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Mobile Weather Sensors Using ESP8266 – Phase 5: Ant+ Heart Rate Monitor

Adding a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) wraps up the Mobile Weather Sensor project. To get started, a sensor selection was needed. And since I already have and use a Garmin HRM with a wireless chest sensor, using that same sensor with my setup was the logical choice.

But how to do it?

That was the challenge…

First thing was to figure out how the Garmin unit worked. What sort of RF signal was being sent to my handlebar mounted display? And what message protocol is used? What will it take to interface with my Android, wirelessly?

After some research, I found that the Garmin HRM used an Ant+ interface.

What’s that? Ant+ does look a bit intimidating at first glance. Take a look here.

Fortunately. I was able to boil things down to the bare essentials of what was needed in order for my android phone to receive heart rate data from the sensor. There were several elements needed to make things work…

  • An ant+ radio was needed in the smartphone
  • The ant+ API works directly with a native android app. But since the Weather Sensor App uses the Cordova web interface, a method of communication was needed between the Cordova JavaScript code and the native Java code.
  • The phone app needed to automatically detect the HRM and pair with it (like bluetooth).

These modifications to the existing android app integrate the Java Ant+ API, the Heart Rate Monitor and JavaScript.

The Phone Ant+ Radio

Fortunately, my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has a built-in ant++ radio. But in order to access this interface, an App must be installed from the Google Play Store. It is called ANT+ Plugin Service. It is really simple. There is no App icon to launch. This is how it works…

Once installed, the service is called anytime an App attempts to connect with an ant+ device. My phone is an ancient model, almost two years old now. Many of the newer phone come with this service pre-installed.

this-is-ant

JavaScript to Java Interface

With an interest in portability between android and iOS phones, the Mobile Weather Sensor App has been built with a standard web interface. This presented a problem since the API provided by the ANT+ team supports android native Java (.java files) but not JavaScript.hrm-code

Fortunately, a mechanism has been provided to “extend” the Cordova Web API to communicate with Java code. Here is the source of the information I used to implement the interface between my App and the native code needed to communicate with my heart rate monitor.

First thing to do was to add a reference to this interface code to the project’s config.xml file:

<feature name="HeartRateMonitor">
       <param name="android-package" value="org.apache.cordova.antplus.heartrate.HeartRateMonitorInterface" />
       <param name="onload" value="true" />
</feature>

The first parameter identifies the file containing the feature class object. In this case, the Java code is contained in the file “HeartRateMonitorInterface.java”. The second parameter makes this feature available upon loading the application’s Web view.

But how do we call the Java code from JavaScript?

Here is the Cordova mechanism used to call Java feature “actions” from JavaScript:

cordova.exec(
    callback-if-successful,    //JavaScript Callback function if call 
                               //to Java code was successful
    callback-if-error,         //JavaScript Callback function if call
                               //to Java code was not successful
    "feature name",            //Feature name from config.xml file.
    "feature action",          //Feature action to be executed from 
                               //the .java file
    ["parameter array"]);      //Parameter array to send to Java code

As we shall see, the Java code can return any string back to the JavaScript callback functions. That is how the heart rate received by the Java code is returned JavaScript.

Only two feature actions were implemented to support the heart rate monitor interface:

  1. ConnectHeartRateMonitor – This method establishes a connection between the App and the Heart Rate Monitor
  2. GetHeartRate – This method retrieves the newest heart rate from the Java code.

ConnectHeartRateMonitor is called once at the start of the application while GetHeartRate is called each time the app refreshes the sensor values.

The Java Code

The Java code implements the  class “HeartRateMonitorInterface”. This class contains the following key methods:

  1. execute – This required methods is executed when JavaScript “cordova.exec(()” is called. As noted above, this method only supports two actions.
    1. ConnectHeartRateMonitor makes a call to the Ant+ API method “.requestAccess”. Fortunately, the API does all the hard work of connecting to the Heart Rate Monitor. The Class callback “base_IPluginAccessResultReceiver.onResultReceived” methods is invoked to report the status of the call.
    2. GetHeartRate simply returns the latest heart rate value back to JavaScript.
  2. base_IPluginAccessResultReceiver.onResultReceived is the callback invoked when the ant+ “.requestAccess” method is called. If access was successfully granted, we subscribe to the Heart Rate Monitor Events. Whenever a new event is received, the callback “HeartRateDataReceiver().onNewHeartRateData()” is invoked.
  3. IHeartRateDataReceiver().onNewHeartRateData() receives updates from the heart rate. Upon receipt of a new sensor value, the heart rate is saved to a class variable for retrieval, on-demand, from the JavaScript.

Conclusion

We now have a working application that supports all of the capabilities planned. The Eclipse project files for this application are on GitHub here. The data collected on this mobile application include:

  1. Temperature
  2. Barometric Pressure
  3. Humidity
  4. Speed
  5. Direction
  6. Coordinates
  7. Heart Rate
  8. Altitude
  9. UTC timestamp
  10. Internal ESP statistics

Who knows, there may be more added…

I am looking forward to the coming change of season. With this App and the ESP sensors, I expect to collect some interesting information about significant changes in micro-climate in the span of short distances along the local mountain trails. It will be great to finally quantify what is felt externally as you must peel on and off layers of clothing with changing conditions.

I hope you have found this information is useful to you in your own projects…

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4 ways to eliminate ESP8266 resets

Remember the movie “Groundhog Day “? Original Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Murray re-lives Groundhog Day over and over again. And still again. Kinda like the ESP8266 when it repeatedly resetting… Nothing you try makes a difference!

If you have worked with the ESP8266 for any length of time, you have undoubtedly experienced the endless resets on power-up. The looping message occurs at about 5 second intervals, which seems to be the default internal watchdog timer time-out period. The message, at 115200 baud, looks something like this:

ets Jan 8 2013,rst cause:4, boot mode:(3,7)
wdt reset
load 0x40100000, len 30000, room 16
tail 0
chksum 0x67
load 0x3ffe8000, len 2556, room 8
tail 4
chksum 0xb7
load 0x3ffe8a00, len 3080, room 4
tail 4
chksum 0x59
csum 0x59
r”

I have yet to come across a definitive explanation for this behavior.

Is this the boot-loader?

The core firmware?

Perhaps a chip defect?

From what I have experienced and read from other users, there are two likely hardware causes that makes logical sense:

  1. Inadequate power supply interface
  2. A flash chip failure.

In order to prevent resets, you must include the following three features in the power source to the ESP8266.

  1. Sufficient current. A regulated 3.3V source of at least 500ma is essential. Aside from the 300ma peak current needs of the ESP8266, it is essential to also consider the current requirements for other components you have – like the sensors and controls in your circuit.
  2. A large capacitor (suggest using 470 uF) across the Vcc to Gnd rails on your breadboard or PCB is a vital ingredient that will minimize reset inducing voltage fluctuations.
  3. A 0.1 uF decoupling capacitor across the ESP8266 Vcc to Gnd inputs very close to the pins (within 1/2 inch). DO NOT SKIP THIS COMPONENT! This cheap yet often overlooked component, when missing, is the root cause of ESP8266 resets.

Even with these power supply precautions, we know the flash chip (25Q40) used with many of these ESP8266 module is of low quality and fails after only a few flash cycles. Perhaps sending the code somewhere that it never returns from. Triggering the watchdog timer to reset the unit.

I currently have some replacement flash chips on order and shall see if replacing that chip does indeed remedy the unwanted power-up resets. Unfortunately, my ESP8266-12 (-7 also) has a metal shield over the active components, including the flash chip. This will have to be removed in order to gain access to the memory chip. Removing the shield will require a heat gun—and may very well damage the ESP8266 component. That will be done as last resort, when the reset loops appear to be a permanent condition, rendering the module a “brick”.

But for me, I have not had either of my 2 prototyping ESP8266 assemblies fall into a non-repairable reset loop state yet. If the power supply measures noted above are in place, but you are still experiencing resets, here are a few steps I have been taking with some success to bring back to life an ESP8266 stuck in a ‘Groundhog Day’ reset loop:

Note: Since the entire ESP8266 module is so cheap, if you do not wish to invest your precious time in reviving your module, simply chuck it and start again with another unit. Otherwise, read on, here are 4 methods to correct an ESP8266 stuck repeating reset loops endlessly…

1. Check your connections

This seems obvious. But I have not seen this to be a problem with other MPUs, like an Arduino, Spark Core and even PIC processors.

But my first two ESP8266 set-ups use a standard solder-less breadboard. I have heard that the ESP8266 is very sensitive to intermittent connections, and the solder-less breadboard is not recommended. And sure enough, it has been a problem in my setup. While I have since switched to use soldered contacts on a prototyping vector-board, I am still using the two original breadboards for initial testing. Using these units to limit the flash cycles on the more permanent soldered set-ups.

I have already flashed these 2 initial units a couple hundred times, and counting…

Solder-less Breadboard

Solder-less breadboard set-up

After many frustrating and unsuccessful attempts to revive my original setup out of reset purgatory, I made a final inspection of the jumpers and found a few of them only partially engaged.

After securing all the connections again…

The phoenix rose from the ashes. Yes, I had just about given up on this unit And now, the next flash successfully restored the set-up out it’s reset loops. The module was spared the life threatening heat gun!

ESP8266 secured on a PCB

Soldered Printed Circuit Board set-up

2. Clear the memory

Along with securing connections, flashing some of the original binaries back into the module has always worked for me to clear the reset problem, so far. As I have already mentioned, it appears that the code gets stuck somewhere that it never returns from, resulting in a wdt reset. This would seem to be as result of corrupted memory. So clearing the flash memory, if possible, should correct the endless reset condition.

Here is what I have found to work:

2.1 Flash AT command set

Flash the ESP8266 with original AT command binary. In case you do not have the flasher, one place to get it: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3dUKfqzZnlwVGc1YnFyUjgxelE/view

Restarting the module in normal mode (GPIO2 HI) should result in a 115200 baud start-up message ending with “ready”. And it should respond to the “AT” command with “OK”.

If so, sweet! –-you are good to go.

But it is not always resolved that easily. Sometimes you got to dig deeper. If, your start-up message ends with “jump to user1” and then stops, additional steps will be needed to restore the module.

2.2 Flash blank.bin

Flashing the blank.bin file, which comes with the nodemcu flasher program, is another method to clear the memory. Using the nodemcu flasher, flash the 4K blank.bin to the following 5 starting addresses:

0x00000, 0x01000, 0x40000, 0x7c000, 0x7e000

Then repeat “2.1 Flash AT command set” above.

2.3 Flash blank to the entire 512 kbytes

I have also created a 512 kbyte version of the blank.bin file to clear the entire flash chip. After flashing this file to 0x00000, the entire flash memory address space is cleared.

After clearing the entire flash chip, I have found it necessary to flash the 4 files in the following zip.

https://developer.mbed.org/media/uploads/sschocke/esp_flasher.zip

Once this is complete, again, repeat “2.1 Flash AT command set” above.

3. Replace the flash memory chip

When all else fails, replace the flash memory chip. This involves soldering to remove the faulty 8-pin device and replacing it with a new one. While I do not have a known source to recommend, there are many to choose from on Aliexpress.com. Like the ESP8266, the flash chips are inexpensive, but there is no way to know for sure about the quality. At a minimum, read the reviews from other buyers before placing your order.

4. Software design considerations

There have been problems experienced that could not be overcome using the nodeMCU/lua and SDK development environments. I will write a blog post soon to document those issues. So the following considerations use the Arduino IDE, which is the only development IDE that has been both effective and reliable in implementing my program requirements at this time…

I have yet to find any information that provides the developer much control over the watchdog timer (wdt). The API simply allows you to enable/disable the timer and to “feed” it. I assume “feed” resets the timer although I have not found any documentation to support that assumption. I have found the following steps necessary to eliminate my IoT software application induced resets:

  • The wdt is enabled by default. It should be enabled during normal application operation. If it is disabled in software, instead of resetting, the ESP8266 will halt when a wdt timeout occurs.

  • It is important to return control to the processors periodically. This is done using the yield() or delay() statements. For example, sensor readings requiring more that 0.5 seconds to complete should be followed by a yield() or delay().

  • In addition to yielding control, I have found it necessary to “feed” the wdt periodically to prevent time-consuming tasks from tripping a wdt reset.

Hopefully this helps someone who has struggled with unwanted module resets.

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