Creating an open source platform to develop embedded control systems, and performing a control application on a real-time distributed system
Tutor/a - Director/a
Estudiante
Rosero Chandi, Carlos Xavier
Tipo de documento
Projecte Final de Màster Oficial
Fecha
2015
rights
Acceso abierto
Editorial
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
UPCommons
Resumen
In this project, it has been created a bootloader for the dsPIC33-based board named
as Full FLEX, which works jointly with the Erika Enterprise RTOS. In addition, was designed a
firmware to perform USB/UART bridging on a PIC18F microcontroller that is also placed inside this
board.
A python-based software, which decodes both ELF or HEX files into binary source and sends it via
USB, from any computer towards the bootloader on the controller, has been created. Furthermore, at
runtime the same communication channel can be used to establish a transparent bidirectional
communication between the controller and any other software.
With this implementation, at development stage, it has been removed an additional IDE and one
programming-tool used in the past to program the controller. Furthermore, two additional devices
utilized to establish communication between the board and any computer software at runtime stage,
are also avoided. So it was possible to reduce both development time and cost spent on tools.
It was decided to apply this tool for designing a control system of an inverted pendulum. This
application is based on four nodes linked via a CAN. Each node has implemented the bootloader and
also runs the above cited real-time operating system.
Testing and analyzing results lead to conclude that the system is reliable, efficient and works in
harmony beside the RTOS. In addition, the pendulum control system is stable and robust, plus it has
achieved the desired control objectives.
The development was carried out in the context of having a complete new platform that will be used
to facilitate the creation of real-time and/or distributed control sys- tems that can be used both
by researchers and students at the Real-Time Distributed Control Systems Laboratory in the
Automation Department of the Technical University of Catalonia.
The whole project and its documentation are available at github.com/xavierrosero/
FlexboardBootloader.
