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Sun, 14 Oct 2007
SRV-1 Blackfin - first firmware snapshot and SRV_protocol update posted
For those who want to take an early look at code, we have posted an SRV-1 Blackfin firmware snapshot at http://www.surveyor.com/blackfin/srv-blackfin-101407.zip. The toolchain to compile this code is Blackfin GNU bfin-elf toolchain 2006R2_RC5 (click on Files tab).
This code snapshot has been tested with SRV1Console, and should also work with pySRV1Console. As noted in the snapshot's README, image capture, JPEG compression, motor controls, and the C interpreter are functional, but image processing and range finder functions have not yet been added. Also, file transfer and flash read/write functions are built in, but not fully connected. Most of the loose ends will be tied up in advance of first robot shipments.
Note that there have been some changes to SRV_protocol - the SRV-1 Blackfin version is found at http://www.surveyor.com/blackfin/SRV_protocol_bf.html. We removed the BASIC interpreter, but beefed up the C interpreter with some pointer operations, support for hex numbers, and relief from DOS ^M. The IR function is being replaced by a laser range function, and there are some minor changes to commands which set the capture resolution. Other commands will be added to support I2C and the second UART. Some protocol changes may require some minor adjustments in SRV-1 support from Microsoft Robotics Studio, Myro and Roborealm, those these aren't significant. However, interfacing via WLAN instead of XBee will require changes to those packages, since the current interfaces are based on COM ports instead of IP addresses. We will focus on compatibility issues once the initial release of firmware is frozen.
Check the SRV-1 Blackfin Camera Board page for updates to code, specs, and protocols. Questions about the code should be posted to the Surveyor Robotics Forum or emailed to support@surveyor.com.
Posted Sun, 14 Oct 2007 14:25 | HTML Link | see additional stories ...