Infrared module discussion

[technical]

Anything regarding the Infrared module, including but not limited to:

usage
feature requests
support requests

[shortstuffsushi]

Hi everybody. I've been enjoying my Tessel so far, but I'm having some trouble the the infrared module. I tried running the example code from the docs, but I'm seeing a failure to connect each time it goes through the require phase.

To state the obvious, I am trying to use the port it's plugged into, so that shouldn't be a problem. I've also tried a different port. Anything else I might try to troubleshoot?

[jon]

Hello @shortstuffsushi,

Do you have any other modules plugged in at the same time? Could you share the exact error message?

-Jon

[shortstuffsushi]

@jon, I've got the Ambient module plugged into D, IR in A (started in C). The output I see is

Grahams-MacBook-Pro:tessel grahammueller$ tessel run ir.js 
TESSEL! Connected to TM-00-04-f0009a30-00674743-566c65c2.
INFO Bundling directory /Users/grahammueller/Desktop/tessel (~69.46 KB)
INFO Deploying bundle (121.00 KB)...
INFO Running script...
Error: Can't connect with module...
stack traceback:
    /app/node_modules/ir-attx4/index.js:225: in function 'callback'
    /app/node_modules/ir-attx4/index.js:249: in function 'callback'
    builtin/tessel.js:1012: in function 'f'
    [T]: src/colony/lua/colony-node.lua:52: in function <[T]: src/colony/lua/colony-node.lua:51>

Interestingly, I took out the Ambient, and now it works. I plugged it back in while the script was running, and it caused the script to crash. Thoughts on that?

[jon]

Hi @shortstuffsushi,

Great, I'm glad it works without Ambient.

There is a known bug with Ambient where it hijacks one of the shared communication pins. Right now, it's not usable with other modules that use SPI communication (Ambient, Audio, IR, Camera, microSD, and nrf). We thought we fixed this bug before we went into production but unfortunately there was a mixup when we handed the programming code to our assembly house and they flashed the wrong code on the device. We have the fix ready but we need to write the driver that will allow us to reprogram the small microcontroller on the Ambient module from the Tessel. We're actively working on that and will try to have it out sometime next week.

Sorry about that! We'll resolve this as soon as possible.

-Jon

[shortstuffsushi]

No worries, glad it's something you're already aware of. It's no trouble to use them separately for now, thanks for clearing that up.

[eiriksm]

Hey!

Great that this is identified and planned on fixing. I just encountered this issue. Where can I follow the progress on the fix for this issue? This is a showstopper for me right now.

Is this the right issue? https://github.com/tessel/ir-attx4/issues/7

[jon]

Hi @eiriksm,

Yes, that is the correct issue. The fix has been completed for infrared and we're about to release it. Stay tuned in the next day or two!

-Jon

[oronbz]

Hi @jon i'm still encountering this issue when both IR and Ambient module are connected,
is there anything else other than tessel update to do to implement your fix?

Thanks,
Oron

[oronbz]

@jon, sorry,
my last post is a little mis-leading,
I've removed the Ambient module, plugged out and in the tessel,
only IR module is connected to PORT B,

var tessel = require('tessel');
var infraredLib = require('ir-attx4');
var infrared = infraredLib.use(tessel.port['B']);

But still when running code:

$ tessel run ir.js
TESSEL! Connected to TM-00-04-f0009a30-00644753-58be6249.
INFO Bundling directory C:\Users\Oron\Dropbox\Projects\tessel-code\ir
INFO Deploying bundle (217.00 KB)...
INFO Running script...
Error: Can't connect with module...
stack traceback:
        /app/node_modules/ir-attx4/index.js:272: in function 'callback'
        /app/node_modules/ir-attx4/index.js:296: in function 'callback'
        builtin/tessel.js:1028: in function 'f'
        [T]: src/colony/lua/colony-node.lua:54: in function <[T]: src/colony/lua
/colony-node.lua:53>

[jon]

Hi @oronbz,

To take advantage of this fix npm update your ir-attx4 module. You should now have a ./lib/update.js file within your ir-attx4 module. Run that file on Tessel with the IR plugged into port A to manually update your IR firmware.

-Jon

[oronbz]

Thanks @jon,

Now i'm recieving this:

$ tessel run update.js
TESSEL! Connected to TM-00-04-f0009a30-00644753-58be6249.
INFO Bundling directory c:\Users\Oron\Dropbox\Projects\tessel-code\ir\node_modul
es\ir-attx4
INFO Deploying bundle (210.50 KB)...
INFO Running script...
updating firmware
{ message: 'Programming confirmation not received.', type: 'Error', name: 'Error
', stack: 'stack traceback:
        /app/node_modules/avr-isp/index.js:370: in function 'callback'
        builtin/tessel.js:1028: in function 'f'
        [T]: src/colony/lua/colony-node.lua:54: in function <[T]: src/colony/lua
/colony-node.lua:53>' }

[jon]

The IR Module may be in a bad state. Unplug and plug it back in, then try the update script again.

[oronbz]

@jon,

I've just noticed update.js has its own port definition, so i had to change it to B as well,

Now all is good,

thank you very much for the fast response and the help!

[jon]

@oronbz, good to hear! I'm also working on a big update that should eliminate this problem for both IR and Ambient. Should be out tomorrow-ish.

[oronbz]

@jon what problem mate? Everything seems to work great, did I miss something?

[jon]

I want to make sure nobody has to come to the Forums to find the thread about manually updating. It should happen automatically. I'm also adding some error checking to make sure you can't update IR modules with Ambient module firmware and vice versa – since they share much of the same hardware and software stack.

-Jon

[oronbz]

@jon,
got it, so the update will happen upon require('module-x'); command?

[jon]

@oronbz,

It will happen in the use function:

var irLib = require('ir-attinyx4`);

// Update happens here 
irLib.use(tessel.port['A']);

[oronbz]

@jon,

I see, that would be awesome!

Thank you and good night