LED Blinker: Running on Hardware

Now it is time to run on hardware. Connect the microcontroller to the host machine via USB.

First, upload the binary/hex file to the board after building. Follow this guide if the files are not automatically uploading.

Next run the F´ GDS without launching the native compilation (-n) and with the dictionary from the build above (--dictionary ./build-artifacts/<build name>/LedBlinkerTopologyAppDictionary.xml). Connect it to the USB device by adding the --comm-adapter, --uart-device, and --uart-baud flags

# In the project root
fprime-gds -n --dictionary ./build-artifacts/teensy41/LedBlinker/dict/LedBlinkerTopologyAppDictionary.xml --comm-adapter uart --uart-device /dev/ttyACM0 --uart-baud 115200

For MacOS users, you may have to install pyserial: pip install pyserial

Change teensy41 to your build if it is not for the Teensy 4.1 (i.e. teensy32, featherM0, esp32, etc.)

/dev/ttyACM0 may vary for your system/device. It may also be /dev/ttyUSB0. For MacOS, it will be along the lines of /dev/tty.usbmodem12345. Change accordingly. To view the list of your connected devices, run: ls /dev/tty*.

The green circle should now appear on the top right of F´ GDS.

Testing the Topology

Test the component integration with the following steps:

1. Verify connection: confirm that there is a green circle and not a red X in the upper right corner.
2. Send a Command: select the ‘Commanding’ tab, search for led.BLINKING_ON_OFF and send it with the argument set to ON.
3. Verify Event: select the ‘Events’ tab and verify that the SetBlinkingState event reports the blinking state was set to ON.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to turn the LED OFF.
5. Verify Telemetry: select the ‘Channels’ tab and verify that the LedBlinker telemetries appear.

Conclusion

Congratulations you’ve now run on hardware.