How can I connect an Arduino board and MATLAB for image processing?
I am making an autonomous robot which require image processing in MATLAB.
You can use the MATLAB-to-Arduino package at the offical MATLAB site, "MATLAB Interface to Arduino".
If you have serial communication on the Arduino, Matlab has built in tools for talking with the chip over USB or RS232. It is fairly simple to setup, but if your images are high in resolution you may not get the necessary speed from standard RS232.
something along the lines of:
s=serial('COM1','baudrate',115200)
Then you can read and write to the Arduino through Matlab functions and scripts
You can get connected to the MATLAB interface by simply using the serial and fopen commands on MATLAB
eg:
s=serial('COM2','Baudrate',9600,'Databits',8);
fopen(s);
count=0;
while count<50
a=fscanf(s);
count=count+1;
end
fclose(s);
whereas on Arduino, use Serial.print() function.
Simple data can be sent using this. I never tried camera by using this technique. But by using a camera shield mounted on Ardunino, taking snapshots and later sending the data through Arduino to MATLAB as a matrix might work. Just an idea, might be possible.
Edit1:
I was looked up more into this, and found some potential hardwares for the same:
1. ArduCam Shield for Arduino
2. https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11418
Related
I was wondering how I can write my C code (just one single .c with a couple of different functions) into just two functions with inputs and outputs.
I am looking for these because I am going two put some part of my code into CPU and leave the other in FPGA, they can communicate with each other via the interface in Zynq family board (e.g. ZC706).
In this regards, via the Vivado HLS, I have to have just one single Function which can be translated to e.g. VHDL via the Vivado HLS and the other function can stay in CPU.
Thanks in advance and if needed can share my code.
Not at all!
There are no pthreads or functions in FPGA.
You must think the FPGA is more like a circuit. There are physical connections like wires. Internally especially in the Zynq family you can communicate through the RAM, DMA controllers or via Registers.
There is documentation from Xilinx, what you need is AXI/AXI Stream.
But what you want to do is writing any C code and run them in the FPGA area like in a processor. And this approach is not promising.
In Vivado HLS you can write "functions" in C/C++/OpenCL/SystemC but it is only a block with inputs and outputs translated to a hardware description language (VHDL/Verilog).
You have to export it and add it in your Vivado Project to use it.
At this point maybe your IP created in HLS will do something you expect, but there is still a lot of work todo connecting the Ports in the right manner.
My advice is get familiar with the Zynq family and especially the AXI protocol. If you feel familiar with DMA/AXI4/AXI4S and how to access them from ARM and Logic then start using HLS. Otherwise you will not have the feeling how to write code HLS understands.
I know how to program an AVR using a programmer. I am now wanting to learn Ruby and I thought it might be fun interacting with an Arduino or just an Attiny85 directly from the serial port.
I am kind of new to this stuff. Is there a way to control LEDs, servos and other components without burning a program directly to the AVR chip?
Would it make sense to write a Ruby program that connects to the AVR or Arduino through a serial connection and controls components? I didn't know if this was possible. Any ideas on how this can be done? I see that there is a serial port gem for Ruby. Would this be a good starting point?
I didn't know if this would be a good idea with Ruby.
You will need to flash the AVR with a program that interprets commands coming over serial from your Ruby program and takes the desired action.
One option is the Firmata protocol. There is a Firmata Arduino library:
https://github.com/firmata/arduino
Some Firmata client libraries for Ruby are listed at that link. I haven't used it but that seems like a fast way to achieve your goal, though you may have more fun designing your own command protocol and writing the microcontroller firmware from scratch.
I've done many projects that include a PC & an arduino / PLC / some kind of other microcontroller / processor, and in every project we had a different protocol used for communication between the PC application and the embedded one. Usually the hardware / controller developer invents a simple protocol which always changes throughout the project, and goes into the form of
Barker | Size | Data | Checksum
This time I'm implementing both sides, so I figured - This has been done a million times before. There must be a base protocol for these things with implementations in C, C#, Java, and such.
What I'm looking for is a lightweight layer that transfers stream based serial communication into a message based one.
I've been looking around for one for a while, but I couldn't find anything on my own.
Do you happen to know one?
I had exactly the same requirements for a recent project and I found nothing simple enough for low-end 8-bit microcontrollers. So I designed MIN (Microcontroller Interconnect Network) to do the job (inspired by CAN and LIN).
The code is on github here: https://github.com/min-protocol/min (check out the wiki there).
I defined a layer 0 (the UART settings) and layer 1 (the frame layer, with checksums, etc.) plus a C API.
I'm also working on a higher layer that formally defines how sensor data (temperature, pressure, voltage, etc.) are packed, with a JSON representation and a tool to autogenerate the embedded code to pack/unpack them from frames. The end goal is to create a Wireshark dissector that can be clipped on to the serial line and when fed with the JSON will display the signals in human-readable form.
I wrote a blog post showing a Hello World app running on an Arduino board (with an FTDI UART-USB breakout board carrying the data up to my host PC):
https://kentindell.wordpress.com/2015/02/18/micrcontroller-interconnect-network-min-version-1-0/
This serial problem occurs so often that it would be nice if we as a community just nailed it rather than keep re-coding it for every project.
Check Open Source HDLC
I recently came across MIN - never used this one though
Also check this
Simple serial point-to-point communication protocol
Using X/Y/Z MODEM protocol must be a good choice to solve your problem. It's easy to implement and ready-to-use. I use X-MODEM on an ISP tool communicates with our cortex-m0 powered MCU, and it works pretty well.
I am trying to send data from a Kamstrup Multical 601 to an Arduino Uno using the M-bus protocol.
I am considering trying to use the libmbus c libraries to do this. However, I do not have a lot of experience in c programming so was wondering if:
you think this is a realistic/achievable approach?
anyone could suggest an alternative/easier approach?
The main chip on the Arduino Uno is the Atmel Atmega382P-PU.
After getting the data to the Arduino I aim to perform some calculations and send data to an LCD (this I think I can do).
On the Arduino Website there is a short how-to about the use of external C-Libraries with Arduino.
Note that you cannot simply connect M-Bus with a RS-232 interface. There is a so called "level-shifter" device necessary inbetween to do the "electrical transition". See the EN 13757-2 standard doucment for what this device is exactly doing with the signal. Without such a device you won't get any word out of your M-Bus device.
The library you link to appears to be for Linux. The Arduino, of course, doesn't run Linux so a library won't compile for it directly.
You should probably try implementing the library yourself, but using the Arduino's standard libraries to access ports and so on.
I have project to do. Which requires that I use FPGA. The theme is, that I need to create a circuit in FPGA using VHDL which would perform some task like multiplication or division. And then I need to send the input data from PowerPC(Built in Microcontroller in Virtex 4) to that circuit and then collect the data from output of FPGA circuit using PowerPC. I have tried looking at the manuals but failed to understand the communication between FPGA circuit and Microcontroller.
Google didn't help too..
Please let me know, if there is a book or a better tutorial which can help me in this project. Thanks in advance for your concern.
Note: I am using Virtex-4 ml403 FPGA board.
Thanks Again.
Take a look at Xapp717 from Xilinx.
http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/application_notes/xapp717.pdf
In the introduction it specifically mentions what you are trying to do. The APU in this context refers to the PowerPC.
This application note introduces the APU and describes the main features of an APU-enhanced
system. Included examples illustrate how the APU transfers data between the processor and
the FPGA. The two examples are:
• A simple system that moves data from memory through the processor and APU, into
registers in the FPGA, and back into memory
Source code is included (Xilinx login required)
http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/appnotes/xapp717.zip
Our software Impulse C will automatically make the bus connection to the PPC. You're welcome to try it for free. If you are interested send your Ethernet MAC to me or to info at ImpulseC and we'll get you started.
Best,
Brian
Do you need to implement a multiplier/divider to accelerate computing using FPGA? If so, you should design a multiplier/divider with VHDL code. Maybe using Xilinx IP core is the most convenient way. All you need to do is specify the parameter you want (e.g. input numbers are 32-bit). Synthesize your design and assign input/output pins. Then you can transfer data between PowerPC and FPGA through these pins.