Voxl 2 mini UARTs from Linux
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I just wanted to confirm that the Voxl 2 mini doesn't have any UARTs available on the Linux side of the OS?
We need to programmatically access two UARTs, with one needing to be a high speed UART. We are very space constrained, which is why we are using the Voxl 2 mini, so really need to get access to the available UARTs without add on boards.
In the event that the lpsi ones are the only ones that can work, what is the timeline for them to be accessible from Linux?
Thanks guys.
@Chad-Sweet , the documentation for the Voxl 2 mini is quite a bit more difficult to negotiate. For example: Voxl 2 guide vs voxl 2 mini guide There are quite a few similar examples where finding the information requires a lot more work.
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@Brendon There is a UART available to the apps processor on VOXL2 mini on connector J10. But by default this is shipped with the default configuration of that being a SPI port instead of a UART. So, we are looking into the best way to support switching modes between SPI and UART so that customers can choose what function to have on J10. In order to use a SLPI UART you won't be able to have PX4 running on VOXL2 mini.
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@Eric-Katzfey I don't need PX4 running on this board at all, so it would be fine to change the configuration.
Can you share how how we can change the configuration to get that working?
Thanks!
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@Brendon We have tested UART on J10 but don't really have anything we can share at the moment for allowing you to switch it from SPI to UART. We also have some internal code to allow access to one of the SLPI UARTs from the applications processor when PX4 isn't running. However, this also isn't really in a shareable form right now. These are both features that we are targeting for our next 1.0.1 SDK release. If you cannot wait a few weeks for that to come out then we can discuss ways to get you enabled sooner.
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@Eric-Katzfey We are all setup to do a few high profile test flights which absolutely need a 1 Mbaud UART available, and ideally a second lower speed one, but we can work around that for now. The final version needed for test flights in October needs both.
A separate effort we are working on needs just a single UART and would benefit from a second. That is lined up for delivery by mid August.
So anything you'd be able to share that can get us closer to our goals would be very helpful and faster than the parallel workarounds we are exploring. @Chad-Sweet has been briefed on our use cases.
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@Brendon Okay, we will discuss internally and figure out the best way to support you on this.
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@Brendon This new system image changes J10 into a UART on VOXL2 mini. We have only done a simple loopback test on it but seems functional. Go ahead and try it and let us know if it is working for you. It will be exposed on the apps processor as /dev/ttyHS0. https://storage.googleapis.com/platform-nightlies/voxl2-mini/voxl2-mini_SDK_nightly_20230727b.tar.gz
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@Eric-Katzfey Fantastic. We had an engineer pull this down on Saturday and so far it seems to work. I'll give you an update if we run into issues or are able to do the flight tests using this UART instead of the workaround.
Thanks very much guys, it looks like you saved us a lot of rework.
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@Eric-Katzfey, can you confirm this is a feasible way to connect to an external mavlink autopilot? We have it working on a VOXL2, but the MINI form factor might be more attractive for us.
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@david-moro Yes, absolutely. That is the main use case envisioned for that connector on the VOXL2 mini and moving forward it will be UART by default.
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@Eric-Katzfey. Awesome, thanks! Do you expect any issues using the OV9782 sensors for tracking?
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@david-moro It would be better to start a new thread with that topic.