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Boxed demo board

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We now have the Driver board boxed with its own supply. This will be installed in the lounge shortly to control the projector screen area which includes screen, curtains and LED lighting. This will be the first board connected to a long network wire and some temporary wiring will be added to get the network back to the development PC.

The Driver board installation will have some local buttons for control, these have been scripted using the user defined scripting and allow operation of the screen, curtains and lights.

Successful device network created

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Recent development has been on getting the device network functioning. There are 3 interface formats:

  • RS232 – for PC connection and driving other components such as projectors.
  • RS488 – for networking between devices that are not co-located.
  • I2C – for networking between devices that are co-located.

The current set development boards are chained together, each link a different interface format, starting from the PC control app via RS232.

From empty devices (bootloader only), each device can be loaded with its firmware. Once running  the PC app will assign a device ID and the device will discover its neighbours and routing tables generated.

Text based messages

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Many devices use simple text commands, one of these is the Ocelot box we have, this can send out text strings based on its events.
To allow communication between these devices at the simplest text level an additional protocol will be created. This will be aimed at control of devices rather than configuration and so messages will be interpretted as virtual buttons.
Virtual buttons are like local buttons but triggered by some other message event. The can be used in the device control script so can cause any device function to operate or communicate to other devices.
Texed based messages will be implemented in the near future.

New scripting functional item

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Previously device interaction was either through the network via messages sent from a PC (or other controller) or through buttons local to the device whose function was programmed as part of the item being controlled (for example, a button to increase the LED level).
To provide unlimited flexibility the programmed control will provided through a user scriptable approach rather than the current hard coded approach. In this way the user can specify how the button are used to control device items. As an example, a button could be used to cause the projector screen to lower and turn the LED lighting to a set colour, followed by a message to another device to turn the amp on and dim the main lights.
Scripting has been fully implemented and is gradually being added to the boards as firmware builds progress.

Bootloader complete

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The bootloader for the comms board is complete and undergoing testing. The bootloader interacts with all board interfaces and so can operate in the HA network, allowing FW updates to be downloaded without removing the device.

Prototypes nearing completion

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The set of prototype boards have been produced and are currently being coded. The firmware for each is approximately 80% complete and a bootloader for in field updating is in progress. Specification can be found here.

The bootloader will enable the devices to be installed and tested/updated in-situ. This will allow the devices to be constantly used and help iron out any quirks.

A PC test suite is progressing as board functions are added. Details coming soon.

Future plans include  creating a tablet control app and possibly a touchscreen embed-in-wall device.