101 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
# radar-simulator
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Museum exhibit software simulating 1940s–1960s vintage radar systems.
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## Project overview
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This application runs as a full-screen interactive exhibit on a Geekom A8 Max
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(AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS, Radeon 780M GPU, Ubuntu 25.10). Visitors can explore four
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historical radar types by cycling through a selection screen and interacting with
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keyboard controls.
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**Four radar displays:**
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| # | Name | Type | Location |
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|---|------|------|----------|
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| 1 | Chain Home | A-scope (WWII, 1940s) | RAF Ventnor, Isle of Wight |
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| 2 | Marine A-Scope | A-scope (pre-PPI, manually steered dish) | Community Boating Center, Bellingham Bay WA |
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| 3 | Marine Traffic Control | PPI scope | Center of Bellingham Bay WA |
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| 4 | Police Boat | PPI scope (moving platform) | Taylor Dock / Boulevard Park, Bellingham Bay WA |
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## Tech stack
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- **Language:** C++20
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- **Graphics:** OpenGL 4.3 Core, GLFW, GLAD
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- **Text:** FreeType 2
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- **Maps/LIDAR:** GDAL (libgdal-dev)
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- **Database:** PostgreSQL (database: radar, user: radar)
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- **Build:** CMake
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## Build
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```bash
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mkdir -p build && cd build
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cmake ..
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make -j$(nproc)
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```
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The executable is `build/radar_simulator`.
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## Running
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```bash
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# All four radars available
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./radar_simulator
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# Specific radars only
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./radar_simulator chain_home marine_ascope
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./radar_simulator marine_traffic police_boat
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```
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If only one radar is specified, it auto-activates after 5 seconds.
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## Screen layout
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The window is 1920×1080 and is divided into three areas:
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- **Left text panel** (upper-left, 500 px wide): radar description and keyboard controls
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- **Status bar** (lower-left, 500×250 px): current control values in yellow
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- **Scope** (right side, square, full height): radar display
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## Keyboard controls
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| Key | Action |
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|-----|--------|
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| **1** | Step forward in radar selection (or return to selection when operating) |
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| **2** | Step backward in radar selection |
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| **ENTER** | Activate selected radar |
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| **ESC** | Exit |
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| **3 / 4** | Intensity lower / higher |
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| **5 / 6** | Receiver sensitivity lower / higher |
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| **Q / W** | STC sensitivity lower / higher |
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| **E / R** | STC range lower / higher |
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| **T / Y** | Rain noise filter lower / higher (PPI scopes only) |
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| **U / I** | Radiogoniometer left / right (Chain Home only) |
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| **O / P** | Max range step down / up (all except Chain Home) |
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| **A / S** | Range cursor lower / higher (PPI scopes only) |
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| **D / F** | Bearing cursor CCW / CW (PPI scopes only) |
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| **G / H** | Antenna rotation CCW / CW (Marine A-Scope only) |
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## Component .md files
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Each component has a specification and status file:
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- `01_classes.md` — class hierarchy (RadarBase + 4 subclasses; stubs built)
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- `02_text_description.md` — text renderer and left-panel text content (complete)
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- `03_setup_and_radar_selection.md` — startup, selection loop, main render loop (complete)
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## Current build state
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The initialization and radar-management infrastructure is complete:
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- Four stub radar subclasses render description text, keyboard control lists,
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and current control values in the status bar.
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- The scope area shows the radar name with a `[stub]` label — no actual radar
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simulation is drawn yet.
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- All keyboard controls update CPU globals; uniforms will be pushed to shaders
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as each scope component is built.
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Real radar scope rendering (sweep, targets, graticule, range rings/ticks,
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terrain, P7 phosphor persistence) will be added one radar at a time.
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