fischertechnik® TXT 4.0 Controller: Internals and Programming

This book covers most aspects of the hardware and software internals of the fischertechnik TXT 4.0 controller, along with chapters about application development for that controller. Find out: Why the counting inputs C1-C4 can only count 500 pulses per second instead of the 1000 per second that fischertechnik claims (sections 8.2 and 24.3.5) How the resistance and NTC temperatures are calculated for inputs I1-I8 (sections 7.2.4 to 7.2.6) How the ultrasonic distance sensor protocol works (section 7.4) What the output signals on O1-O8 / M1-M4 look like under various loads (sections 9.4.1 to 9.4.6) How to switch between boot partitions A and B (section 5.4.5) How to obtain root access and add yourself to the sudoers list (sections 2.4 and 2.4.1) How the various interface protocols work: CAN (chapter 11), I2C (chapter 12), USB (chapter 13) How extension controllers are discovered and registered (section 11.3) How to program each sensor and actuator, from micro switches and LEDs to encoder motors, each I2C sensor, and the USB colour camera (chapters 23 to 29) How to program mecanum vehicle movements efficiently (section 26.4.6) How the image processing steps by the ball detector (section 30.3.6), line detector (section 30.3.9), and motion detector (section 30.3.11) algorithms work. The book combines theoretical background with practical examples and a wealth of information and technical data about the TXT 4.0 controller and the fischertechnik sensors and actuators. It provides detailed information about the TXT 4.0 controller from three perspectives: The hardware implementation: what is the controller made of? The low-level software implementation: how does the hardware connect to the software? The application software interface: how do you program the controller? The topics that we cover The internal operation of the TXT 4.0 controller: the STM32MP157 SoC and its CPUs, peripherals, storage, and the way the Linux and FreeRTOS operating systems are used. The details of the embedded firmware and how it implements the front-panel I/O connections: the universal inputs I1-I8, the counter inputs C1-C4, the general outputs O1-O8 and motor outputs M1-M4, and the servo outputs S1-S3. The way that multiple TXT 4.0 controllers are connected in an extension chain using the CAN FD protocol within the EXT1-EXT2 connectors and how they interact with each other. The I2C interface within the EXT1-EXT2 connectors and how it is used to communicate with I2C-based sensors. The sensors themselves are discussed separately. The USB1 host and the USB2 device ports and how each of them, and the USB protocol itself, operates in the context of the TXT 4.0. A complete treatment of all current fischertechnik sensors and actuators: their characteristics, operation, and programming. A complete programming reference for the C client libraries TxtControlLib and ftlock. A complete programming reference for the fischertechnik Python class library