README.md

NXP-Cup-Groundstation

Groundstation Software for Monitoring Race Car Performance

Overall Architecture:

This is a race car ground station application using PyQt5

Uses a multi-threaded architecture for handling real-time data

Follows the Model-View-Controller pattern

Key Components:

DataHandler: Manages data collection and processing

TrackVisualizer: Handles visualization of track and vehicle position

MainWindow: Main GUI with multiple specialized tabs

ProcessingThread/Worker: Handles data processing in separate threads

Threading Model:

Uses Qt's event-driven threading model

Main thread handles GUI

Separate threads for data processing and collection

Uses QSocketNotifier for async serial port reading

Thread safety handled through Qt's signal/slot mechanism

Data Flow:

Serial Port -> DataHandler -> ProcessingWorker -> GUI Components -> Track Visualizer

Key Design Patterns:

Observer Pattern (via Qt signals/slots)

Factory Pattern (for creating UI components)

Strategy Pattern (for different visualization modes)

Error Handling & Logging:

Comprehensive error propagation through signal/slot system

Centralized error handling in MainWindow

Hierarchical logging with both file and console outputs

Good separation between UI errors and system errors

Configuration Management:

Flexible config system via ConfigManager

Settings persisted between sessions

Runtime configuration changes supported

Handles both UI and system configurations

Data Structures:

Well-defined dataclasses for different types of sensor data:

CameraData for line scan readings

MotorData for drive system

EDFData for Electric Ducted Fan

SystemHealth for diagnostics

SensorData as main composite structure

Data Processing Pipeline:

Raw Serial Data -> Parse & Validate -> Queue -> ProcessingWorker -> Plot Manager -> Visualization Components

Visualization Architecture:

Layered approach to plotting:

Base PlotWidget provides common functionality

Specialized widgets (LivePlot, TrackVisualizer) extend base

Plot Manager handles thread-safe updates

Efficient update batching and decimation

Memory Management:

Circular buffers for time-series data

Explicit cleanup in component destructors

Smart resource management through Qt parent-child relationships

Careful handling of thread lifetimes

Inter-thread Communication:

Strictly follows Qt's threading rules

Main thread owns GUI elements

Worker thread ownership properly transferred

Careful use of QMetaObject for thread-safe operations

Real-time Considerations:

Non-blocking I/O with QSocketNotifier

Update rate management

Performance optimization via update decimation

Efficient data structures for real-time processing

State Management:

Clear separation of system states

Thread states properly tracked

Playback vs live modes handled cleanly

Graceful state transitions

Developer Experience:

Clean separation of concerns Well-documented classes and methods Consistent error handling patterns Clear initialization sequences