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-   -   Arduino compatible controller (new thread) (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=151119)

hpmicrowave 01-13-2020 07:56 AM

Vern, Join our AOA Team & Integrate your M5Stack AOA Display
 
Vern, our Flyonspeed.org team are very impressed with your AOA display design and would like to integrate your AOA display with our AOA system including adding your SW and hardware design to our GitHub account at https://github.com/flyonspeed/OnSpeed-Gen2 and then work integration together!

Our Gen 2 ONSPEED design is completely self-contained and has on-board differential pressure, static and attitude sensors, integrates with the onboard EFIS (if installed), and provides an advanced aural AOA and aircraft performance tone to the Pilot, your System can provide a very useful visual AOA indication and we think it could be integrated to our system by RS232, WIFI, or maybe Bluetooth (both use same WIFI Chip).

We were the 2018 EAA Founder's Innovation Award Winners with our Gen-1 Aural AOA system, are were now working toward this summers Founder's Innovation Award Grand Prize with our new Gen-2 custom designed Gen-2 system and its advanced AOA tracking Software. More details at Flyonspeed.org.

Please send PM and we can discuss.

Thanks
Cecil "TRON" Jones

vlittle 01-13-2020 09:01 AM

Message sent.
V

Ralph Inkster 01-13-2020 12:25 PM

How's that for validation!!!

Good on you!

vlittle 02-04-2020 11:42 AM

A teaser for those interested... I've developed a library of graphical widgets for Engine Monitor type displays.

More examples coming soon.



vlittle 02-05-2020 07:06 PM

But wait, there's more!
The collaboration with the Flyonspeed.org folks has borne fruit, and we are testing a new display for Angle of Attack (AOA) and supplementary information.



The main graphical widget in the center of the screen is modeled after an F4 Phantom, updated to provide more comprehensive information.

It displays optimal cruise efficiency (white bar aligned with white dots in the yellow chevrons), On Speed for final approach, best glide and best rate of climb (green doughnut in middle), incipient stalls (red chevrons), a progressive AOA indication (white bar and digits at top). NOTE: the white bar is barely visible at the bottom (0% AOA).

Incipient stall also causes the red chevrons to flash and the slip indicator ball to flash and turn red if not centered.

I'm pleased to have joined the OnSpeed folks in this endeavor. I introduced my first AOA display 14 years ago and it's nice to contribute to this ongoing effort.

V

vlittle 02-11-2020 11:37 AM

I've updated the previous post to include more photos of typical engine gauges.
I have a Beta release of the engine gauge widget library.

Anyone skilled in the art can contact me via email if they want to dig further.
I will be integrating the various EMS display pages with the 'back seat display' project later on.

The idea is that you have one or more devices that you can clip to a back seat rail that provides whatever airdata or engine data that you want to display. I'll be providing several baseline configurations, but if you are skilled in C++ programing and math (yes, for the graphic positioning) you can build your own custom pages based on my examples.

V

cderk 02-11-2020 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vlittle (Post 1407133)
Anyone skilled in the art...

V

Vern - have you been writing patents lately?

Funguy 02-11-2020 09:00 PM

Attitude
 
Hey Vern,
Very slick! Did you notice the attitude display on the m5stack blog page?
https://m5stack.com/pages/blog-page. I am sure that you would need the "grey" version with the 9 -axis sensor to make it work but pretty small mark up for the additional functionality. I've got one on the way to play with via Amazon.

Cheers, Sean

vlittle 02-12-2020 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funguy (Post 1407236)
Hey Vern,
Very slick! Did you notice the attitude display on the m5stack blog page?
https://m5stack.com/pages/blog-page. I am sure that you would need the "grey" version with the 9 -axis sensor to make it work but pretty small mark up for the additional functionality. I've got one on the way to play with via Amazon.

Cheers, Sean

Yup, we are working on it... but I'm not sure I would use it as a primary reference. Right now, all flight and engine data is taken from a Garmin or Dynon EFIS, hence the idea of a 'back seat display'. The M5 devices are very capable. Can turn one into an MP3 player as well....

rv6ejguy 02-12-2020 07:04 AM

Nice work Vern!

vlittle 02-12-2020 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cderk (Post 1407182)
Vern - have you been writing patents lately?

Hah, it's just.... a means for displaying engine sensor information on a graphical display by using predefined scalable mathematical objects, each defined by colored bands, index pointers, and arranged in vertical, horizontal or circular orientations and supplemented with textual and numerical information of specific sizes and colors as defined by certain operating conditions.

In summary, 'Gauge Widgets'.

Actually, not breaking any new ground here, just exercising my ancient math and programming skills to build a tool kit for open source avionics. I actually recalled my university math and computer graphics course material from the days of Fortran and Watfor/Watfiv. Shoutout to Dr. Geunter Schrack.

vlittle 02-12-2020 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funguy (Post 1407236)
Hey Vern,
Very slick! Did you notice the attitude display on the m5stack blog page?
https://m5stack.com/pages/blog-page. I am sure that you would need the "grey" version with the 9 -axis sensor to make it work but pretty small mark up for the additional functionality. I've got one on the way to play with via Amazon.

Cheers, Sean

Yup, we are working on it... but I'm not sure I would use it as a primary reference. Right now, all flight and engine data is taken from a Garmin or Dynon EFIS, hence the idea of a 'back seat display'. The M5 devices are very capable. Can turn one into an MP3 player as well....

cderk 02-12-2020 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vlittle (Post 1407320)
Hah, it's just.... a means for displaying engine sensor information on a graphical display by using predefined scalable mathematical objects, each defined by colored bands, index pointers, and arranged in vertical, horizontal or circular orientations and supplemented with textual and numerical information of specific sizes and colors as defined by certain operating conditions.

In summary, 'Gauge Widgets'.

Actually, not breaking any new ground here, just exercising my ancient math and programming skills to built a tool kit for open source avionics. I actually recalled my university math and computer graphics course material from the days of Fortran and Watfor/Watfive. Shoutout to Dr. Geunter Shrack.

I was actually referring to the terminology you used... "One skilled in the art". Pretty much on every patent I've read.

vlittle 02-12-2020 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cderk (Post 1407452)
I was actually referring to the terminology you used... "One skilled in the art". Pretty much on every patent I've read.

That's why I responded with a long technical run-on sentence.... you see them in patents a lot.

V

vlittle 02-29-2020 09:57 AM

Reposting with more examples. I've been testing the Beta version of my GaugeWidgets library.






I'm looking for one or two Beta testers who are willing to invest some time into checking out the library on the M5Stack platform. Just send me an email.

V

emsvitil 02-29-2020 06:37 PM

What are the dimensions of the little gauges again?

vlittle 02-29-2020 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emsvitil (Post 1411321)
What are the dimensions of the little gauges again?

5cm x 5cm for the circuit board inside the case. The screen is smaller, but it is very bright (equal to my Dynon EFIS). M5Stack.com. I have a separate power/data module in development and another party is making a 3D printed glareshield swivel mount, a rear-seat snap-on mount, and a 3" bezel.

The ASI is pretty small, but it may be fine for a back seat display, which is the project driving the development. The engine gauges are fine, and comparable to a SkyView or G3X display.

Right now, they depend on serial or WiFi data from an EFIS (Dynon or Garmin), but I'm looking at MGL and GRT as well for future support.

I forked off a development for the OnSpeed team as well so they (we) can have a visual display of AOA to supplement the tone-based system.

All of this will be open-sourced once flight testing is finalized.

Vern

Pilot135pd 03-01-2020 12:23 AM

Loving all of this and bringing up so many memories. When I read the word Fortran that's when I realized how much I've forgotten in my short life from back when I was working at Wang Laboratories !

vlittle 03-01-2020 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilot135pd (Post 1411359)
Loving all of this and bringing up so many memories. When I read the word Fortran that's when I realized how much I've forgotten in my short life from back when I was working at Wang Laboratories !

The Boomer generation has a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience and wisdom that will vanish when we are gone. Some of the young people I mentor in the tech industry just don't know what they don't know. I met with two Intel employees yesterday who have no memory of the dotcom era!

The concept of actually building your own airplane or avionics is lost on the iPhone generation, although I do see some positive effects from the STEM focus in very young people. See https://lokilegolauncher.wordpress.com/ for an example. [full disclosure, these girls are related to me].

My inspiration is the late, great Bob Axsom who spent countless hours and dollars advancing experimental aviation for no financial gain. Doug has wisely preserved much of this knowledge here: http://www.vansairforce.net/BuilderM...evelopment.htm

My goal is to publish as much as I can before I become functionally obsolete. Most of what I will publish will be flight tested, or commercial designs from my past. I may work at a plodding pace, but it will all come eventually.

V

Pilot135pd 03-01-2020 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vlittle (Post 1411417)
My goal is to publish as much as I can before I become functionally obsolete. Most of what I will publish will be flight tested, or commercial designs from my past. I may work at a plodding pace, but it will all come eventually.

V

I'm sure most of us appreciate it too.

vlittle 03-31-2020 06:17 PM

Well, this is the day that no one has been waiting for...
Thanks to a lot of time at home lately (thanks to the Bat Virus), I have publish the first version of my Gauge Widgets library for the M5Stack, and cobbled together the beginnings of my new web site.

This is my first time generating an Arduino library, so keep your expectations low, but enjoy! About 2600 lines of code written in C/C++. Or, as my daughter so aptly put... "welcome to the 70's, Dad!"

Examples in the library include an ASI, a Heading Indicator and an Attitude Indicator, plus a bunch of engine gauges. I will be releasing the OnSpeed AOA display software later on.

Here's the site link:http://www.huvver.tech/
Here's the direct link to GaugeWidgets: http://www.huvver.tech/arduino-library/

Cheers,
Vern

Alchemist 03-31-2020 07:35 PM

I have a 3D printer , Rv6a, and familiar with Arduino ide. If you need
Some help send me an email prototechllc@gmail.com would love to test or help out.

Funguy 03-31-2020 09:13 PM

Nice!
 
Looks very nice. Looking forward to trying it out.

Cheers, Sean

vlittle 03-31-2020 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alchemist (Post 1418592)
I have a 3D printer , Rv6a, and familiar with Arduino ide. If you need
Some help send me an email prototechllc@gmail.com would love to test or help out.

Thanks. I've designed a power supply board. A fellow VAFFER is printing a case&swivel mount, plus instrument bezels and a rear-seat clip. It's all going to be posted as well, but everyone has different needs, so I expect customization.

Hopefully that will provide a starting point. The PSU is needed to condition the 12V electrical system and protect against load dumps and reverse polarity. Plus it provides stereo audio output, serial and I2C for expansion in a robust manner.

I will post as much stuff as I can as I wrap up the details.

V

eld 04-05-2020 05:48 AM

Very nice

I just send to you a animate demo for fuel (2 or 4 tanks) and Air speed indicator with VNE alarm by mail because I can't attacht file here.

Cheers, Eric

vlittle 04-17-2020 08:11 PM

Here's some more information for those who are interested:

In addition to the GaugeWidgets library posted on my new site,
I have also posted the PolarText library on the same page that lets you revolve, rotate, scale, and place arbitrary text on the screen.
As promised: In addition to a glareshield pivot mount being developed for the OnSpeed project, another VAF member is developing 2" and 3" bezel mounts for instrument panels. Also, the pivot mount can be used as a rail (tube) mount for the roll bar or the seat back for the back seat (?)





And finally, a power supply/serial data board has been sent for production. This has been design for 12V automotive/marine/aviation applications and features protection up to +/- 100V.

I've had a lot of time in front of a computer for the last six weeks... it's starting to pay off.

Vern

Alchemist 04-25-2020 07:57 PM

Looks great !

vlittle 04-26-2020 10:15 AM

Thanks, Justin. I see your skillset might be applicable to this project. My library page is linked below.

Here's a summary of where we stand:

First an acknowledgment of the flyOnSpeed.org folks, who have adopted me as one of their own as a contributor to their impressive project. Thank-you! It has brought focus to my own efforts. Here's what we (myself and RP, who is a fellow VAFFER) doing:

-coding for the OnSpeed AOA/energy display: complete.
-design of a robust power/data board for the M5Stack: complete.
-design of a 3d printable back shell for the M5Stack (RP): complete.
-design of a 3d printable glare-shield pivot mount (also serves as a rail mount) (RP): complete.

In process:
- design of a 3d printable 3” instrument bezel (RP): protos.
- design of a 3d printable 2” instrument bezel (RP): protos.

So we are nearing completion of a comprehensive platform for DIY instrument gauges. We are also in development of some interesting new flight safety devices based on this platform (mostly software).

For those who want to investigate this further:

http://www.m5stack.com
http://www.flyonspeed.org
http://www.huvver.tech/arduino-libraries/.

And just to be clear: my intent is to make all of this stuff open source, my legacy project.

EDIT: Rob Prior (aka Snowflake) gave me permission to post his name as the 'RP' I reference.

Pilot135pd 04-26-2020 10:58 AM

Vern, I think you should change that winter home from Chandler, AZ to East Texas...to an small private airpark maybe....just saying. :D

R7237 05-10-2020 10:13 AM

Ardu-ecu
 
Vern: have you considered this form factor for the arduino based power control module? https://www.ardu-ecu.com/arduecu-mk1u
I building an RV-12iS as an EAB and was considering using this for stuff like flaps, fuel flow etc.
Digging thru your code is going to make this process so much easier, and for that I am very appreciative.

vlittle 05-11-2020 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R7237 (Post 1429040)
Vern: have you considered this form factor for the arduino based power control module? https://www.ardu-ecu.com/arduecu-mk1u
I building an RV-12iS as an EAB and was considering using this for stuff like flaps, fuel flow etc.
Digging thru your code is going to make this process so much easier, and for that I am very appreciative.

Well, I've developed a custom power/data board for the M5Stack platform. This is the board that was developed for the OnSpeed energy/aoa display, and it works with all of the custom bezels/mounts that Rob Prior developed. I will be developing a number of new boards like this in the future, for various applications (engine sensors, CAN bus, trim motor control, etc.) All will use the M5Stack display.



I'm still organizing getting these boards into inventory at OnSpeed. My first batch is 18 boards.

I also have a link to the Shapeways 3D print library for Rob's stuff. Email me or Rob FMI.

Funguy 05-12-2020 07:28 AM

24 VDC???
 
Hey Vern - Any chance your power supply board is 24VDC compatible for us industrial controls types? If you are looking for thoughts on future boards... How about a POE version? Let me know if I am getting carried away ;)

Cheers, Sean

vlittle 05-12-2020 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funguy (Post 1429582)
Hey Vern - Any chance your power supply board is 24VDC compatible for us industrial controls types? If you are looking for thoughts on future boards... How about a POE version? Let me know if I am getting carried away ;)

Cheers, Sean

Right now, I am only focusing on aircraft/automotive/marine at 12V. It will easily withstand much higher voltage pulses, but not continuously. M5Stack has a PLC base for 24V, but it isn't protected. It also has a bizarre form of RS485 that is not 485, Not CAN, but somewhwere in between (uncanny). Most of the components on my pcb are for protection. It cost more for me to make this board than the M5Stack cost.

I'm avoiding mission creap here because I don't have enough real time for all of my projects as it is (arduino graphics libraries, OnSpeed design work, hardware design, fixing my boat, marketing the blueheronaeropark.com development, building another airplane and working on a military helicopter simulator program). They call it 'retirement'.

V

Funguy 05-12-2020 06:59 PM

Retirement???
 
It only means you don't have too work! I hope to join you some day.:)

Cheers, Sean

Pilot135pd 05-12-2020 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funguy (Post 1429763)
It only means you don't have too work! I hope to join you some day.:)

Cheers, Sean

Retirement means you don?t have to drive to work but sometimes I think I should go get a job so I can rest !!!

vlittle 05-15-2020 07:06 PM

Another teaser of the OnSpeed energy display:


Pilot135pd 05-15-2020 07:27 PM

I just finished building my OnSpeed harness and that rolled up wire close to the DB15 connector is wired for "future use" AKA your display when ready. Zoom into the picture and you'll see a tape that says Vern's Display !!




I connected it and no smoke, that's always good, and WiFi connects and communicates quickly !




vlittle 06-08-2020 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R7237 (Post 1429040)
Vern: have you considered this form factor for the arduino based power control module? https://www.ardu-ecu.com/arduecu-mk1u
I building an RV-12iS as an EAB and was considering using this for stuff like flaps, fuel flow etc.
Digging thru your code is going to make this process so much easier, and for that I am very appreciative.

Sorry if I didn't properly response to this suggestion previously. If you go all the way back in this thread, you will see the original Arduino (ATMega or Teensy) design that I have release as open source. It was tuned for aircraft applications and I fly behind one programmed as an auto-trim and flaps controller. It fits into a standard off-the-shelf Hammond case. It uses all through-hole devices so it can easily be built or modified.

Then I developed a surface mount version and switched to the awesome ESP-32 controller. Again it fits into a standard Hammond case.

Finally, I used the off-the-shelf M5Stack display module, which contains the ESP-32, common interfaces, an optional IMU and a bright 320x240 TFT Color display in a compact package.... with a retail price less than my cost to build my other boards. My focus now is to develop custom 'shields' (such as the power/data board).

For those monitoring this thread, the next shield will be for 24 volt applications. Design is done, waiting to gauge demand.

We've finalized the M5Stack panel mounts, and in my next aircraft I will be mounting six or eight of them on the panel as programmable instruments and copilot displays running my graphical widgets library.

In the meantime, I will be installing my OnSpeed brain box in my Harmon Rocket and tweaking my back-seat EFIS display, building my RV-15 clone, and getting ready to move to my new hangar at www.blueheronaeropark.com.

I'm always looking for new applications to code or for hardware development, so I welcome suggestions. I am doing this entirely for non-commercial (translation: I do whatever I want, whenever I have time) purposes to further the advancement of our industry. Everything will be released as open source, and posted at www.huvver.tech, but only after complete flight testing.

Finally, I want to give a shout-out to Rob Prior for the 3d printed parts and has contributed his time and expenses to this project. As we electrical folks say, “the electrical design is easy, it's the mechanical stuff that's hard’”. Funny, though I've never heard the opposite said by an ME (mechanical engineer).

Cheers

Ralph Inkster 06-08-2020 10:52 AM

The ME part is mystical sorcery to me...

Snowflake 06-09-2020 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Inkster (Post 1437419)
The ME part is mystical sorcery to me...

Funny, that's how I feel about the EE side... :)

Thanks for the kind words, Vern! I guess whether it's EE or ME, when you've spent 25 years (or more) doing it, it becomes second nature.


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