ASTT

One repository for the ASTT telescope hardware, firmware, backend, frontend, and project work.

Repository layout

.
├── AGENTS.md
├── agents/          # Prompt template and work-item records
├── hardware/        # Firmware, electronics notes, and hardware tasks
└── software/        # Angular frontend, FastAPI backend, and design files

Read AGENTS.md before starting work. Software details are in software/README.md, and hardware details are in hardware/README.md.

Progress

40 of 80 work items complete. The checklist is the project source of truth. Only mark an item complete after its acceptance criteria have been verified. ASTT-055 is reopened: the EL firmware draft exists, but physical elevation is not complete.

1. Software and backend foundation — 14/16 complete

• ASTT-001 Create the database schema for telescopes, readings, commands, and sources. — Slindile
• ASTT-002 Implement FastAPI CRUD endpoints. — Slindile
• ASTT-003 Add the latest-command endpoint for hardware polling. — Slindile
• ASTT-004 Add the reading-range endpoint for monitoring. — Slindile
• ASTT-005 Support Point and Track command structures. — Sanele
• ASTT-006 Add Angular controls for Point and Track commands. — Sanele
• ASTT-007 Display live hardware readings on the CAM page. — Sanele
• ASTT-008 Add source management for tracking. — Sanele
• ASTT-009 Show Point and Track information on the commands page. — Sanele
• ASTT-010 Stabilize the monitoring graph and live-data filtering. — Sanele
• ASTT-011 Add Keycloak authentication and authorization.
• ASTT-081 Improve command confirmation and keep navigation visible. — Sanele
• ASTT-083 Configure Docker LAN access through an environment file. — Sanele
• ASTT-084 Add a UI stop control that holds the current measured angles. — Software verified; not a physical E-stop
• ASTT-092 Expose one-line reading diagnostics and measured sensor health in all reading views. — Software verified; revised firmware still needs operator upload
• ASTT-085 Test encoder-only AZ control and reject targets outside shared telescope limits. — Sanele

2. Electronics and sensor integration — 10/10 complete

• ASTT-012 Connect the MCU to the backend over Wi-Fi and HTTP. — Sanele
• ASTT-013 POST telescope telemetry and readings. — Sanele
• ASTT-014 GET the latest Point and Track commands. — Sanele
• ASTT-015 Resolve ESP32 and ADC pin conflicts. — Sanele
• ASTT-016 Fix sensor-reading issues and verify basic accuracy. — Sanele
• ASTT-017 Integrate azimuth encoder feedback. — Sanele
• ASTT-018 Integrate magnetometer and true-north measurement. — Sanele
• ASTT-019 Integrate GPS location information. — Sanele
• ASTT-020 Complete the manual Veroboard design. — Failed; archived for reference
• ASTT-082 Build and verify the controller on a small breadboard. — Sanele

3. Motion control — 4/5 complete

• ASTT-021 Assemble the AZ mechanical parts and motor bracket.
• ASTT-022 Complete the AZ motor-driver and control wiring.
• ASTT-023 Update MCU firmware to drive AZ movement.
• ASTT-024 Verify closed-loop AZ movement and encoder feedback.
• ASTT-093 Remove network-induced AZ pauses, raise minimum PWM, and show live measured AZ/device status. — Software verified; supervised motion pending

5. Mechanical integration and enclosure — 2/8 complete

• ASTT-032 Design and print the laser bracket. — Sanele
• ASTT-033 Integrate the ASTT AZ mechanical assembly. — Sanele
• ASTT-034 Repair or reprint the AZ motor and encoder gears. — High
• ASTT-035 Complete the EL mechanical assembly. — Critical
• ASTT-036 Design the top enclosure around the integrated electronics. — Uhone
• ASTT-037 Include mounts for rotating sensors and connectors. — High
• ASTT-038 Print the enclosure and assemble the electronics. — LATER HIGH; follow the agreed ASTT-036/037 design with teammates
• ASTT-039 Verify movement does not strain or entangle power cables. — Critical

6. Calibration and subsystem qualification — 3/12 complete

• ASTT-040 Establish the true-north reference. — Sanele
• ASTT-041 Establish the telescope GPS location. — Sanele
• ASTT-042 Determine the zero-degree elevation reference. — Critical
• ASTT-043 Establish the manual AZ encoder reference. — Done for the manual demo; operator confirms 0° at midpoint, 90° right and 275° left. Quantitative accuracy/calibration remains ASTT-046/047/049
• ASTT-044 Integrate and calibrate the EL encoder and reference angle. — CRITICAL; model and wiring still to confirm
• ASTT-045 Calibrate motor direction, PWM, deadband, and stopping for both axes. — Critical
• ASTT-046 Qualify encoder accuracy and repeatability. — High
• ASTT-047 Qualify magnetometer and heading measurements. — LATER HIGH; automatic referencing deferred
• ASTT-048 Qualify the GPS subsystem. — Medium
• ASTT-049 Qualify the AZ motion subsystem independently. — Critical
• ASTT-050 Qualify the EL motion subsystem independently. — CRITICAL; physical connection/calibration under ASTT-055/044 first
• ASTT-051 Qualify the E-stop and motion limits. — Critical

7. Full-system Point and Track integration — 5/8 complete

• ASTT-052 Send Point commands from GUI to backend to hardware. — Sanele
• ASTT-053 Send Track commands from GUI to backend to hardware. — Sanele
• ASTT-054 Calculate source-based AZ targets. — Sanele
• ASTT-055 Connect and verify physical EL movement without breaking AZ Point. — CRITICAL; reopened; wiring, calibration, and bench verification pending
• ASTT-056 Complete continuous Track mode with physical AZ and EL movement. — Critical
• ASTT-057 Return actual AZ, EL, and sensor telemetry during movement. — Critical
• ASTT-058 Display live movement and telemetry in the GUI. — High
• ASTT-059 Test source to command to movement to feedback end to end. — Critical

8. Experimental validation — 0/9 complete

• ASTT-060 Define a repeatable AZ/EL test procedure and reference. — Critical
• ASTT-061 Test targets across the usable AZ/EL range. — Critical
• ASTT-062 Record desired and actual AZ/EL values. — Critical
• ASTT-063 Repeat targets from both directions to measure backlash. — High
• ASTT-064 Calculate angular error and repeatability. — High
• ASTT-065 Plot desired position, actual position, and error. — High
• ASTT-066 Run Point-mode qualification tests. — Critical
• ASTT-067 Run an extended Track-mode qualification. — Critical
• ASTT-068 Record final accuracy, limitations, and failure cases. — High

9. Documentation and delivery — 2/12 complete

• ASTT-069 Draft the AZ subsystem documentation. — Sanele
• ASTT-070 Add the whole-system architecture diagram. — High
• ASTT-071 Document component and breadboard design decisions. — Medium
• ASTT-072 Update wiring and enclosure diagrams to match the final hardware. — High
• ASTT-073 Document AZ/EL control and Point/Track flow. — High
• ASTT-074 Add qualification and experimental results. — Critical
• ASTT-075 Merge contributions into the main ASTT document. — High
• ASTT-076 Build one whole-system presentation. — Critical
• ASTT-077 Prepare and assign the 15-minute presentation script. — Critical
• ASTT-078 Prepare a five-minute integrated Point and Track demo. — Critical
• ASTT-079 Rehearse the demo and prepare a fallback recording or dataset. — High
• ASTT-080 Combine hardware and software into one agent-ready repository. — Sanele

Immediate order

ASTT-043 now uses manual initial alignment. The operator confirms both raw AZ stops (137.8°, 37.8°) and clockwise 1:1 mapping. Their permitted-arc midpoint is 267.8°, used as configurable encoderAtNorth; the fixed offset is 92.2°. Manually place AZ at that midpoint, level the base and turn the base to align the pointing direction with true north before sending a fresh command. No centring, zeroing or old-command replay runs at startup. Per the latest operator decision there is no additional UI/Serial alignment-confirmation gate; the firmware assumes alignment and cannot detect repositioning. Stop and repeat alignment after moving the base. This does not establish absolute accuracy. The operator reports successful physical Point tests at 0° (midpoint), 90° (right) and 275° (left), and accepts the manual-reference task as complete. This functional result is not a measured error tolerance or full qualification.

The working compass initialization/retry/continuous reads are integrated as diagnostics only in manual mode. Missing compass/declination cannot block manual Point; celestial Track still requires real UTC. Raw travel checks, E-stop, timeouts, source math, networking and command-ID protections remain. Automatic magnetic referencing stays deferred under ASTT-047. ASTT-092 adds a shared Serial/API diagnostic snapshot and Show more in reading views. ASTT is running on 8000/4200 after the user-approved auto-scheduler app stop; upload the revised .ino once to populate the new reading diagnostic field. ASTT-093 moves HTTP to an ESP32 worker so feedback/E-stop checks continue during requests and raises AZ minimum PWM from 140 to 210. Its former live-compass AZ telemetry is superseded by encoder-derived AZ in manual mode. Telescopes uses latest-reading health and Last seen; stale devices have gray rows without an Offline label. Smoothness, higher-power stopping and E-stop timing still require supervised hardware checks; nothing was flashed or committed.

Next is ASTT-055 elevation. The operator confirms 0–90° travel and channel-B wiring, and now describes the MPU on the back of the moving dish with +Y up. Confirm the actual MPU address/count and readings at known elevations before choosing its tilt formula; that mounting must not be guessed from the older two-MPU draft. Raw/stale-feedback safeguards and independent stopping checks remain pending under ASTT-055/050. Combined demo qualification remains ASTT-078. A completed Point must stay stopped until a fresh command. Permanent mounting and enclosure under ASTT-036/037/038 are LATER HIGH, coordinated with teammates. Keycloak and cosmetic frontend work stay at the end.