Takeoff Echo-Ring Simulation

Overview

The Takeoff Echo-Ring Simulation project simulates and visualizes the communication between a base station, drone, and rover using MQTT messaging and RSSI-based logic in 3D space. The system features a modern web-based 3D GUI, real-time telemetry, and is ready for integration with monitoring tools like Grafana.

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Project Structure

takeoff_echoring_simulation/
├── scripts/
│   ├── main.py                # Unified launcher for all nodes and UI
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── config.yaml        # Central YAML config (3D base position, etc.)
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── app.py             # Flask web UI (3D visualization)
│   │   ├── ui_utils.py        # MQTT bridge for Flask
│   │   └── templates/
│   │       └── index.html     # 3D Three.js GUI (Z-up, tick marks, labels)
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── mqtt_client.py     # MQTT client wrapper
│   │   └── process_data.py    # RSSI matrix & drone placement logic (3D)
│   ├── nodes/
│   │   ├── base_station_node.py
│   │   ├── drone_node.py
│   │   └── rover_node.py
│   └── utils/
│       ├── network_sim.py     # Core RF/RSSI simulation logic (3D)
│       └── message_formats.py # Standardized MQTT message builder
├── requirements.txt
└── README.md

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Features & Updates

• 3D Simulation: All position logic, RSSI, and visualization now operate in full 3D (X, Y, Z).
• Configurable Base Position: config.yaml defines the base station's position in 3D; this is reflected everywhere, including the web UI.
• Modern 3D Web GUI:
  • Built with Three.js, Z-up (blue axis up), Y into the screen, X right.
  • Numeric tick marks every 10 m on the grid.
  • Name labels for all markers (Base, Drone, Rover).
  • Dark mode grid/label colors auto-adjust with system theme.
  • Click or drag to place the rover on the ground plane.
• Unified Launcher: scripts/main.py launches all nodes and the UI in one command, with colored log prefixes.
• MQTT-Driven: All telemetry and commands flow via MQTT topics.
• Flask-SocketIO Bridge: Real-time updates between backend and frontend.
• Grafana-Ready: Designed for easy integration with Grafana dashboards via MQTT→Telegraf→InfluxDB pipeline (see below).
• Extensible: Add new nodes, topics, or visualization features with minimal changes.

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Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd takeoff_echoring_simulation

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. (Optional) Install system dependencies for Grafana/InfluxDB/Telegraf if you want monitoring.

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Configuration

Edit scripts/config/config.yaml to set:

• Base station position (base_position: x, y, z)
• Drone constraints (drone_max_distance, drone_min_ground_clearance)
• RF parameters (rssi_threshold, path_loss_exponent, etc.)

All nodes and the web UI will use these values automatically.

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Usage

To launch the full simulation (nodes + UI):

python scripts/main.py

• This starts the base station, drone, and Flask 3D web UI.
• Open http://localhost:5000 in your browser.

To run headless (no web UI, e.g. for CI):

python scripts/main.py --headless

To run nodes individually (advanced):

python scripts/nodes/base_station_node.py
python scripts/nodes/drone_node.py
python scripts/nodes/rover_node.py
python scripts/app/app.py

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3D Web Visualization

• Click on the ground grid to place the rover.
• Drag the rover with the gizmo (locked to ground).
• Live telemetry for drone and rover is shown in real time.
• Base station position is always synced with config.
• Grid and labels adapt to dark/light mode automatically.

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Grafana Integration (Monitoring/Analytics)

To visualize MQTT telemetry in Grafana:

1. Install Grafana, InfluxDB, and Telegraf (see their docs).
2. Configure Telegraf to subscribe to your MQTT topics (e.g. drone/telemetry, rover/telemetry) and write to InfluxDB.
3. Add InfluxDB as a data source in Grafana.
4. Build dashboards to visualize position, RSSI, and more.

No code changes are needed—just configure the bridge and dashboards!

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MQTT Topics

Topic	Payload Example	Description
drone/telemetry	{ "position": {"x": 1, "y": 2, "z": 3}, ... }	Drone telemetry
rover/telemetry	{ "position": {"x": 4, "y": 5, "z": 0}, ... }	Rover telemetry
drone/new_position	{ "x": 7, "y": 8, "z": 9 }	Command to reposition drone

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Dependencies

• paho-mqtt
• numpy
• flask, flask-socketio
• pyyaml
• three.js (via CDN in the web UI)
• matplotlib (for offline plots, optional)

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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Contributors

• Bastian Kolb-Grunder
• Riyan Cyriac Jose