Transportable Solar-Powered METAR Station

Hi everyone! I'm currently a junior at University of Michigan studying mechanical engineering and computer science, and this was one of my projects recently, so I thought it would be an interesting project to broadcast my steps and thought process. This project was not made with Autodesk sadly, as I am not developed in that category, I used Onshape. In this application, for the make it move contest, this project has a rotatable mount that allows the solar panels to rotate positions, based on the location of the sun.

The project was brainstormed from the increasing use of environmental and humanitarian impact teams, in addition to the rising uses of flights around the world. A lot of these places where planes fly to, they don't have proper runways, or an accurate measurement system of the surrounding weather. We wanted a device that would measure specific weather attributes, such as pressure, wind speed, and temperature, make it small enough to be storable and transportable, and finally, make it relatively cheap.

The device takes all this information in, using various wired Arduino components, and is built with a 3D printed shell, in addition to using 2 9 volt solar panels to provide replenishable power, and outputs a METAR response (Meteorological Terminal Air Report), which pilots and air traffic controllers can read.

Complete List of Supplies

1. 3D Printing Filament (We chose black colored filament, I will go through later on why this is not a good color.)
2. 2 9 Volt solar panels
3. Liquid Crystal Display Arduino (LCD) screen
4. Arduino Wires
5. 3 PVC Pipes
6. 2 Completed PVC Connectors (When I say 'completed', I mean PVC connectors that are in pairs)
7. Metal Cord
8. Temperature Sensor
9. Pressure Sensor

Machines Needed:

1. 3D Printer (I've never tested this in a resin print, be wary as this device will be outside for long periods of time)
2. Drill
3. Manual or electric saw

My team wasn't handed this idea or given a simple prompt, we wanted to find a current, everyday issue that we could solve using code, electronics, and solar panels. Our idea was to create a simple model and prototype of a device that could be transportable, powered by solar panels, and would deliver a METAR response (METAR is basically something pilots use to determine risk and whether or not they can fly/land in the area).

I've been using CAD software such as Onshape, AutoCAD, and Solidworks for the past six years, and this made it fairly easy to get a good representation of what we wanted our design to look like. I'm not sure the exact order the images will go in, so I'll describe the pictures by their features.

The box with the yellow flaps on the side would be our electronic housing, the pressure and temperature sensors would go in that box, and the solar panels would be attached to the angled sides of the yellow pieces. This would be at a 45 degree angle, something which we deemed suitable enough for such a simplified design. The mounting holes on the top would be in charge of holding the anemometer (device that measures wind speed) in place. In addition, at the bottom of the box, there is a hole inset into the structure to allow a PVC pipe to slide on to hold the top structure in place.

Secondly, the tripod will be responsible for collapsing and holding up the structure, we wanted something that would be small and compact, making this ideal for bringing anywhere around the world relatively easy. The entire device can split into three separate segments, making it able to be taken up or down within 5 minutes. This tripod has a rotatable stacked gear orientation, which enables the entire upper portion of the design to rotate with a servo, based on the positioning of the sun.

Finally, the third picture, shows the control box, where the housing switch would be located, and the LCD (liquid crystal display), would be set into the box, and this would display the actual METAR response values.

This was one of the most rigorous and time-intensive parts of the project, as I did not know much about electronics and coding in this aspect, so it was a steep learning curve compared to the construction of the CAD model. In the end, a simple circuit was made, with a 9 volt battery being used as a stand-in for a rechargeable battery, and our three different sensors being soldered into the circuit.

Now that the entire project is done, take some time to think about various aspects; what could you have done better? Are there more impactful or less expensive pieces of equipment that would have made the entire process easier and more streamlined? Nothing is ever perfect, and that is the beauty of engineering in general, everything can be made better, no matter how good one thinks it is.

Thanks for taking the time to read the instructable!