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Embedded Systems: BeagleBoard Classic

On this page I show my activities on the classic BeagleBoard Rev. C4. In my blog I tell what I actually do, so check that out frequently.
All pictures and videos are copyright Huub van Niekerk

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To go directly to the latest addition click here.
To see the list of playlists click here

The setup for the BeagleBoard (BB) is as follows: a laptop is connected to the BB by a USB-RS232 converter cable, a null-modem cable and a 9 wires serial flatcable. The last one is taken from an old desktop computer.



The software I can use on the laptop  is: Linux, Scilab with Serial Toolbox, minicom for setting up a serial terminal on the laptop.

On the BB I run Ubuntu Linux 14.04 with Fvwm2 desktop for ARM, since it has a OMAP3 cpu which is based on the ARMv7/Cortex-A8. Running Ubuntu Linux, this also means I can't use the Digital Signal Processor. This would require running a 2.6 kernel instead of 3.x/4.x. The BB is connected using HDMI (video), µUSB (power) and USB-A (to a USB hub with wifi/keyboard/mouse) and the already mentioned RS232 interface. I chose for this setup because of the way the BB boots from flash card. For a visual explanation, see also this video.
The pictures below can be viewed in full-size.

New schema with the webcam

Picture of code and image from webcam

Original image (half size)

Reduced size image (full size)

Playlists
Playlist of all videos with the BeagleBoard & fischertechnik camera (12-2020 - present)
Playlist of all videos with the BeagleBoard & fischertechnik rollertrack (10-2018 - 11-2020 (for now))
Playlist of all videos with the BeagleBoard & fischertechnik track/rails (6-2016 - 10-2018)
Playlist of all videos with the BeagleBoard & OpenCV (12-2015 - 6-2016)
Playlist of all 2 videos with the BeagleBoard introduction

26 February 2021: Intro, Ubuntu, Fedora, FVWM, dd, minicom, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

5 February 2021: Intro, Ubuntu, Fedora, FVWM, dd, minicom, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

15 January 2021: Intro, Ubuntu, Fedora, FVWM, dd, minicom, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2020 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 December 2020: Intro, connection, guvcview, cheese, network, Linux. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

4 December: Intro, conveyor, ftdiagnose, wiring, Python, test. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

13 November: Intro, reconstruction, Python, conveyor, testing. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

23 October: Intro, track reconstruction, Python, speed, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

2 October: Intro, trackselection, Python, ftdiagnose, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

11 September: Intro, reconstruction, chain, speed, test, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

21 August: Intro, reconstruction, chain, speed, test, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

31 July: Intro, magnet chain, reconstruction, stabilization. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

10 July: Intro, magnet chain, reconstruction, stabilization. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

21 June: Intro, cardan joint, reconstruction, motor, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

22 May: Intro, cardan joint, reconstruction, motor, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

8 May: Intro, cardan joints, reconstruction, conveyorbelt. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

17 April: Intro, conveyorbelts, reconstructions, test, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
27 March: Intro, conveyorbelts, reconstructions, test, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
6 March: Intro, conveyorbelt, reconstruction, wiring, test. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
7 February: Intro, motor, conveyorbelt, reconstruction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
17 January 2020: Intro, motor, belt, wiring, reconstruction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2019 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 December 2019: Intro, test, modification, Python, oops, belt. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
6 December: Intro, test, track, reconstruction, Python, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
15 November: Intro, monitor, Python, chain, reconstruction, track. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
18 October: Intro, monitor/keyboard/mouse, Python, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
19 September: Intro, trajectory, angle reconstruction, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

6 September: Intro, testing, Python, angle & curve reconstruction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
16 August: Intro, testing, looping & curve reconstruction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
02 August: Intro, testing, Python, trajectory, altitude, chain. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
19 July: Intro, test, Python, reconstruction, diagnose, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
12 July: Intro, chain, reconstruction, Python, test, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
5 July: Intro, switch, trajectory, modifications, Python, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
28 June: Intro, LEDs, switch, wormgear, reconstruction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

21 June: Intro, modification, trajectory, diagnose, Python, LEDs. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
14 June: Reconstruction, modification, trajectory, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

7 June: Reconstruction, trajectory, chain, magnet, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

31 May: Intro, RS232, network, reconstruction, trajectory. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

24 May: Intro, rewiring, chain, gearbox, diagnose, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

10 May: Intro, reconstruction, chain, magnet, switch, track. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
03 May: Intro, modification, screwpump, chain, test, switch. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
26 April: Intro, elevation, screwpump, test, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

12 April: Intro, reconstruction, wormgear, curve, parts, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
5 April: Test, magnet, modification, track end, curve, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
27 March: Test, start, magnet, reconstruction, looping, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
22 March:  Test, looping, curve, reconstruction, Python, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
15 March: Test, curve, distance, looping, reconstruction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
8 March: Switches, reconstruction, diagnose, Python, magnet, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
1 March: Switches, gears, reconstruction, diagnose, looping. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
22 February: Looping, reconstruction, switches, gears, diagnose. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
15 February: Switches, diagnose, oops, looping, reconstruction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
1 February Switches, modification, diagnose, Python, oops, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

25 January: Switches, Python, reconstruction, trajectory, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

18 January: Switches, motor, Python, modifications, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

11 January: Overview, switches, Python, reconstruction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

4 January 2019: Switches, diagnose, Python, reconstruction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2018 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
28 December 2018: Switch, diagnose, Python, reconstruction, trajectory. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
21 December: Reconstruction, trajectory, looping, energy, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

7 December: Reconstruction, chain, magnet, ball, trajectory, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

30 November: Reconstruction, chain, ball, VNC, connection, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

23 November: Reconstruction, chain, tension, robustness, Android. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

9 November: Rollertrack, reconstruction, motor, direction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

26 October: First experiment with the rollertrack: construction, motor, chain, ball, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

19 October: Final experiment with the monorail: carriage, cord, tension, motor, speed, sensor, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

12 October: Carriage, tension, motor, speed, lamp, modification. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

5 October: Lamps, diagnose, Python, direction, analysis, testing. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

21 September: Testing, lamp, diagnose, modification, wiring, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

14 September: Modification, wiring, lamp, Python, direction, oops, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

7 September: Reconstruction, modification, rewiring, Python, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

31 August: Diagnose, rewiring, motor, analysis, Python, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

24 August: Replacement, reconstruction, analysis, Python, diagnose. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

17 August: Reconstruction, analysis, Python, diagnose, plan, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

10 August: Analysis, wiring, Python, diagnose, alternative, plan. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

3 August: Modifications, wiring, Python, diagnose, direction, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

27 July: Reconstruction, direction, Python, diagnose, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

20 July: Reconstruction, analysis, direction, speed, Python, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

13 July: Modification, rewiring, analysis, direction, speed, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

6 July: Reconstruction, analysis, oscilloscope, direction, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

29 June: Reconstruction, analysis, weight, oscilloscope, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

22 June: Location, analysis, oscilloscope, HDMI, direction, plan. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

15 June: Location, analysis, oscilloscope, modification, direction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

8 June: Connection, power, oops, location, analysis, modification. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

1 June: Networking, location, analysis, modification, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

25 May: Location, Python, diagnose, analysis, oscilloscope, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

18 May: Location, roll, Python, diagnose, distance, wiring, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

11 May: Roller, connection, wiring, oscilloscope, Python, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

4 May: HDMI, roller, connection, wiring, oscilloscope, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

27 April: Speed, Python, oscilloscope, direction, diagnose, wiring. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

20 April: Speed, Python, oscilloscope, direction, signal, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

13 April: Speed, Python, oscilloscope, reverse, diagnose, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

6 April: Speed, modification, Python, oscilloscope, oops, reverse. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

30 March: Speed, wheels, alignment, friction, Python, diagnose, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

23 March: Reconstruction, grease, speed, oscilloscope, Python, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

9 March: Reconstruction, balance, speed, oscilloscope, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

2 March: Reconstruction, balance, speed, oscilloscope, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

23 February: Balance, modification, speed, oscilloscope, speed, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.
 
16 February: Width, modification, reconstruction, speed and more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

9 February: Tracks, width, modification, balance, speed, oscilloscope. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

2 February: Rewiring, reconnection, balance, pressure, speed, more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

26 January: Reconstuction, diagnose, wiring, balance, speed, Python. Click the imageto watch teh video. See also the blog.

19 January: Speed, diagnose, modification, wheels, balance, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

12 January: Test, balance, wheels, modification, wiring, oscilloscope. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

5 January 2018: Carriage, reconstruction, wiring, alignment, Python, test. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
29 December 2017: Carriage, sensors, wiring, Python, diagnose, alignment. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

22 December: Carriage, reconstruction, sensor, wiring, Python, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

15 December:Carriage, wheels, alignment, reconstruction, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

8 December: Pwm, Python, diagnose, carriage, speed, connection, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

1 December: Pwm, Python, diagnose, wiring, carriage, angle, 3rd wheel. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

24 November: Carriage, reconstruction, angle, wheels, ground, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

17 November: Carriage, wheels, ground, derailment, Python, reconstruction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

10 November: Carriage, wheels, ground, derailment, diagnose, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

27 October: Diagnose, Python, reconstruction, wheels, oscilloscope. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

20 October: Diagnose, Python, power, connection, oscilloscope, weird. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

13 October: Diagnose, Python, power, connection, oscilloscope, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

6 October: Diagnose, Python, gEDA, connection, threading, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

15 September: Diagnose, Python, connection, movement, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

8 September: Carriage, pwm, oscilloscope, timing, diagnose, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

1 September: Carriage, pwm, timing, diagnose, oscilloscope, Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

25 August: Pwm, timing, Python, diagnose, oscilloscope, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

18 August: Carriage, oscilloscope, timing, pwm, diagnose. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

11 August: Oscilloscope, pwm, timing, connection, oops. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

4 August: Oscilloscope, pwm, timing, settings, speed, questions. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

28 July: Cameras, oscilloscope, oops, observations. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

21 July: Contact, adjustments, speed, observations. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

14 July: Tracks, pressure, contact, speed, adjustment. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

7 July: Carriage, tracks, contact, pressure, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

30 June: Carriage, speed, code, contact, adjustment. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

23 June: Carriage, adjustment, code, observations, questions. Click the image to watch the video.
See also the blog.

16 June: Carriage, power, reconstruction, friction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

9 June: Carriage, wheels, stability. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

2 June: Adjustment, wheels, time, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

26 May: Weight, wheels, camera, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

19 May: Balance, camera and more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

12 May: Balance, wiring, speed. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

5 May: Location, timing, wheels, friction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

28 April: Code, oops, observation, questions. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

21 April: Power, oops, software, location. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

14 April: Spring, power, wheels, rails. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

7 April: Pressure, weight, propeller, contact. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

31 March: Code, propeller speed, contact, weight. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

24 March: Speed, direction, code, contact. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

17 March: Motors, speed, code and more. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

10 March: Code, reconstruction, test. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

3 March: Wires, motors and Python. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

24 February: Power, wires, motor. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

17 February: Rails, power and carriage. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

10 February: Power, carriage, reconstruction. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

3 February: Recoding, carriages, wires. Click the image to watch the video. See also the blog.

27 January: Wires, carriages, lamps and more. Click the image to watch the video.

20 January: Wire, carriage, sonar & spring. Click the image to watch the video.

13 January: Lamp, wires and code. Click the first image to watch the video.

6 January 2017: Checking code, some changes and questions. Click the image to watch the video.

-------------------------------------------------------------------  2016  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 December 2016: Stabilizing new underground, rewiring, recoding. Click the image to watch the video.

23 December: Replacing the support leads to more replacing, rewiring and testing. Click the image to watch the video.

16 December: Another reconstruction leads to..... Click the image to watch the video.

9 December: (Re)construction and coding. Click the image to watch the video.

2 December: Extra light sensor and rail extension. Click the image to watch the video.

25 November: Extending rail, checking code and more. Click the image to watch the video.

18 November: Reconstructions, wires and code. Click the image to watch the video.

11 November: Sonar, rewiring and reconstruction. Click the image to watch the video.

4 November: Propeller direction, code and setup. Click the image to watch the video.

28 October: stability, setup and code. Click the image to watch the video.

21 October: wiring, speed and more. Click the image to watch the video.

14 October: sonar wire, motor wire and speed. Click the image to watch the video.

22 September: wheel direction, some reconstruction and speed. Click the image to watch the video.

16 September: some stability, length of the track and location of the sonar. Click the image to watch the video.

9 September: after elevation, it doesn't work as well as it should. Upside down then? Click the image to watch the video.

2 September: time to elevate the setup. Will it work? Click the image to watch the video.

26 August: sensors, recoding and light. Click the image to watch the video.

19 August: Speed, sensors, wiring and light. Click the image to watch the video.

12 August: Tracks, stability, speed and sensor. Click the image to watch the video.

5 August: Speed, tracks, stability. Click the image to watch the video.

29 July: Speed, sensor and stability. Click the image to watch the video.

22 July: Stability, tracks and speed. Click the image to watch the video.

15 July: Friction, height, stability and sensor. Click the image to watch the video.

8 July: Testing and reconstructing. Click the image to see the video.

1 July: Checking on wired/wireless, code and sensors. Click the image to see the video.

24 June: Adding a "railway" and another sensor. Click the image to see the video.

17 June: New experiment: using the fischertechnik RoboInterface. See the video.

10 June: With Harris corner detection I end the OpenCV for now. See the video.

3 June: Using different values, I get this final result. See the video.

27 May: Trying another colour, but with limited results. See the video.

20 May: Finally a bit of result. See the video.

13 May: Back to black?! See the video.

6 May: Diagnostics show odd results: apart they work, together they don't?! Screenshot of serial terminal connection using minicom.

29 April: Due to a failing wifi USB network adapter, no experiments could be done, so no video could be made either. I know I started with keyboard and mouse attached to it via a USB hub, but the keyboard failed a while ago without having a spare. And to record on camera again...nah.

22 April: Some more experimenting ends with questions. See the video.
14 April: Some results after changing the range. See the video

8 April: More experimenting. See the video.

25 March: Colourspace again. Experimenting goes on.. See the video.

18 March: Continuing with colourspace. See the video.

11 March: Trying out to change colourspace, e.g. BGR (not RGB) to HSV: video.
4 March Going on with the b/w image, I manage to solve it. See the video and picture.

26 February Trying to figure out where it goes wrong and why: video.
19 February A better solution wity b/w and colour. See also this video.

6 February (See also the 12 February blog) Some improvements with imaging, but not quite there yet. See also this video.

27 January Adding a border showed some interesting effects and facts. See also this video.

15 January: Some more imaging.

8 January 2016: some simple image stuff. See the blog or Youtube for the video.
---------------------------------------------------- 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18 December 2015: Problems using OpenCV


4 December 2015: After installing tightvncserver, it's much easier to create videos:


13 Nov.: while trying to use OpenCV with C++, I find that it yet has to be installed. Unfortunately, the SD card serving as "harddisk" is as good as full. So, either I have to stick with Python or switch to a 32 GB SD card.

21 August Errors with PyAudio. See the blog

To get an overview of how I started to use the BB and webcam, I created this video.