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Qorivva Based Freescale Cup Webinars:  Lecture 1: Introduction and Motor Basics Lecture 2: Pulse Width Modulation Lecture 3: Control Design Lecture 4: Speed and Position Lecture 5: MPC5607B Overview

The line scan camera module consists of a CMOS linear sensor array of 128 pixels and an adjustable lens. This camera has a 1x128 resolution. Line Scan Camera Board Details Schematics, BOM, and datasheets: Line Scan Camera featuring TAOS 1401 Mounting Options You will likely want to mount the camera on a mast or boom above the car to ensure the greatest field of view. Determining the angle of orientation about the pivot at the top of the boom will change the “look ahead” distance of the camera and enable more efficient steering algorithms DIY Camera Mounts Solution Overview One method of implementation is to take the entire readout of the camera and store it in the memory. Then a line detection algorithm can be used to locate the position of the black line. Due to varying lighting conditions, some level of pixel thresholding may be necessary as the intensity differences across the data may not always produce a clear indication of the line location. A good approach is to use an algorithm that looks for changes in the magnitude of voltage from one portion of the array to another, since the camera’s AO magnitude is directly related to the brightness the pixel array senses. If the microcontroller finds a significant decrease in magnitude followed by large increase in magnitude this would give us a good indication of the location of the line. For this a derivative function can be utilized. Once we have successfully determined the position of the black line, immediately adjust the wheels to adjust the direction of the car so that the black line will remain in the center of the camera’s view. Sample camera output (for illustrative purposes only) The camera outputs an analog signal from 0 to 5V depending on the grey-scale value of the image. to simplify our sample we will assume that we have set limits for the line and have transformed the data to digital bits using a threshold value. 0’s are high intensity (non-line locations), 1’s are low intensity (black or line locations) 10000000000000000000000000000000001111101000000000000000000010000000000000000 Since the camera provides a 128x1 bit picture, and the camera will be pointing down at the track which is a fixed width. A control algorithm should be developed to line up the 1’s in the center of the 128 bits. The center of the field of view will be require calibration and testing, but it is assumed that the camera will remain in a fixed location pointing down the center of the forward looking axis of rotation. Signals For normal operation of the camera, the following signals must be produced and processed: CK (clock) - latches SI and clocks pixels out (low to high) continuous signal SI (serial input to sensor) begins a scan / exposure discrete pulses, pulse must go low before rising edge of next clock pulse AO (analog output) - Analog pixel input from the sensor (0-Vdd) or or tri-stated The CK and SI signals are simple ON/OFF signals which can be produce using a GPIO Pin, setting the pin high and low corresponding to the desired exposure time of the camera. The only other requirement is to read the Analog Output of the camera which requires the initialization of the Analog Module and setting it to the proper pinout. Acutal camera output image: Yellow = SI, Green = Camera Signal, Purple = clock More camera waveforms and information (Power Point) available here This link shows a video of the camera connected to the oscilloscope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOAd3ERnXiQ To obtain this signal, connect channel 1, 2 and 3 of an oscilloscope to the SI pulse (Trigger off this signal), CLK, and AO signals. Timing The timing for creation and read of the signals is crucial and is detailed in the diagram below. This information can also be found in the Line Scan Datasheet. Analog Read: The Analog Output (AO) signal from the camera needs to be processed and read by the microcontroller's Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). This ADC device converts a continuous signal into a discrete number which is proportional to the signal voltage. An 8 bit ADC has 256 discrete levels (2^8). If a analog signal between 0 and 5 volts is sampled, a digital discrete number of 0 would correspond to zero volts, and a digital discrete number of 255 would correspond to 5 volts. A number such as 145w would correspond to about 2.8 volts. The maximum signal sample rate is limited by the microcontroller. Proper configuration of the ADC peripheral and the multiplexer of the chip will configure a pin to read in an analog signal when calling the function. More details on analog to digital converters can be found on the wikipedia site here. Read/Write In write mode, the GPIO pin can be set, cleared, or toggled via software initiated register settings. Microcontroller Reference Manual: Analog to Digital Converter You will find high level information about GPIO usage in several different areas of a reference manual. See the reference-manual article for more general information. Relevant Chapters: (see GPIO chapters for clock and SI Creation) Introduction: System Modules: System Integration Modules (SIM) - provides system control and chip configuration registers Chip Configuration: Signal Multiplexing: Port control and interrupts Focusing the camera: Once the sensor is perfectly working the next step is to find the best position of the lens that will generate the clearest images. The best way to do it is using an oscilloscope: Connect the SI and AO signals to the oscilloscope Set the SI pulse so that it can be clearly seen and then trig the AO signal with the SI signal using the trig function Fix the camera looking at a sheet of paper with a black line in the center The image of the black line will appear on the oscilloscope screen Screw the camera until you find the position where the line seems the clearest Camera Circuit   5 wires must be connected ground power SI CLK AO Camera Limitations   According to the datasheet:   " The sensor consists of 128 photodiodes arranged in a linear array. Light energy impinging on a photodiode generates photocurrent, which is integrated by the active integration circuitry associated with that pixel. During the intergration period, a sampling capacitor connects to the output of the integrator through an analog swith. The amount of charge accumulated at each pixel is directly proportional to the light intensity and the integration time." Integration Time: T T = (1/fmax)*(n-18)pixels + 20us, where n is the number of pixels Minimum integration time: 33.75us Maximum integration time: capacitors will saturate if exceeding 100ms frequency range 5 Khz - 8 Mhz (8 Mhz is fmax in equation above) The integration time is the following: It occurs between the 19th CLK cycle and the next SI pulse. The CLK frequency itself has little to do with the integration time. One each rising edge, the clock outputs one of the previously sampled intensity values. This means that integration time should be set by varying the time between SI pulses, not changing the clock frequency. Make the CLK frequency high, and have as much time as needed between the two SI pulses to obtain the desired intensity value. Pro Tips: #1 - Avoid Light Noise Light can be transmitted through the pcb on the back of the camera. This unwanted extra light shining on the CMOS linear sensor can induce significant errors into your signals received. A shroud or housing for the camera unit can easily eliminate this problem. One of the easiest solutions is to place a piece of electrical tape across the back of the camera in the highlighted area indicated in the picture below. #2 - Know your Settings When testing the car on the track or transporting it, it is not uncommon for the focus on the camera to loosen or change. Therefore it is recommended that after adjusting your camera focus for maximum performance you make mark (ex. metallic sharpie) between the lens and its body so you can realign the camera lens to it's proper position easily if it does shift. #3 - Know your Zone When hooking up the linescan camera, regardless of position or focus there is a drop off at each end of the image data. This is easily viewed with an oscilloscope. This effect is undesirable, particularly when you are finding your line position utilizing a derivative approach. These fallouts cause erroneous derivative values, and hence a poor line position solution. Two solutions we found useful were: (1) Ignoring the first 10-15 pixels and last 10-15 pixels of the image data array, and then determining the line position; (2) Often when making decisions in the code as to where the line was at it was found useful to use a threshold value for the difference in the derivative position, and secondly a binary threshold on the camera data. Note that the falloff depends on camera focus, position, etc. Therefore, these threshold values and pixels in which to ignore are relative to a specific instance. The problem however is common to the camera. #4 - Buffer Data Since the camera can read the line very quickly while the servo can only update every 20ms, there are multiple camera reads before the servo can update, if you are reading the camera fast and then overriding without saving them in some form then those camera reads are being wasted and are better off not having occurred. What can help is to create some sort of filter by bringing new values into an array with previous values and preforming some sort of averaging. The following code will take the new line position value and place it in a 1xA array where A is defined by CAMERA_AVG. NO AVERAGING IS OCCURRING HERE all that is happening is the camera values are being saved in a simple array, what is done with them is up to you. The way this works is that it shifts the entire array so the oldest data point is discarded in order to make room for the new line position at the other end of the array. It will only adds the new value if there is one available if not it copies the previous first position value to the new first position value. CAMERA_AVG => an integer value for how long the averaging length will occur gfpLineAverage => global floating point array of camera center line values fpLinePos => returned from read camera this is the center line position ReadCamera() => is the read camera function call returns a floating point value of fpLinePos // this will shift the values up and throw away the oldest value // then add a new reading for (i=CAMERA_AVG;i>0;i—) { gfpLineAverage[i]=gfpLineAverage[i-1]; } // if no line was detected the previous camera value will be passed on if (fpLinePos=ReadCamera()) { gfpLineAverage[0]= fpLinePos; } For example an array of of center line position values ranging from 0-127 could look like. Initial values [51 50 52 54 58 55] New position of 45 read [45 51 50 52 54 58] New position of 44 read [44 45 51 50 52 58] No value read [44 44 45 51 50 52] No value read [44 44 44 45 51 50] New position of 50 read [50 44 44 44 45 51] Program Exercise Specifics of how to configure the K40 ADC, to create the delay code is covered in the K40: Line Scan Camera Tutorial. Additional Training Resources Freescale Motor Control Tutorial Freescale Lecture 1: Introduction and Motor Basics Freescale Lecture 2: Pulse Width Modulaiton Freescale Lecture 3: Control Design Freesacle Lecture 4: Speed and Position Freescale Lecture 5: MPC5607B Overview Additional Resources Freescale app note on interfacing with a linescan camera Freescale app note on interfacing with an RCA camera

Hardware Servos are specialized dc motors geared to produced high-torques and set at specific angles vs rotating continously. The ability to position the servo at a specific angle over and over makes them ideal for robotics, radio controlled car and other various applications. A typical servo will have range of motion from 180-270 degrees. Most modern servos have a three wire interface, red (V+), black (ground), and white (control). To control a servo you must send it a variable length commands (pulse) in 20ms increments. This type of control is called Pulse Width Modulation. Pulse Width Modulation is a square wave with a set period. By changing the width controlling the proportion of on versus off time, you can obtain a digital ratio from 0-100%. That ratio of on versus off time is called the duty cycle. A microcontroller generates a PWM signal using a timer. The time from the beginning of one sequence to the next is called the period. The main timer registers include: Counter, Modulo, Count Initialization Value, Channel Value, FTM Status & Control, and Channel Status & Control. The Counter will count up from the Count Initialization Value and reset after reaching Modulo. One tradeoff of the design is the Modulo value we set. It represents the count value of a full duty cycle and also the resolution of our servo control. Setting a higher Modulo value allows for more precise variation in the servo, i.e. more accurate steering. The downside is that a higher value requires more time per cycle. It is necessary to configure a timer module for the drive motor separate from the servo because they each require different clock frequencies. Another tradeoff of pulse width modulation is whether it is edge-aligned or center-aligned. Edge-aligned PWM, where the channel is cleared at counter overflow and set at channel match, is simpler to implement in hardware. Center-aligned PWM, where the counter counts up and down, is more difficult to implement but does not give as much noise interference when the channel matches. Servos have 3 wires coming out of them: Ground: Black, Brown Power: Red PWM Signal: White, Yellow, Orange Spec Sheet for Servo used in Freescale Cup Futaba-S-3010 Creating the PWM Signal Much of what is needed to create this signal is discussed in the Motor Control tutorial. Click here to review how to configure a PWM signal on your microcontroller. The same microcontroller configuration utilized to drive a motor can be modified slightly to rotate the arm of a servo. Since the Servo and motor require different clock frequencies, it is necessary to configure a timer module for the servo separate from the motor. Freescale Cup participants will configure the timer modules to output signals that control a steering Servo via varying the Duty Cycle of a PWM signal. Microcontroller Reference Manual: Timer Information You will find high level information about Timer usage in several different areas of a reference manual. See the reference-manual article for more general information. Relevant Chapters: Introduction: Timer modules - lists the memory map and register definitions for the GPIO System Modules: System Integration Modules (SIM) - provides system control and chip configuration registers Chip Configuration: Timers Signal Multiplexing: Port control and interrupts Methods of controlling steering angles Construct a look-up table One way of controlling the steering angles is to construct a look-up table. The input of the look-up table can be the shift distance(in pixels) from the center, and the output could be the steering angles. The look-up table can be put into an excel file. So when you want to use it, just copy and paste the table into your code file. Here is an example of how to construct a look-up table. 1. Set up basic parameters of your car: height of camera(h), angle of camera(theta), velocity of car(v), servo delay(s).. 2. Draw a graph to help you develop a function between your input parameters and your output steering angles 3. Put all paraments into excel. So if you want to change any parameters in the future it will be very convenient. 4. Copy and paste look-up table into code file Note: depending on how you define your parameters, the look-up table may not work as well as you expected. Experiments show that the look-up table works well when the shift distance is small( small turns) and the car tends to go off track when the shift distance is big(sharp turns). Poportional Control (P Control) You can map your servo angle based directly on your line location. Take the derivative of the camera signal and use the derivative peaks as the edges of the line. Take the location of each peak and subtract them from each other to get the line width. Taking the min line peak plus line width will give you the location of the line. Now take that location and map it to your servo. We made Camera.Lock = loc and using this we made Motor.ServoAngle = Camera.Lock»1; This made our line location map directly to our servo and it seemed to work well for us. Additional Theory Training Resources Freescale Motor Control Tutorial Freescale Lecture 1: Introduction and Motor Basics Freescale Lecture 2: Pulse Width Modulaiton Freescale Lecture 3: Control Design Freesacle Lecture 4: Speed and Position Freescale Lecture 5: MPC5607B Overview

This tutorial covers the details of Driving a motor on the on the Kinetis K40 using the TWR-K40x256-KIT evaluation board. Overview In this exercise students will utilize the sample project to turn a motor on and off using the TWR-K40x256-KIT evaluation board. Students will: Put together the car chassis Create a Sample Project Build the code Download and run the code on a Kinetis TWR-K40x256 board. Learn how the code works   To successfully complete this exercise students will need the following board and development environment. Kinetis TWR-K40x256 board Motor Driver Board Freescale Cup Chassis with the Motors connected 7.2v Nicad Battery CodeWarrior for Microcontrollers Recommend completing the the Blink LED Tutorial before undertaking this Tutorial Put together the Car Chassis:   There are several steps in this process: Build the Freescale Cup Car Chassis Hardware Design Step Review the Driving A DC Motor Article If needed, obtain background information on motors, timer modules, PWM signals and counters by navigating to the driving a DC motor article. Design and Implement The Hardware 1. You will need to connect the Tower K40 to the Motor Board via the TWR-PROTO or some other mechanism. 2. You will need to connect the Motor Board to the DC motors and Battery This link shows a video of the motors spinning. They start from Off and slowly pick up speed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY2bRiICzwc&feature=relmfu Motor Controller Board This board takes the low-voltage, low-power "control" signals from the MCU and through an H-Bridge takes ahigh-voltage, high-power power supply (the battery) to drive the motors. Motor Board page. 1. Be careful with the wires connected to the motor. Constant flexing of the solder connection can result in joint failure. If this happens, just re-solder it. 2. The wires which protrude from the motors of The Freescale Cup Chassis are in the format of Insulated Crimp On Bullet Connectors. These can be found at Radio Shack if they are missing from the kit. Build the Code If you have more than one project in your project view, make sure the proper project is the focus. The most reliable way to do this is to right click the project and choose Build Project as shown below. You can also go to the Project menu and choose the same command. Learning Step: Motor Code Description Functions Variables The edge-aligned mode is selected when (QUADEN = 0), (DECAPEN = 0), (COMBINE 0), (CPWMS = 0), and (MSnB = 1). The EPWM period is determined by (MOD − CNTIN + 0x0001) and the pulse width (duty cycle) is determined by (CnV − CNTIN). The CHnF bit is set and the channel (n) interrupt is generated (if CHnIE = 1) at the channel (n) match (FTM counter = CnV), that is, at the end of the pulse width. This type of PWM signal is called edge-aligned because the leading edges of all PWM signals are aligned with the beginning of the period, which is the same for all channels within an FTM. Initialize the Motor void InitMotorPWM()  {     //Enable the Clock to the FTM1 Module     SIM_SCGC6 |= SIM_SCGC6_FTM1_MASK;     // PORTC_PCR4 = PORT_PCR_MUX(1) | PORT_PCR_DSE_MASK;   //Enable GPIO on on the pin -     //route the output of that channel 0 to the pin... (pick a different multiplexer value for routing the timer)     //ch 11.4.1 of the k40 reference manual is the pin control register     //For port c pin 1..   bits 10-8  Pin Mux Control...     PORTA_PCR8  = PORT_PCR_MUX(3)  | PORT_PCR_DSE_MASK;     PORTA_PCR9  = PORT_PCR_MUX(3)  | PORT_PCR_DSE_MASK;     // Choose EDGE-Aligned PWM:  selected when QUADEN=0, DECAPEN=0, COMBINE=0, CPWMS=0, and MSnB=1  (page 964)     // Properly set up Flex Timer Module     //FTM0_MODE[WPDIS] = 1; //Disable Write Protection - enables changes to QUADEN, DECAPEN, etc.      FTM1_MODE |= FTM_MODE_WPDIS_MASK;     //FTMEN is bit 0, need to set to zero so DECAPEN can be set to 0     FTM1_MODE &= ~1;      //Set Edge Aligned PWM     FTM1_QDCTRL &=~FTM_QDCTRL_QUADEN_MASK;      //QUADEN is Bit 1, Set Quadrature Decoder Mode (QUADEN) Enable to 0,   (disabled)     //FTM0_SC = 0x16; //Center Aligned PWM Select = 0, sets FTM Counter to operate in up counting mode,     //it is field 5 of FTMx_SC (status control) - also setting the pre-scale bits here   //   Also need to setup the FTM0C0SC channel control register  - Page 897   section 37.3.6   FTM1_CNT = 0x0; //FTM Counter Value - (initialize the CNT before writing to MOD)  (16 bit available - bits 0-15 are count)   FTM1_MOD = FTM1_MOD_VALUE; //Set the Modulo resister (16 bit available - bits 0-15), Mod is set to 24000   FTM1_CNTIN = 0; //Set the Counter Initial Value to 0   (pg 915)   //change MSnB = 1   FTM1_C0SC |= FTM_CnSC_ELSB_MASK;   FTM1_C0SC &= ~FTM_CnSC_ELSA_MASK;   FTM1_C0SC |= FTM_CnSC_MSB_MASK;   FTM1_C0V = FTM1_MOD_VALUE/2; //Set the Channel n Value to  (16 bit available - bits 0-15)   //Set the complimentary pinout   FTM1_C1SC |= FTM_CnSC_ELSB_MASK;   FTM1_C1SC &= ~FTM_CnSC_ELSA_MASK;   FTM1_C1SC |= FTM_CnSC_MSB_MASK;   FTM1_C1V = FTM1_MOD_VALUE/2;   FTM1_SC = FTM_SC_PS(0) | FTM_SC_CLKS(1);    // Interrupts   FTM1_SC |= FTM_SC_TOIE_MASK; //enable the interrupt mask   enable_irq(63);  // (79-16) Set NVIC location, but you still have to change/check NVIC file sysinit.c under Project Settings Folder } Set the PWM of the Motor void SetMotorPWM(float DutyCycle) {    //float compDuty = (float)100.0-DutyCycle;    FTM1_C0V =(int)((DutyCycle*.01)* (float)FTM1_MOD_VALUE);    FTM1_C1V =(int)((1.0-DutyCycle*.01)* (float)FTM1_MOD_VALUE); } Create Interrupt when motor functions are complete void MotorTick() { if (MotorTickVar < 0xff)//if motor tick less than 255 count up...    MotorTickVar++; //Clear the overflow mask if set    if(FTM1_SC & FTM_SC_TOF_MASK)    FTM1_SC &= ~FTM_SC_TOF_MASK;    //LED_E2_TOGGLE; // ends up being ___ Hz (correct) } Calling the Motor function The function SetMotorPWM(MotorPwm) turns the motor at the "MotorPwm" rate from 0-49 (backwards), 50 (stall) and 100 (forwards).

This tutorial will discuss Timer Peripheral Modules, DC Motors, motor controllers, and configuration of your chip to output a PWM or Pulse Width Modulated Signal. The first section of this this tutorial provides the basics of DC (Direct Current) motors. The electronic circuits created to control these motors and schematics for PCBs, tips to reduce noise over important signals are also contained within this tutorial. Usage A dc-motor is an electrical device that converts energy into rotational movement. The motor moves a gear in one direction if current flows through the terminals (clockwise or counterclockwise), and in the opposite direction if current flows backwards through the same terminals. If there is a force opposing the motor, then the terminals are short circuited and the current through the terminals can go as high as 14 A or more. The voltage or current that must be delivered to the motor to work is too much for a microcontroller output port so an intermediary device must be used, such as the mc33932evb motor control board. Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) For a refresher in Pulse Width Modulation. Once you feel comfortable that you understand the concepts behind a duty cycle signal, you may move to the next step of understanding H bridge circuits. Circuit Amplification A microcontroller is typically not designed to directly drive DC motors.  Keep in mind MCU's are low-power devices and motors usually draw a lot of power.  So what is one to do?  Amplification!  There are lots of ways to do this and each has it's trade-offs.  Below are the most popular... Discrete Components A few MOSFETSs should do the trick.  This is a great learning exercise, you can probably get more oomph out of your circuit but it takes time to build and troubleshoot. If you search the web for motor driver board, you should find plenty of resources, designs, etc. Half-Bridge (aka H-bridge) These are integrated circuits with the aforementioned discrete components already configured for you.  Because these are integrated (into a very small footprint) these tend to be  power limited due to thermal issues.  Generally speaking, the better a device is at dissipating heat the more power it can handle. Get a basic view of H bridge circuit. Click here which describes H bridge circuits. DC Motor Describes how a DC motor works: here Microcontroller Reference Manual: Timer Information You will find high level information about Timer usage in several different areas of a reference manual. See the reference-manual article for more specific information on how best to navigate through to the areas which are relevant. Relevant Timer Chapters: Introduction: Human-machine interfaces - lists the memory map and register definitions for the GPIO System Modules: System Integration Modules (SIM) - provides system control and chip configuration registers Chip Configuration: Human-Machine interfaces (HMI). Signal Multiplexing: Port control and interrupts Human-Machine Interfaces: General purpose input/output Hardware Motor cup-car-motor: In testing the motor, we found that it drew between 0.35A and 0.5A with no load on the wheels and peaked at a little over 14A at stall. With this Data and 150% value for the H-Bridge or Motor Controller we need one with a current rating of 20A at least. The Motor has a Resistance between 0.9 and 1.0 ohm.  For motor control you can use the Freescale H-Bridge such as MC33931or MC33932, however these controllers peak at ~5 amps, so you will not be able to maximize speed Power & Current Requirements Additional Theory Training Resources Freescale Motor Control Tutorial Freescale Lecture 1: Introduction and Motor Basics Freescale Lecture 2: Pulse Width Modulaiton Freescale Lecture 3: Control Design Freesacle Lecture 4: Speed and Position Freescale Lecture 5: MPC5607B Overview

A great exercise when first starting with a new microcontroller is to get LEDs to turn-on, flash, or dim. Depending upon the configuration of your circuit, a LED (light-emitting diode) is accessed by toggling a GPIO or 'General Purpose Input Output pin either high or low. GPIO pins can be configured either as an input (read) or output (write). A high signal is often referred to as "Asserted" or a logic "1" and a low signal designated as Negated or logic "0". The input and output voltage range for GPIO pins is typically limited to the supply voltage of the evaluation board. Usage To optimize functionality in small packages, physical microcontroller pins have several functions available via signal multiplexing. Internally, a pin will have several wires connected to it via a multiplexer (wiki) or MUX. A multiplexer selects between several inputs and sends the selected signal to its output pin. The Signal Multiplexing chapter of your reference manual illustrates which device signals are multiplexed on which external pin. The Port Control block controls which signal is present on the external pin. The configuration registers within a microcontroller require proper configuration to select the GPIO as an input or output. The same GPIO pins utilized to blink a LED can be wired to read a signal coming from an external device such as the input from a hall effect sensor. Freescale Cup participants will configure GPIO pins as outputs to control the line-scan-camera via timed pulses and clock type signals. Read/Write In write mode, the GPIO pin can be set, cleared, or toggled via software initiated register settings. To determine which pin on the microcontroller is connected to a LED and how to access it from software, refer to the schematic of the microcontroller board. This pin will have numeric or alfanumeric value as well as an descriptive designation such as PTC7. Microcontroller Reference Manual: GPIO Information You will find high level information about GPIO usage in several different areas of a reference manual. See thereference-manual article for more general information. Relevant Chapters: Introduction: Human-machine interfaces - lists the memory map and register definitions for the GPIO System Modules: System Integration Modules (SIM) - provides system control and chip configuration registers Chip Configuration: Human-Machine interfaces (HMI). Signal Multiplexing: Port control and interrupts Human-Machine Interfaces: General purpose input/output Hardware As stated before, internal registers control whether a pin is high or low. Determining the polarity or orientation of your LED is important because this will let you know whether to set the associated pin in the HIGH or LOW state. The evaluation boards from Freescale all provide LED circuits like the one shown below. LED Circuit The circuit in figure (1) demonstrates a simple way to to power a LED. The circuit consists of connecting in a LED, resistor (which limits the current) and voltage source in series. LED's are semiconductors which convert current to light. When they are forward biased (turned on), electron and holes will recombine with no change in momentum, emitting a photon or light wave. Choosing the resistor is simple if you know the operating current requirements for your LED which are determined by reading the LED datasheet or specification document. R = (Vs - VL)/ IL Where V s is the power supply voltage, and V L is the Voltage Drop across the LED, and I L is the desired current through the LED.

On this page you will find additional notes to chassis assembly you may find useful. Examples of components used are obtained from the http://www.soselectronic.com/ distributor. Cables To connect battery you will need cable shown at the image top right. You can use the cable provided with the car and add an appropriate connector to its end. This usually requires special crimping tool, so it may be more appropriate to buy the "Tamyia charging cable" (shown on the bottom left side of the image above), cut the banana ends and attach the connector to the board. If you search for the appropriate type of the connector, it is called usually Tamiya charging connector, Tamiya jack 6,3 mm (SOS code 70479) or similar. Another cable you have to assemble is a power supply cable for the microprocessor board. You will need approx. 10-15 cm long cable with the barrel jack (SOS code 3834) or similar on one end and 2-pin 2.54mm connector (e.g. SOS code 4934 + 4937) on the other end. NOTE: Never power the microprocessor board and interface boards from different power supplies! In such case the grounds on both boards are not connected and you can damage the board. The grey flat ribbon cable that interconnects the boards is for signals only, there is no common GND connection! Battery You may find (as we did) the provided cable strips too weak to hold the battery on the place. Replace them with the classic electricians cable strips (e.g. SOS code 67504). Also do not forget that the batteries need to be charged fully the first time you charge them or they will not be able to fully charge in the future. If you jump the gun because you want to test your code as soon as you can you will hurt yourself later as we found our battery was absolutely shot in later stages of our build. Motor wires To attach the motor to the interface board you may find (as we did) the cables too short. Then remove 6 screws on the bottom (see image on the left), open the motor box and desolder the short wires. Replace with approx. 15 cm long silicon cables at least 1mm2. End of the cables should be connected to the 3-pin connectors with the 3,9mm pitch (e.g. SOS order code 5914 ) - see image on the right. Again, the contacts should be attached using a special crimp tool. Camera To attach the camera we found useful to prepare two metal L-shaped pieces made from aluminium. With the help of black plastic distance posts (already available in the kit) and these metal stands, you may freely change the position of the camera over the surface. You may use following files to cut the required shapes (drawing was made using the QCad program): Preview (.pdf) CAD file (.dxf)   Base board There was no motherboard in the kit, so you will need to provide your own. To make life easier, we offer you our CAD files created with QCad program. You may use it to produce your board. We use plexiglass for ours, but any other plastic material is appropriate. The large hole in the middle is for cables from the servo. We attach the board to the car using the plastic standoffs (you will need them 55 mm long, so in our case, we used the combination of 40 + 15 mm) - see an example (SOS code 10260). To attach both the processor and interface boards the simillar 5mm plastic standoffs were used. Preview (.pdf) CAD file (.dxf) Getting all together Please, notice the orientation of cables, especially the power supplies. You may find useful following connection diagram. Enlarged Schematic (.png) NOTE: Never power the microprocessor board and interface boards from different power supplies! In such case the grounds on both boards are not connected and you can damage the board. The grey flat ribbon cable that interconnects the boards is for signals only, there is no common GND connection! Servo Motor connectors The parts provided are extremely flimsy and if you snap them in and the wheels are not perfectly straight the wheels will align wrong when the servo first turns on. First off just concentrate on one wheel at a time and we found it useful to have one person hold the wheel straight while the arm was in the proper position and then we used needle nose pliers to quickly and precisely snap the pieces into the wheel. Don't be afraid to use some muscle we hesitated a few times at first because it didn't look good but it was fine.

Connection Diagram for TRK-MPC5604B to Rev. 1 Motor Control "Shield" Board Connection Diagram for TRK-MPC5604B to Rev. 0 Motor Control Board For the TRK-MPC5604, connect the flat ribbon cable to PortB as seen in the picture below. Make the cable connections as shown below for dual motor with independent drive connection Make the cable connections as shown below for dual motor with series drive connection Make the cable connections as shown below for Single motor connection Protect your electronics 1. Try not to stop the wheels while in motion.  This can cause current spikes. 2. Don’t disconnect or connect any cable when board is powered [ON]. 3. Don’t discharge the battery below 5.5V 4. Don’t hit stationary objects

Option #1 Camera Mount Designed by Eli Hughes of WaveNumber LLC. You can order these parts through Shapeway.com which 3D prints on demand. You can choose from all sorts of materials depending on how much you want to spend. Option #2 To attach the camera we found useful to prepare two metal L-shaped pieces made from aluminium. With the help of black plastic distance posts (already available in the kit) and these metal stands, you may freely change the position of the camera over the surface. You may use following files to cut the required shapes (drawing was made using the QCad program): Preview (.pdf) CAD file (.dxf)

First and foremost, be creative!! Below are just a few inspirational ideas. Option #1 - I cut-down (miter saw) a 4-position TWR-ELEVATOR to make this 2-position design. With the intent of having two boards mounted 1) TWR-PROTO and 2) MCU of choice (K40). If cutting PCB's with power tools is not your thing, you can buy a 2-position Tower Elevator here: http://wavenumber.net/twr-elev-2/ I just marked the holes on the back supportand drilled holes into the TWR-PROTO, a few stand-offs and viola! Option #2 - This option requires the removal of the rear spring. I am not sure how much value that spring honestly provides since most of the track is nice and flat. If you have a newer TWR-ELEVATOR you usually find some way to mount it to the screw holes with some form of L-Bracket. If you have an older TWR-ELEVATOR you can drill a hole in the Secondary Elevator (less PCB traces to worry about) and then mount it to the chassis with a L-Bracket. Option #3 - Check out this gallery of images: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106056936857240793028/albums/5598207628299505201

Depending on which MCU Devlopment board you have chosen, you will need to figure out a way to mount this to the chassis. I have seen everything from cardboard, to aluminum, to wood. Below is a template complete with CAD drawings to mount the Qorivva TRK-MPC5604B board and the Motor Board onto the chassis. We use plexiglass for ours, but any other millable material is appropriate. The large hole in the middle is for cables from the servo. We attach the board to the car using the plastic standoffs (you will need them 55 mm long, so in our case, we used the combination of 40 + 15 mm) - see an example (SOS code 10260). To attach both the processor and interface boards the simillar 5mm plastic standoffs were used. Preview (.pdf) CAD file (.dxf)

This page will guide you through the attachment of the servo to the Freescale Cup chassis.   The servo steers the vehicle and is controlled using Pulse-width modulation . Video Tutorial (no sound): Step-by-Step: (Click any image to enlarge) Servo Plate Inside the kit are various mounting options for different servo manufacturers. Look for the bushing of the servo that you are using. You will need the three pieces shown below. You will screw this into the servo. Pieces are notched, so assembly is straight forward. Remove the screw and black servo plate. Mount the yellow servo plate assembly to the servo as shown below. Make sure to add the small yellow washer (pictured below) in between the servo plate and the screw. Tighten well, a servo produces a good amount of torque and will slip if not tight. Steering Bar Assembly Assemble the short arm. Assemble the long arm.   Putting the Two Together Attach the short arm to the yellow bracket. First, insert the bearing into the control arm. This allows the joint to flex and move. Screw this assembly into the servo plate. Attach the long arm to the yellow bracket. Mounting the Servo Motor Attach the motor mount blocks to the back of the servo on both sides. Screw in the attachment blocks from the bottom of the car. Words of Wisdom Be sure to have servo motor in the 0 degree position before securing the control arms. Failure to do so will result in not being utilize the full range of motion. Do not change the position of the steering servomotor by hand. The position of the steering servomotor should be changed through electrical input only. Don’t move the steering servo motor beyond the maximum limit of the movement and this will damage the servo motor

Assembly Of The Freescale Cup Car Chassis Before you start building your program for your car, It would be better if you can assemble your car chassis first. With your car correctly assembled, you can easily test it with your different programs in the later tutorials. The followings are all the tutorials about car chassis assembly. A step-by-step car chassis assembly manual & hints (pub)  (PDF) Servo and steering assembly directions DIY Board mounting template for the TRK-MPC5604B DIY Board mounting template for the Tower System Board mounting suggestions for the FRDM-KL25Z with shield DIY Camera Mounts Wiring connections for the TRK-MPC5604B Hints and notes to chassis assembly Freescale Cup Innovation Challenge EMEA Model B car assembly file in attachment below Exploded Assembly Diagrams Chassis Build Directions [PPT] Original Manufacturer Directions [PDF]

Getting Started with the Freescale Cup How to achieve the goal of creating an autonomous vehicle that quickly navigates around a track? Before continuing with this tutorial, students should take the time to choose which Freescale Microcontroller your team is going to use. The Introduction to Freescale Cup Training article has some details about how to choose your microcontroller. Although the concepts and end results are similar no matter which microcontroller you decide to utilize, much of the software implementation details will differ. What is a Microcontroller? For information on what a microcontroller is head to the microcontrollers article. Getting Started - Learn to Program a microcontroller First off, you are going to need to know C programming. For a crash-course head to c-programming-for-embedded-systems. The classic first application to learn how to program a microcontroller is to get through the process of Blinking an LED. This wiki contains a tutorial for each of the Cup microprocessors which simplifies the process of setting up the evaluation board, installing the Integrated Development Environment, and programming the board with a simple set of software which blinks a LED. The Blink a LED tutorial is the first of 4 tutorials designed to familiarize students with the process of designing a cup car. These four tutorials will introduce students to many of the fundamentals of robotics, the software used to control the locomotion and sensors on an autonomous line following vehicle, and provide example code which help simplify the process of creating a competitive entry in the Freescale Cup. Here is an outline of the Basic Microcontroller Programming Tutorial: Read the microcontroller article Choose a microcontroller Set up the development environment Set up the microcontroller evaluation board Program A LED move to the next tutorial…

Team Wooden Jalopy from the University of Applied Sciences in Landshut on their run at the Freescale Cup Europe Finals in Prague (2012-04-04). We ranked the 5th place.

FreescaleCup race test - Team 3,14 STU Bratislava Slovakia 31.3.2012 High Speed Camera 400fps

Freescale cup 2012 Team 3.14 Slovakia Bratislava High speed camera 400fps

Tested race, TUSUR, Tomsk, Russia 😃