OBC Software Repository

In this repository is where all of the OBC Software is housed. This is the final version that will be used on the satellite. The software runs on the Microchip ATSAMV71Q21B Microcontroller Unit, which is a 32-bit ARM Cortex-M7 core. We use FreeRTOS to handle the tasking of the MCU. More information regarding OBC can be found here.

Build

The obc-software repository can be built without any access to specialised hardware. We provide build instructions for Linux (or WSL) command-line, and the CLion IDE.

The dependencies of this repository are managed through the conan package manager, with repositories from ConanCenter and SpaceDot's packages.

For more detailed installation instructions, including how to integrate with a microcontroller, visit the corresponding documentation page.

From the Command Line (CLI)

1. Install a modern C++ compiler, CMake, and Conan.
   CMake >= 3.23 and Conan >= 2.0 are recommended.

   Getting conan

   You can install conan following the instructions from here.

2. Clone the repository and enter the directory:

   git clone git@gitlab.com:acubesat/obc/obc-software.git
   cd obc-software

3. (If you haven't already) create a conan profile for your system:

   conan profile detect

4. (If you haven't already) add the SpaceDot repository to conan:

   conan remote add spacedot https://artifactory.spacedot.gr/artifactory/api/conan/conan

5. Download all dependencies and build the project through conan:

   conan install . --output-folder=cmake-build-debug --build="*" -u -pr conan-arm-profile

6. Download all submodules:

   conan source .

7. Add CMake flags:

   cmake -B cmake-build-debug/build/Debug -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake-build-debug/build/Debug/generators/conan_toolchain.cmake -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="/usr/bin/arm-none-eabi-g++" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER="/usr/bin/arm-none-eabi-gcc" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug .

8. Build the project:

   cd cmake-build-debug/build/Debug
   make

From CLion

CLion will automatically try to set up a CMake project for you. However, without the conan packages installed, this will quickly fail. Follow these steps to set up the conan project:

1. Follow steps 1-6 from the CLI instructions above.
2. Add the following to the CMake Options (File -> Settings -> Build, Execution, Deployment -> CMake -> CMake Options):

   -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=cmake-build-debug/build/Debug/generators/conan_toolchain.cmake -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER="/usr/bin/arm-none-eabi-g++" -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER="/usr/bin/arm-none-eabi-gcc"
   

3. If your CMake project doesn't reload automatically, reload it manually (Tools -> CMake -> Reload CMake Project).

We do not recommend using a Conan plugin for your IDE, as it may tamper with the default configuration for this repository.

Getting conan

You can install conan following the instructions from here.:

Implemented Software

Prototypes of ECSS Services

• ST[01]
• ST[03]
• ST[17] (Not a task, since there isn't a need of periodic update. However, the MCU responds to TC[17,1] and TC[17,3])
• ST[20]

Peripherals:

• Internal MCU Temperature Sensor
• External (MCP9808) Temperature Sensor
• UART with DMA
• Parameter updating of ST[20]

Using Minicom to monitor the U(S)ART of ATSAM

Downloading Minicom

minicom is found in almost all package managers for Linux and macOS. For Linux you can use:

For Pop/Ubuntu/Debian derivatives

sudo apt install minicom

For Fedora

sudo dnf install minicom

For Arch

sudo pacman -S minicom

Running minicom

minicom is a program that displays the serial input of a port on your computer. To run it, you must specify such a port.

On Linux systems, the serial ports for connected embedded devices are /dev/ttyACMX, where X is a number. The first device you connect will start at 0, and each new device increases the number by 1. Note that removing a device "frees" the port, so if you have two devices connnected and you remove the first, /dev/ttyACM0 will be disconnected while /dev/ttyACM1 will be connected to the remaining target device. When using UART-to-USB devices such as an FTDI, the naming scheme changes and the devices will be at /dev/ttyUSBX, however the above scheme remains the same.

You can use the command ls /dev/ttyACM* to view all connected devices on the /dev/ttyACMX spectrum. If a device is connected to port /dev/ttyACM0, you can use:

minicom -D /dev/ttyACM0

to get its ouput.

Using minicom

All actions inside the program require pressing the Meta key first. If you want to exit the program, you need to press Meta, then x. On Linux the Meta key is CTRL+A, while on macOS it is Escape. You can use Meta, then z to view a list of shortcuts.

Line Feeds

Our embedded devices send only a \n delimiter on the end of each log message. Thus, when you open the minicom instance, you will see that each line starts at the end of the previous line. After a couple of log messages, the new lines will start at the right edge of the screen and the messages will be invisible. To control this, you can press Meta, then u to toggle interpreting \n as \r\n. Each new message will now start at the beginning of the next line.

Saving output to file

In case you need to save the output of a session to a file, use the option -C filename.txt when opening the program. For example:

minicom -D /dev/ttyACM0 -C output.txt

will save the logs to the file output.txt in your current directory.

Watchdog

The internal watchdog has been disabled for debugging reasons.

To re-enable remove the line

WDT_REGS->WDT_MR = WDT_MR_WDDIS_Msk;

in initialization.c. It's on line 148 at the time of writing. You should also uncomment WDT_Initialize() below that.

Integrate MPLAB Harmony3 (through MCC) to CLION

To integrate Harmony3 with CLion, follow the steps below:

1. Ensure you have downloaded the MCC standalone from the Microchip site. Run the script as root and install MCC (Regular Content Directory should NOT be in /root/ but in your home directory).
2. Build the project and then generate the project's code through MPLAB at least once so that the *.mc3 file is produced in the AutoGenerated.X directory. Please follow the related wiki.
3. Open CLion.
4. Go to Main Menu(three lines on the top left)->file->Settings -> Tools -> External Tools -> Add.
5. A pop-up will appear as shown below:
6. Fill out the sections as shown below:
   • Name: Harmony3
   • Description: Harmony Configurator
   • Program: /bin/bash
   • Arguments: ./Harmony3_Configurator.sh
7. Click OK -> Apply -> OK.
8. Right-click on the main toolbar at the top.
9. Click on Customize Toolbar....
10. Click on the + at the top of the pop-up window.
11. Click on Add Action....
12. Choose External Tools -> External Tools -> Harmony3 (You can choose an icon for your new action in the Icon section or leave the default).
13. Click OK.
14. Move the Harmony3 icon using your mouse to the left, right, or center of the bar.
15. Click OK
16. You should now see an icon in your toolbar.
17. To use it, simply click on it.
18. Once the MCC window opens, go to File -> Load Configuration and traverse to the AutoGenerated.X directory in the new firmware folder and load the *.mc3 file.
19. Make the necessary changes and simply close the MCC window.
20. You will need to reload the CMake Project through Tools -> CMake -> Reload CMake Project

Note: To close MCC, simply click on the 'x' in the corner. Never click on the red button in CLion, as it will interrupt the procedure and the script will stop without running the rest of the commands. Also please bear with it as loading takes a bit of time. (If at first it just hangs try running it again.)

To integrate the MELD diff tool into MPLAB Harmony3, follow these steps:

1. Run the command sudo apt install meld in a terminal.
2. Open Harmony3.
3. Navigate to File -> Preferences -> Diff.
4. In the 'Diff Tool Command' section, enter /usr/bin/meld {0} {1}