The ManhattanMapper is a custom built mapping device used to measure network coverage from a car driving around New York City. It was constructed using Adafruit Feather boards with software written for the Arduino framework. The following describes the process of building the device and discusses the hardware and software involved.
The Things Network New York is one of 600 communities around the world collaborating to build a free and open LoRaWAN network that is owned and operated by its users. The first city covered by TTN was Amsterdam – it took 10 gateways to establish complete network coverage. With a city as large, dense, and tall as New York, it will take a few hundred gateways. How many will it take, exactly? We don’t know. Therefore, the process is going to be iterative – we deploy some gateways, measure the coverage, plan how to most efficiently fill in the gaps, and repeat.
Right now (June 2018) there are fewer than 20 gateways deployed around the city, many without rooftop antennas. Any new gateway not immediately next to an existing one will expand the coverage significantly.
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
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