My student César García Moreno disserted his two BSc theses
🎓 Double Bachelor’s Thesis Defense with Excellence
On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, my student César García Moreno successfully defended two interconnected Bachelor’s Theses as part of a dual-degree pathway in Telematics Engineering and Electronic Communications Engineering. Both projects received the highest possible grade—Outstanding (10/10)—from their respective evaluation committees, along with a nomination for Honors Distinction (Matrícula de Honor) for both of themx.
🛰️ Thesis 1: Communication and Processing System for Antenna Visibility Mask Generation
In this first project, César designed and implemented a distributed system architecture capable of processing self-leveled and oriented images to automatically generate satellite antenna visibility masks. These masks are crucial for determining the azimuth-elevation constraints that allow clear line-of-sight satellite communication, especially during the short communication windows typical of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
The system integrates:
- A microservice-based back-end with RESTful APIs,
- Real-time communication using MQTT,
- An intuitive front-end GUI,
- PDF report generation,
- And robust data orchestration mechanisms.
To ensure interoperability and scalability, the design was aligned with ISO/IEC 30141:2018 IoT reference architectures. The processing pipeline includes horizon detection using image processing algorithms, such as edge detection and gradient-based segmentation, enabling the creation of accurate masks with errors under 0.5° in azimuth and elevation.
🎥 Thesis 2: Three-Axis Stabilized Pointing System for Capturing Leveled and Oriented Images
Complementing the previous system, this second thesis focuses on the development of the hardware platform responsible for acquiring images with known orientation and leveling. Built on a custom embedded design, the system features:
- A three-axis gimbal stabilization using MEMS sensors (MPU6050, QMC5883L),
- OV7670 CMOS camera with FIFO buffering,
- Real-time orientation alignment using digital compasses,
- STM32 NUCLEO-F767ZI as the main controller,
- And wireless telemetry using ESP8266.
This embedded demonstrator enables 360° image capture while maintaining auto-leveling and magnetic orientation, facilitating the rapid creation of visibility masks even in unmapped environments. The full system was tested on real antennas (VIL1 and VIL2) at INTA with outstanding precision and reliability.
🛰️✨ A Unified System for Semi-Automatic Horizon Profiling
These two theses are components of a broader project aiming to automate the generation of antenna horizon masks in complex environments. The system significantly reduces the time, cost, and manual effort involved in traditional mask acquisition methods such as topographic surveying or digital elevation models.
César’s work showcases not only deep technical understanding in embedded systems, signal processing, and distributed architecture, but also reflects his ability to integrate hardware and software for a real-world aerospace application.
This dual accomplishment stands out as a remarkable milestone and paves the way for further research in autonomous ground station deployment, remote sensing, and communication resilience in constrained scenarios.