, including IoT and satellite communications. Many countries are enthusiastically embracing the challenge of integrating new technology into classrooms. While teachers may initially feel apprehensive about teaching subjects outside their expertise, this also presents a wonderful opportunity for professional growth and collaboration. With the right support and resources, educators can confidently deliver valuable and engaging lessons in these cutting-edge fields.
The key challenge of this project is to make teachers feel confident in introducing this new technology to the classrooms by providing a solution with curriculum relevant lesson material, teacher guides, easy-to-use interfaces, technical support and has a clear educational value.
System Architecture
The developed solution consists of an IoT Satcom Device, Data Collection and Visualisation Software, an Interactive Host Software, and educational material.
The IoT Satcom Device provides wireless connectivity for educational robot-building kits using satellite and terrestrial IoT networks. In addition to function as an IoT data modem, the device can also function as a standalone IoT device, thanks to its built-in GNSS receiver and sensors for environmental and inertial measurements.
The Data Collection and Visualisation Software is a cloud-based web application that collects, stores and presents IoT data.
The Interactive Host Software collects and visualise real-time sensor data from the IoT Satcom Device.
The educational material is a significant element in the complete solution, as it provides the means to introduce advanced technical concepts to teachers and students via hands-on learning and practical activities. To that end, the educational material includes background material and lesson plans, covering core concepts of space science and technology, such as satellite communications, IoT technologies, and applications demonstrating how to solve real-world problems using innovative space-technology solutions.
Plan
The project scope covers development of the solution and field testing with pilot users with the following milestones:
- February 2025: Critical design choices finalised
- March 2025: Hardware and software design completed
- May 2025: IoT Satcom Devices manufactured
- June 2025: Software and firmware ready for system tests
- July 2025: Educational material ready for field tests
- August-December 2025: Field tests with pilot users
Current Status
The project was kicked-off on 15 January 2025.
At present, a functionally representative breadboard of the IoT Satcom Device is being upgraded to test sensors and various satellite modems.
The conceptual prototype for the Interactive Host Software has been tested on both PCs and Chromebooks.
Several brainstorming sessions with Danish teachers and other stakeholders from the educational sector took place, to define the scope and format for the lesson plans.
