Using the Stellaris or Tiva C Series LaunchPad in the FIRST Robotics Competition
The Stellaris and Tiva™ C Series LaunchPads are evaluation kits for the Tiva™ C Series ARM Cortex M4F based microcontrollers from Texas Instruments. The Stellaris LaunchPad is almost functionally identical to the Tiva™ C Series LaunchPad; it is just an earlier version.
This wiki page describes how FIRST Robotics teams can use either LaunchPad in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). For more specific information about the Tiva™ C Series LaunchPad please visit the product page.
Note: For the MSP430F5529 LaunchPad included in the 2015 kit of parts, please refer to our updated page for the F5529.
Contents
Overview
Both the Stellaris and the Tiva™ C Series LaunchPad can enumerate as a composite set of two USB HID gamepads by loading the usb_dev_cgamepad example application into the LaunchPad microcontroller (MCU) flash memory. With this example application, the LaunchPad looks and acts like any generic set of two USB game controllers or joysticks. Without any special drivers or APIs, the FRC Driver Station is able to utilize the LaunchPad as if it were a game controller. Data from the LaunchPad is accessed by the robot just as any other joystick.
The gamepad example application is specifically written to be compatible with the GPIO Breakout BoosterPack (BOOSTXL-IOBKOUT). While the Breakout BoosterPack isn't required for the gamepad example application, the BoosterPack makes creating a custom control interface very simple: Connecting external circuitry is made trivial with its screw terminals. Each terminal is labeled in a way that maps directly to the gamepad application. Each analog signal is passed through a unity-gain amplifier to ensure a low source resistance to the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) on the MCU. Additionally, every signal is protected from Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) by series resistors and ESD diodes.
BoosterPack and Gamepad Features
- Enumerates as a composite set of two USB HID gamepads
- 8 analog inputs with unity-gain amplifiers
- X, Y, Z and X-Rotation for each gamepad
- 22 digital inputs
- 11 per gamepad
- Internal pull-ups to +3.3V
- 3.5 mm screw terminals for all inputs
- 2 3.3V terminals
- 4 ground terminals
- 0.1" 1X3 user-installed header positions for every signal
- Servo-style pin arrangement: Ground - Power - Signal
- 3-switch DIP user switch
- Can be used as mode switches
- Mapped to buttons 14 - 16 on the A-side gamepad
- ESD Protection on all signals and power rails
- 0.125" mounting holes
Getting Started with the LaunchPad, Boosterpack, and Gamepad Firmware
This section outlines how to setup your LaunchPad with the GPIO Breakout BoosterPack and load the gamepad firmware for the first time.
Hardware Needed
Below is a list of the hardware components needed to get started.
- Tiva™ C Series or Stellaris LaunchPad
- Stellaris LM4F120 LaunchPad (EK-LM4F120XL)
- Order now through FIRST Choice
- Tiva™ C Series TM4C123G LaunchPad (EK-TM4C123GXL)
- Stellaris LM4F120 LaunchPad (EK-LM4F120XL)
- GPIO Breakout BoosterPack (BOOSTXL-IOBKOUT)
- Order now through TI eStore - $19.59 (Free Shipping)
- Order now through DigiKey - $27.98 + Shipping - Be sure to use your 2014 DigiKey PDV
- USB Micro-B plug to USB-A plug cable
- Included with the LaunchPad kit
Software Needed
Below is a list of the software components needed to load the gamepad application on the LaunchPad.
- Stellaris ICDI Drivers
- Used to talk to the debug chip on the LaunchPad for programming
- LM Flash Programmer
- Windows application used to load the firmware on the LaunchPad
- usb_dev_cgamepad.bin
- Composite gamepad firmware to load onto the LaunchPad
Loading the Composite Gamepad Firmware
You should only have to load the firmware onto the LaunchPad once. These steps can be completed on any Windows computer running Windows 2000, XP, 7, or 8, including the Driver Station laptop.
- Plug the LaunchPad into the GPIO Breakout BoosterPack headers at the top-center of the board. Pay attention to the arrows indicating the proper orientation.
- Download and unzip the Stellaris ICDI Drivers and place the stellaris_icdi_drivers folder in an easily accessible location on your computer.
- Follow the Driver Installation Instructions and plug in the USB cable into the LaunchPad's DEBUG USB port and your computer when the instructions tell you to. Make sure the power select switch is in the DEBUG position.
- Download and install the LM Flash Programmer application.
- Download the usb_dev_gamepad.zip and extract the usb_dev_cgamepad_setup.exe. Run the executable and pick an easily accessible location for the usb_dev_cgamepad.bin file.
- Please note that you are not installing an application, the executable just extracts the firmware file onto your computer.
- Open LM Flash Programmer and select either "LM4F120 LaunchPad" or "TM4C123G LaunchPad" under the Quick Set menu on the Configuration tab. Select the the LaunchPad that matches the one you are using.
- Select the Program tab and Browse for the usb_dev_gamepad.bin file that you downloaded previously.
- Verify that the following options are set:
- Erase Entire Flash - (faster)
- Verify After Program
- Reset MCU After Program
- Program Address Offset: 0x0
- Click Program and wait for the programmer to finish with a "Verify Complete - Passed" message at the bottom of the window.
- Unplug the USB cable from the DEBUG USB port and plug it into the DEVICE port. Switch the power select switch to the DEVICE position.
- Windows should recognize a new USB Composite Device and start installing the default drivers for the composite gamepads.
- You should now see a "Texas Instruments Tiva Dual Gamepad" in your device manager.
Using the LaunchPad and BoosterPack as an HID Gamepad
Once the gamepad firmware is loaded on to the LaunchPad, you can connect a variety of switches, buttons, and analog sensors (e.g. potentiometers) to the BoosterPack.
The BoosterPack is organized with screw terminals on both the left (A-Side) and right (B-Side) sides of the board. Two gamepads will enumerate when plugged into the computer, one for the A-Side and one for the B-Side. At the moment, however, the device strings that appear in the Driver Station joystick list are identical. You can press the built in LaunchPad buttons SW1 and SW2 to exercise buttons A1 and B1, respectively, to determine which gamepad is which in the device list.
Materials
You will need the following materials to start creating a basic custom human interface:
- Various buttons, switches, or potentiometers
- Small flat-head screwdriver
- Stranded wire (approximately 18 to 24 AWG)
- Wiring tools (strippers, soldering iron, etc.)
Adding Digital Buttons
Each gamepad has 11 buttons that are accessible through the screw terminals on the BoosterPack: labeled A1 - A11 and B1 - B11. These terminals are connected to General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) pins on the LaunchPad Microcrontroller (MCU). These GPIOs are set by the firmware as digital inputs with internal pull-up resistors enabled. A button is registered as "pressed" when the digital input goes LOW (AKA ground or 0V). The pull-up resistors pull the inputs HIGH (+3.3V) internally, so by default the inputs will all be HIGH (released) until pulled LOW externally. Therefore, to add a switch or button that triggers a "pressed", all you need to do is wire the switch so that it completes the circuit between the input and ground (GND). See the figure to the right for a schematic drawing.
Adding Analog Axes
Each gamepad has 4 axes that are accessible through the screw terminals on the BoosterPack: labeled AX, AY, AZ, AR, BX, BY, BZ, and BR. These terminals are connected through a unity-gain amplifier to the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) on the LaunchPad MCU. The purpose of the unity-gain amplifier is to provide a low impedance source for the ADC which has a maximum analog source resistance requirement of 500Ω. Because of the amplifier, you can connect a wide range of analog sensors, e.g. potentiometers (pots), with varying output impedances. In order to reduce overall power consumption (at the low end) and reduce the susceptibility to noise (at the high end) it is recommended that pots are valued from 5kΩ - 100kΩ.
The ADC on the MCU is capable of measuring a 0 - +3.3V range at a resolution of 12 bits. The gamepad firmware takes the 12-bit measurements and truncates the least two significant bits, essentially creating a 10-bit measurement. The voltage resolution can easily be calculated:
Voltage Resolution = (ADC Voltage Range)/(2^(ADC Bits) - 1) Voltage Resolution = (3.3 V)/(2^10 - 1) = 3.22 mV
Knowing the voltage resolution is useful if you are connecting a sensor that may not span the entire ADC input range, or if the sensors resolution is higher than the ADC.
When using a linear taper pot that is wired the same as in the Potentiometer Schematic Drawing, you can simply determine the angular resolution by dividing the pot's degrees by the ADC resolution. For example, a pot with 300° of motion will have an angular resolution of:
Angular Resolution = (Total Degrees)/(2^(ADC Bits) - 1) Angular Resolution = (300°)/(2^10 - 1) = 0.29°
The gamepad firmware takes the 10 bit measurement and converts it into a signed number between -512 and 511 before sending it through the gamepad data structure. The diagram to the right shows how the measured voltage and data values are mapped to the gamepad axes. Note that the Driver Station will convert the gamepad data into a signed number between -1.0 and +1.0.
Terminal Mapping
The gamepad firmware makes the following mappings between the BoosterPack terminals and the USB gamepad data structure:
| A-Side | B-Side | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BoosterPack | LaunchPad | Gamepad | BoosterPack | LaunchPad | Gamepad | |
| AX | X-Axis | X-Axis | ||||
| AY | Y-Axis | Y-Axis | ||||
| AZ | Z-Axis | Z-Axis | ||||
| AR | X-Rotation | X-Rotation | ||||
| A1 | SW1 | Button 1 | B1 | SW2 | Button 1 | |
| A2 | Button 2 | B2 | Button 2 | |||
| A3 | Button 3 | B3 | Button 3 | |||
| A4 | Button 4 | B4 | Button 4 | |||
| A5 | Button 5 | B5 | Button 5 | |||
| A6 | Button 6 | B6 | Button 6 | |||
| A7 | Button 7 | B7 | Button 7 | |||
| A8 | Button 8 | B8 | Button 8 | |||
| A9 | Button 9 | B9 | Button 9 | |||
| A10 | Button 10 | B10 | Button 10 | |||
| A11 | Button 11 | B11 | Button 11 | |||
| S1 | LED Red | Button 14 | ||||
| S2 | LED Blue | Button 15 | ||||
| S3 | LED Green | Button 16 | ||||
Note: User switches S1, S2, and S3 are mapped to buttons 14, 15, and 16 on the A-side only. They are also shared with the tri-color LED on the LaunchPad. One possible use for the user switches can be to select a mode in the robot code that isn't changed very often.
Mounting
When mounting the BoosterPack, it is recommended that nylon standoffs and screws be used to raise the board off of the mounting surface. The 0.125" diameter mounting holes fit #4 sized screws well.
The GPIO Breakout BoosterPack has the following dimensions:
With the LaunchPad installed, the vertical dimension is increased by ~1.0" to 4.75".
Modifying the Gamepad Firmware
It will eventually be possible to modify the gamepad firmware to change mapping, use I2C, SPI, or UART based sensors, preprocess sensor data, and more. The source code to the example application will be released in the near future and will make it easy to tweak the inner workings while maintaining the simple gamepad interface to the Driver Station and robot.
More information will be placed in this section when the source code is released.
Using the LaunchPad on the Robot
Coming Soon.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Coming Soon.
Additional Information and Resources
- More information about the Tiva C Series LaunchPad
- More information about the Stellaris LaunchPad
- Please visit the Tiva™ C Series LaunchPad information
- More information about the GPIO Breakout BoosterPack
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