Signal Quo

Signal Quo is an prototype built by Somewhat Questionable. Our team claimed a first-place finish at Grapple23, a week-long engineering competition, held in YMCA’s 4C Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The prompt was to build something that would improve life on Mars. During the week, we developed a secondary emergency communication network for a Mars colony. Consisting of a main hub, personal transmitters, and environmental monitoring devices, Signal Quo is designed to operate during even severe Martian dust storms. The system utilizes long range (LoRa) technology, and incorporates a novel HopTrace protocol that records each signal’s path, enabling geolocation for nodes in distress.

Our Vision

Imagine invaluable human life thriving amidst the daunting Martian duststorms, fortified by a resilient communication system - that’s the futureSignal Quo aspires to facilitate.

Out of this vision, the Signal Quo system was born - a mesh network acting as a secondary communication system for Martian colonists, featuring a main hub, personal transmitters, and environmental monitoring modules. All these devices are designed to function meticulously even during severe dust storms, making every EVA safer and more efficient.

How It Works

Our system utilises the Low Range (LoRa) technology for its radio communication protocol - not using the internet-expanded LoRaWAN version but the raw LoRa radio, focusing on creating a network directly serving the specific needs of a Mars colony.

Our mesh network consists of nodes that connect and work together to expand communication coverage. Each node powers our novel HopTrace protocol which accurately captures and records all the communication hops, allowing geolocation of devices several hops away from the main hub.