Question

My project is a directional antenna which is mounted on a self-stabilizing base. The language I wish to use is python, but changing this to a more suited language, is a possibility, if needed.

Problem 1:

How would you go about taking in serial data in real-time[1], and then parse the data in python?

Problem 2:

How can I then send the output of the program to servos, which are mounted on the base? (feedback system).

[1](Fastest possible time for data transfer, processing and then output)

Answer 1

You can use the pyserial module to read serial port data with Python. See: http://pyserial.sourceforge.net/shortintro.html

Here’s a short usage example from the docs:

>>> ser = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyS1', 19200, timeout=1)
>>> x = ser.read()          # read one byte
>>> s = ser.read(10)        # read up to ten bytes (timeout)
>>> line = ser.readline()   # read a '\n' terminated line
>>> ser.close()

Next, you’ll need to parse the GPS data. Most devices support “NMEA 0183” format, and here’s another SO question with information about parsing that with Python: Parsing GPS receiver output via regex in Python

Finally, outputting data for servo control will depend entirely on whatever hardware you are using for the servo interface.