Add new blog post by Charles Goode

content/blogposts/2024/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging.md

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+---
+title: "Crossing the Finish Line Faster: Leveraging Cody to Implement GPS Data Logging"
+authors:
+  - name: Charles Goode
+
+publishDate: 2024-03-20T10:00-07:00
+description: "Charles Goode, an electrical engineering student at Kennesaw State University, shares his experience using Cody to rapidly implement a GPS data logging system for the university's Formula SAE racing team, Kennesaw Motorsports."
+tags: [blog, guest-post]
+slug: "leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging"
+published: true
+heroImage: https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/og-leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging.png
+socialImage: https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/og-leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging.png
+---
+
+<Alert type="secondary">This is a guest blog post from our community. <a href="https://discord.com/servers/sourcegraph-969688426372825169" target="_blank">Join our Discord</a> to meet the author and connect with other developers passionate about Code Search and AI!</Alert>
+
+Hello, my name is Charles Goode and I’m an electrical engineering major at Kennesaw State University. I’m here to tell you about Kennesaw Motorsports and to walk you through how I completed my first project on the team with the help of [Cody](https://sourcegraph.com/cody). 
+
+## Kennesaw Motorsports
+
+[Kennesaw Motorsports](https://www.ksumotorsports.com/) is a college competition team where students from various majors come together with one mission: _to build race cars_. Each year, we build two formula-style vehicles to compete in a competition held by the Society of Automotive Engineers, known as [Formula SAE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_SAE). Each team is evaluated by industry professionals on presentation, design, cost, and performance to give future engineers the experience they can’t get in the classroom.
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_001.jpeg)
+
+## My First Project with Cody
+
+I will walk you through how Cody helped me complete my first project on the team. Going into this project, I needed more experience writing code and messing with microcontrollers and electronics. Despite my situation, I was able to complete my project quickly with the help of Cody. 
+
+The project aims to implement a GPS data logger in our race car. We collect a ridiculous amount of data throughout our system, and the ability to plot the position of our car as it goes around a track can help us perform much better data analysis.
+
+Hardware Involved 
+
+* [Teensy 4.0 Microcontroller](https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy40_pins.html)
+* [Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout Board](https://www.adafruit.com/product/746)
+* [Adafruit Micro SD Breakout Board](https://www.adafruit.com/product/254)
+
+First, I start with the Teensy and the GPS. Before I mess with the Micro SD card or get into plotting, I want to make sure the GPS will work correctly.
+
+For prototyping, I am using a breadboard and jumper wires. Below, you'll find the layout of the hardware and wiring instructions.
+
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_002.jpeg)
+
+
+* 3V to Vin (3V on Teensy to GPS VIN)
+* GND to GND
+* TX to RX (Pin 8 on Teensy to GPS RX)
+* RX to TX (Pin 7 on Teensy to GPS TX)
+
+Now everything is wired up correctly, I can ask Cody to write some code for my project.
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_003.png)
+
+_Prompt: Write me some basic code for using an Adafruit Ultimate GPS with a Teensy 4.0_
+
+Cody quickly delivers, and the code runs perfectly once I install the necessary library. As you can see, the serial monitor is now printing the coordinates and letting me know the date, time, and satellite information.
+
+Now that we have our microcontroller and GPS working together, we can add the microSD breakout board. This will allow us to print the data from the GPS in a .CSV file for further analysis. 
+
+Here is the updated hardware layout and additional wiring instructions. 
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_004.jpeg)
+
+* SCK to CLK (Pin 13 on Teensy to microSD CLK)
+* MISO to DO (Pin 12 on Teensy to microSD DO)
+* MOSI to DI (Pin 11 on Teensy to microSD DI)
+* CS to CS (Pin 10 on Teensy to microSD CS)
+
+Now that everything is wired up correctly, I can ask Cody for additional code. This time, I mentioned the microSD breakout board and specifically asked only to send the GPS coordinates to the CSV file.
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_005.png)
+
+_Prompt: Open a CSV file on the SD card and print the GPS coordinates_
+
+Cody quickly tells me which libraries I need and completely rewrites the code to fit my specifications. Once I upload this, the coordinates begin printing without the unnecessary information from before. 
+
+I will now plug the Micro SD card into my computer to confirm it opened the file and correctly formatted the coordinates. 
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_006.png)
+
+All the data is formatted correctly, but we need some real data to plot this correctly. The next time we tested one of our cars, I collected some real data from the CSV file. Now that we have the data needed, we must visualize it. There are a few ways to do this, but I picked MATLAB. I cannot do this inside my IDE, but Cody can still be helpful. 
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_007.png)
+
+I asked Cody for a MATLAB script, and it was quickly delivered. I went to MATLAB, pasted in the script, and it ran perfectly. Once I input the data from our testing day, it plotted it. Here is the data visualized using the plot function.
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_008.png)
+
+As you can see, Cody was able to help me complete my first project quickly. 
+
+## Favorite command
+
+Cody has many features, but one of the most important features for people trying to learn is the **“Explain Code”** command. 
+
+![](https://storage.googleapis.com/sourcegraph-assets/blog/leveraging-cody-to-implement-gps-data-logging/image_009.png)
+
+With the “Explain Code” command, Cody quickly gives me an in-depth explanation of the code. I am trying to learn from this project, so understanding the code is essential.
+
+Within seconds of my command, Cody gives me an in-depth explanation of how the entire program functions. With this information, I can see exactly how the outcome is achieved and can return to this chat to help me complete similar functions in my next project. 
+
+
+## Conclusion
+
+A major key to being successful as a team or as a company is making meaningful relationships, and we are thankful to have one with Sourcegraph. We are always looking for ways to grow as a team, and receiving support from a fast-growing company in the Software and AI industry is a major leap in the right direction—big thanks to the team at Sourcegraph for supporting our journey towards innovation and success. 
+
+To learn more about Kennesaw Motorsports, visit our website [here](https://www.ksumotorsports.com/)!
+
+---
+
+Cody can help you code faster, improve your productivity, and unlock new knowledge. Give [Cody](https://sourcegraph.com/cody) a try today!