052 Debugging A Random Occurring Bug

Fixing random occurring problems is always a challenge. You never know what could be the cause and frankly, it could be anything!!!  Let's take a look at this random 'bug' and see what was done to find it and kill it!

Cheers!

Chris

NEW PRODUCT - RPI Pico 2 W

Raspberry Pi just released the latest version of the Pico 2 with W - that means WiFi!!!!!

Here are some details you may find interesting.

• Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W features 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.2, giving you even more flexibility in your IoT or smart product designs and expanding the possibilities for your projects.
• Dual Arm Cortex-M33 or dual Hazard3 RISC-V processors @ 150MHz
• 520 KB on-chip SRAM
• 2.4GHz 802.11n wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.2 (Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W only)
• Software- and hardware-compatible with Raspberry Pi Pico 1
• Drag-and-drop programming using mass storage over USB
• Castellated module allows soldering direct to carrier boards
• Robust and fully documented security features:
• ARM TrustZone for Cortex-M
• Optional boot signing, enforced by on-chip mask ROM, with key fingerprint in OTP
• Protected OTP storage for optional boot decryption key
• Global bus filtering based on Arm or RISC-V security/privilege levels
• Peripherals, GPIOs, and DMA channels individually assignable to security domains
• Hardware mitigations for fault injection attacks
• Hardware SHA-256 accelerator
• 2 × UART
• 2 × SPI controllers
• 2 × I2C controllers
• 24 × PWM channels
• 3 x ADC channels
• 1 × USB 1.1 controller and PHY, with host and device support
• 12 × PIO state machines
• Open source C/C++ SDK, MicroPython support
• Operating temperature -20°C to +85°C
• Supported input voltage 1.8–5.5V DC
  

Cheers!
Chris

Visit my YouTube channel and companion website for much more about Python/MicroPython and Raspberry Pi products and projects.

https://makingstuffwithchrisdehut.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/MakingStuffwithChrisDeHut

Coming up on 11/29 - Finding that nasty bug that was causing the Zoomie to freeze and squashing it!

The next video is ready and will premiere on Nov 29th 2024. 

This video is all about tracking down a nasty bug that has been plaguing the Zoomie for many months now.  Turns out, it was a pretty dumb mistake, but nonetheless it was tough to track down.  

Cheers!
Chris 

BTW - it is gone, hopefully for good!

051 Implementing a Shortest Path Algorithm (Dijkstra) For Auto Routing the Robots

While part of the original concept, Auto Routing was removed based on a misunderstanding.  It is being re-implemented into the experiment as it will add so much more capability.  

As the experiment runs, each robot (Zoomie) will be dispatched at random times to random locations.  That dispatch message will contain the driving directions to get to the destination.  In navigation systems, shortest path algorithms perform this task.  Their purpose is very specific, to find the shortest path from all available options to get from start to finish.

Initially it was believed that this would create a bad data set as all robots would pass through the city center thus clogging up those streets.  However, as one of our viewers pointed out, the data set can be used to modify the behavior of the algorithm so that it AVOIDS the city center and instead uses the bypass "highway".  While not shorter, it ultimately is faster because there is far less stop-and-go situations and less traffic creating additional delays.

This video is not an explanation of how this particular (Dijkstra) function works, rather it is about its implementation in this experiment and later on how it will be used to alter the flow of traffic through ZoomTown. 

Cheers!
Chris

USB Cable For Raspberry Pi PICOs That Are Self Powered

 Many of your PICO projects will be self powered and you need a special USB cable to communicated with it otherwise you can damage the PICO or the batteries.  Connecting USB while the PICO is powered can also create a safety hazard!.

This video explain why this is a problem and how to take an ordinary and inexpensive cable and make is safe for use. BE SURE TO HAVE THE USB CABLE UNPLUGGED WHEN MAKING THIS MODIFICATION!

Cheers!
Chris

050 Random Time and Place Generator For Auto Dispatching the Robots

 A requirement from the beginning was to have random events in the experiment.  This new routine will add the ability to:

   * Select a random time for the robot to go somewhere

   * Select a random location for the robot to go to

   * Avoid sending a robot to a banned destination

This functionality takes us another step closer to starting the actual experiments!

Cheers!

Chris