Sunday, January 29, 2017

LIDAR sensor on Workdesk Assistant (Arduino Nano)

I was excited when I saw that Adafruit got the VL53LOX LIDAR range sensor back in stock and immediately ordered 5 of them. I just received them and already they are sold out again. I can see why! This is a highly accurate range sensor using a laser to measure time-of-flight.

The sensor is very easy to install and set up. I did have issues using the Adafruit libraries so I used the Pololu libraries from GitHub. This library worked perfectly. Just hook up power (5 or 3.3) to the sensor and then the I2C connections (SCL and SDA) to your Arduino. There is example software in the Pololu library, just install that library into your Arduino IDE and select from examples.

The updated Workdesk Assistant sketch is updated to include LIDAR support.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

NEOs & PIC 12F1840 Proof of Concept

I was looking to add some NEOs to another project and wanted to see if a PIC could be programmed to drive them. Thus the birth of this POC. I took some inspiration from an Adafruit tutorial on writing your own driver for a PIC. This tutorial focused on the RGB version of the NEO (no separate white LED) The PIC used was a PIC 18F4550 clocked at 48Mhz in order to be fast enough for the timing. It's not quite fast enough to technically keep within the specs for the NEOs but it was learned in this tutorial that only the positive pulse width is relevant (within reason) and the author was able to keep that within the variance spec.
This experiment is to see if I can do the same for a much smaller PIC: 12F1840 driven at it's max clock rate of 32Mhz and using the RGBW version of the NEO: An Adafruit NEOPixel stick (8 NEOs with RGBW LEDs). I was able to do it as can be seen in the video:

The PIC is configured to use internal PLL for generating an internal 32 Mhz clock which, with a few coding optimizations is just fast enough to get within specs of the NEOs for that critical positive pulse width. In addition I coded this to use 32 bit format for the RGBW version of the NEO.

So now I can use this same technique to incorporate NEOs into a much smaller (8 pin device) PIC.
The schematic for this POC:

The entire project was coded in XC8 (free version) with one function using in-line assembler to get the speed needed to meet timing requirements for the NEOs.

The zipped MPLABX project package is here.

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Workdesk Assistant

An automated work desk light, AC control, and assistant...

This project came to life when I started wondering if I had left the work desk light on? Is the soldering iron still on? I needed some automation at my desk to reliably determine when I'm at my desk and do a few things:
  1. Switch on the strip light when I sit down.
  2. Give me the ability to turn on the bright LED desk light
  3. Ability to DIM all lighting
  4. Give me the ability to turn on the desk AC (soldering iron, etc)
  5. Ability to use a single touch switch for all activity
  6. Know when I LEAVE the desk and turn off everything.
  7. Give Basic desk temp/humidity
  8. Be expandable for future additions of sensors and probes to assist with development


With the proliferation of inexpensive Arduino clones, I decided to use a $4 Arduino Nano clone available on Amazon for $4... amazing! I used readily available parts and modules from Adafruit ST7735 Display, and the Range Sensor. The MosFETs from Mouser, the LED strip from Amazon. The touch sensor I got from a sensor kit on Amazon, but you could also just use a standard push button. The potentiometer can be pretty much any value from 1k to 100k... I used a 10k slider I had laying around. The 10w LED I got from Electronic Goldmine. Finally, the Powerswitch Tail is the safest way to switch the AC mains!
The MosFETs are SMD but can be easily soldered to a three pin header for breadboarding... these FETs have a very low (2v) gate voltage along with a very low on resistance of about 200 mOhms enabling these to switch high currents without much dissipation. 


The 10 watt LED should be attached to a heat sink... I used a CPU cooler heat sink readily available and then just attached the LED to it using heat-sink tape.
Once you assemble the circuit, load this sketch and have fun! I look to enhance this as I use it and will update this when that happens.

/*
 * Workdesk Assistant
 * Tim Stoddard
 * Released to public domain with this credit given
 * Press switch:
 *  short < 1 sec to toggle between 'panels'
 *  medium 2 sec to light 10w LED on panel 1 only
 *  long 3 sec to turn on AC on panel 1 only
 *  really long 4 sec unused
 *  
 * Note you can define different uses of the presses on each 'panel' 
 * You can code any number of 'panels' ... don't forget to code the activities for that panel
 * as needed.
 */

// Define some pins... 
#define StripLED 5
#define acPlug 4 // controlled AC
#define MainLED 3
#define psw 12
//display
#define sclk 13 // SCL in Sainsmart
#define mosi 11 // SDA
#define cs   10
#define dc   9
#define rst  8
#define bright A0
#define range A1
#define lcdBacklite 6 //LCD pwm dimmer

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>    // Core graphics library
#include <Adafruit_ST7735.h> // Hardware-specific library
#include <SPI.h>
#include <dht.h>
dht DHT;
#define DHT11_PIN 7

Adafruit_ST7735 tft = Adafruit_ST7735(cs, dc, rst);// instantiate the panel

int v = 0;// variable to hold the ADC value from pot
int r = 0;// variable to hold the ADC range value
bool mLED = false;
bool sLED = false;
bool ACplug = false;
unsigned long rTimeout = 0;
unsigned long dhtTimeout = 0;
unsigned long distTimeout = 0;
unsigned long buttonTime = 0;
unsigned long currentButtonTime = 0;
unsigned long lastButtonTime = 0;
const int numReadings = 100;
const float Vi = 4.95/512;// sonar scaling vcc/512
const float adcV = 4.95/1024;// aDC scaling vcc/1024
uint16_t readings[numReadings];      // the readings from the analog input
uint16_t readIndex = 0;              // the index of the current reading
uint16_t total = 0;                  // the running total
uint16_t average = 0;                // the average
uint16_t currT = 0;
uint16_t lastT = 0;
uint16_t currH = 0;
uint16_t lastH = 0;
float currD = 0;
float lastD = 0;
bool buttonActive = false;
uint16_t buttonState = 0;// button press 1 to 4
uint16_t lastButtonState = 0;// button press 1 to 4
uint16_t displayButtonState = 0;// button press 1 to 4
uint16_t currentButtonState = 0;// button press 1 to 4
uint16_t currentPanel = 0;
uint16_t lastPanel = 1;// forces initial screen write
uint16_t selectPanel = 0;
uint16_t dispMode = 0;// display mode

unsigned long getButtonTime(void){
  if(digitalRead(psw)&& !buttonActive){
    buttonActive = true;
    buttonTime = millis(); // set start of time measurement
  }
  if(buttonActive && (!digitalRead(psw))){
    buttonActive=false;
    return millis()-buttonTime;
  }
  return 0;
}

void setup() {
  // set 3,5 pins as outputs for PWM
  pinMode(StripLED, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(MainLED, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(acPlug, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(psw,INPUT);
  // turn them all off
  digitalWrite(StripLED,LOW);
  digitalWrite(MainLED,LOW);
  digitalWrite(acPlug,LOW);
  analogReference(DEFAULT);// make sure Vref is VCC
  Serial.begin(9600);
    // initialize all the readings to 0:
  for (int thisReading = 0; thisReading < numReadings; thisReading++) {
    readings[thisReading] = 0;
  }
  tft.initR(INITR_BLACKTAB);   // initialize a ST7735S chip
  int chk = DHT.read11(DHT11_PIN);
  switch(chk)// sync up/initialize the DHT11
  tft.setTextWrap(false);
  tft.fillScreen(ST7735_BLACK);
  tft.setCursor(0,0);
  tft.setTextColor(ST7735_WHITE);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  panelMain();
//  tft.println(Vi,6);// print the sonar scaling
//  tft.println(adcV,6);// print the adc scaling
}

uint16_t getbuttonState(void){
  currentButtonTime = getButtonTime();
  if(currentButtonTime){
//    lastButtonTime = printValue(lastButtonTime,currentButtonTime,ST7735_YELLOW,10,153,1);
    if(currentButtonTime<500){
      return 1; // short press
    }else if (currentButtonTime<1500){
      return 2; // regular press
    }else if (currentButtonTime<3000){
      return 3; // long press
    }else{
      return 4; // really long press
    }
  }else{
    return 0;  
  }
}
void loop() {
  // check for a button state and act on it ... include checking for a specific panel to issolate 
  // press type to only that panel
  buttonState = getbuttonState();
  if(buttonState){
    displayButtonState = buttonState;// store the button state for display
    switch (buttonState){
      case 1: // short press
        if (++selectPanel>2){selectPanel=0;} // change to increase number of panels
        currentPanel = panel(selectPanel);
        break;
      case 2: // medium press 2 sec
        if(currentPanel==0){mLED=!mLED;} // toggle the 10w LED
        break;
      case 3: // long press 3 sec
        if(currentPanel==0){ACplug=!ACplug;} // toggle the AC line
        break;
      case 4: // really long press 4 sec
        // unused so far
        break;
    }
  }
  lastPanel = printValue(lastPanel,currentPanel,ST7735_BLUE,123,153,1);// display panel number at lower right corner of panel
  lastButtonState = printValue(lastButtonState,displayButtonState,ST7735_GREEN,0,153,1);// display last button state at lower left corner of panel
  
  activity(currentPanel);// do panel activity of currently selected panel

// read the 'dimmer' pot and generate a PWM to dim the LEDs
  v=analogRead(bright);// read the pot
  v=map(v,0,1024,0,255);// map the 10 bit value to 8 bit value for PWM   
  
  /* Get and calculate the range */
  // subtract the last reading:
  total = total - readings[readIndex];
  // read from the sensor:
  readings[readIndex] = analogRead(range);
  // add the reading to the total:
  total = total + readings[readIndex];
  // advance to the next position in the array:
  readIndex = readIndex + 1;
  // if we're at the end of the array...
  if (readIndex >= numReadings) {
    readIndex = 0;// ...wrap around to the beginning:
  }
  r = total / numReadings;// calculate the average distance
  r = (r*adcV)/Vi;// convert to inches  

  // if the range sensor indicates a close presence in inches, turn on the strip LED
  if(r<36){
    analogWrite(StripLED,v);// PWM command brightness is 0-255
    rTimeout = millis();
  }else if(millis() - rTimeout > 30000){ //30 secs timer before turning off LED
    digitalWrite(StripLED,LOW);
    mLED = false;
    ACplug = false;
  }    // Turn on or off the MainLED based on the mLED bool variable
  if(mLED){
    analogWrite(MainLED,v);// PWM command brightness is 0-255
    tft.setCursor(50,153);
    tft.setTextSize(1);
    tft.setTextColor(ST7735_WHITE);
    tft.println("LED");
  }else{
    digitalWrite(MainLED,LOW);
    tft.setCursor(50,153);
    tft.setTextSize(1);
    tft.setTextColor(tft.Color565(64, 64, 64));
    tft.println("LED");
  }
  if(ACplug){
    digitalWrite(acPlug,HIGH);
    tft.setCursor(32,153);
    tft.setTextSize(1);
    tft.setTextColor(ST7735_YELLOW);
    tft.println("AC");
  }else{
    digitalWrite(acPlug,LOW);
    tft.setCursor(32,153);
    tft.setTextSize(1);
    tft.setTextColor(tft.Color565(64, 64, 64));
    tft.println("AC");
  }
}

uint16_t panel(uint16_t i){
  if(currentPanel!=i){
    switch(i){
      case 0:
        panelMain();
        break;      
      case 1:
        panelSensors();// turn on the sensors panel
        lastD = 0;// reset last readings to force update
        lastT = 0;
        lastH = 0;
        break;
      case 2:
        panelBlank();
        break;
        
    }
    // display the last button state at bottom left of display
    tft.setCursor(0,153);
    tft.setTextSize(1);
    tft.setTextColor(ST7735_GREEN);
    tft.print(displayButtonState);
    return i;
  }
}

void activity(uint16_t a){
  switch(a){
    case 1:
      activitySensors();
    break;
  }  
}

void panelMain(){
  tft.fillScreen(ST7735_BLACK);
  tft.setCursor(0,0);
  tft.setTextColor(0x867D);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  tft.println("Workdesk");
  tft.println("Assistant");

}

void panelBlank(void){
  tft.fillScreen(ST7735_BLACK);
  tft.setCursor(0,64);
  tft.setTextColor(ST7735_BLUE);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  tft.println("  BLANK");

}

void panelSensors(void){
  tft.fillScreen(ST7735_BLACK);
  tft.setCursor(0,0);
  tft.setTextColor(ST7735_BLUE);
  tft.setTextSize(2);
  tft.println("Temp: ");
  tft.print("Hmty: ");
  tft.setCursor(0,64);
  tft.println("Dist:");
}

void activitySensors(void){
  //update distance
  if(millis()-distTimeout > 250){ // every 250 milliseconds
    lastD = printValue(lastD,r,ST7735_YELLOW,60,64,2);
    distTimeout=millis();
  }

  //update temp and Humity
  if(millis()-dhtTimeout > 5000){ // every 5 seconds
    printDTH();
    dhtTimeout=millis();
  }
}

uint16_t printValue(uint16_t last,uint16_t current,uint16_t color,uint16_t col,uint16_t row,uint16_t textsize){
  if(last != current){
    tft.setTextColor(ST7735_BLACK);
    tft.setTextSize(textsize);
    tft.setCursor(col,row);  
    tft.print(last);
    tft.setTextColor(color);
    tft.setCursor(col,row);  
    tft.print(current);
  }
  return current;
}

void printDTH(void){
  int chk = DHT.read11(DHT11_PIN);
  switch(chk)
  tft.setTextWrap(false);
  currT = DHT.temperature * 1.8 + 32;
  lastT = printValue(lastT,currT,ST7735_YELLOW,60,0,2);
  currH = DHT.humidity;
  lastH = printValue(lastH,currH,ST7735_YELLOW,60,16,2);
}