W4 | Embedded Programming 💻

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

  1. Browse through the data sheet for your microcontroller.
  2. Write a program for a microcontroller, and simulate its operation, to interact (with local input &/or output devices) and communicate (with remote wired or wireless connection).

GROUP ASSIGNMENT

  1. Group Assignment

After exploring different microcontrollers (and discarding a few along the way), I've chosen the one that perfectly fits the needs of my little robot. And the winner is ... drumroll 🥁 ... The Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 Sense! This microcontroller has everything required to make my little robot come to life.

1. XIAO ESP32S3 SENSE DATA SHEET

  • Here some of its key features:

2. Testing with Different Microcontrollers

2.1 XIAO RP2040 with Arduino IDE
For this first example, I connected the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 and programmed it using Arduino IDE.
Before getting started, I set up the software by following these steps:

  • Step 1. I downloaded and installed the latest version of Arduino IDE according to my operating system.
  • Step 2. I launched the Arduino application.
  • Step 3. I added the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 board package to Arduino IDE:

    • ~ I navigated to File > Preferences and added the following URL to the Additional Boards Manager URLs field: https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json
    ~ I went to Tools > Board > Boards Manager..., searched for "RP2040", selected the latest version of "Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040", and installed it.
  • Step 4. I selected the board and port:
    • ~ After installing the board package, I navigated to Tools > Board, found "Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040", and selected it.
Now, the Seeed Studio XIAO RP2040 is fully set up for Arduino IDE and ready for programming.

For this example, using the XIAO2040 microcontroller, I used an OLED screen to display an image. Since the OLED only reads hexadecimal format, the image must first be converted.

Why Convert the Image to Hexadecimal?
OLED screens do not process formats like JPG or PNG; instead, they use a list of numbers that indicate which pixels should be turned on or off. These numbers are grouped into bytes. The position of the bytes in the matrix determines the image orientation. If the conversion is not done correctly, the image may appear flipped or distorted. Tools like image2cpp help adjust it to ensure it displays correctly on the screen.

Steps to Prepare Images and Display Them on the OLED

  • Step 1. Find suitable images: It is recommended to use black-and-white images to simplify conversion and improve compatibility with the OLED screen.
  • Step 2. Resize the image: Adjust the image dimensions to fit the OLED screen resolution, ensuring that details remain visible. Paint or any image editing software can be used.
  • Step 3. Convert to BMP format: Save the image as a monochrome BMP file to facilitate conversion to hexadecimal code.

  • Step 4. Generate hexadecimal code: Use the image2cpp tool to convert the BMP image into a hexadecimal number matrix that the microcontroller can interpret.
    • ~ These are the settings that have been modified; the rest remain at their default values.
    ~ Then, the code is generated.
Now, we move to the Arduino IDE once the images and their respective codes are ready.

Steps to Implement in Arduino IDE

  • Step 1. Install the necessary libraries: Install the required libraries to use the OLED screen (e.g., Adafruit GFX, Adafruit SSD1306).
  • Step 2. Import the generated hexadecimal code: Copy the hexadecimal matrix generated by image2cpp into the Arduino code.
  • Step 3. Adapt the code for the project: Modify the code to fit the desired functionality.
  • Step 4. Upload the code to the microcontroller: Connect the microcontroller and upload the code via Arduino IDE.

    • 
#include 
#include 
#include  
										   
#define SCREEN_WIDTH 128
#define SCREEN_HEIGHT 64
//Declaración del display
 Adafruit_SSD1306 display(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT,&Wire, -1);
										   
const unsigned char PANDA [] PROGMEM = {
// 'PANDA, 128x64px
 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xe0, 0x01, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x80, 0x07, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x03, 0xff, 0xff, 0xc0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x07, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xe0, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xf8, 0x00, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xf8, 0x00, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x7f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfe, 0x01, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x80, 0x7f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xc3, 0xff, 0xc0, 0x7f, 0xfe, 0x03, 0xff, 0xe3, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xe7, 0xfe, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x7f, 0xe7, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xcf, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xf3, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xdf, 0xf8, 0x00, 0xe0, 0x07, 0x00, 0x1f, 0xf1, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x9f, 0xf8, 0x01, 0xc0, 0x03, 0x80, 0x1f, 0xc0, 0x01, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xbf, 0xf8, 0x01, 0xe0, 0x07, 0x80, 0x1c, 0x06, 0x30, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0x00, 0x1f, 0xf8, 0x03, 0xfc, 0x3f, 0xc0, 0x1c, 0x06, 0x30, 0x0f, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x01, 0xfc, 0x07, 0xfe, 0x7f, 0xe0, 0x3c, 0xe0, 0x03, 0x87, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x7f, 0xff, 0xf8, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x07, 0xf8, 0x07, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x0f, 0xfc, 0x0f, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xe0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x0f, 0xfc, 0x07, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xe0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xf0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x3f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xfc, 0x00, 0x03, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xf3, 0x1f, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 
0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff
};
										   
void setup() {
 // put your setup code here, to run once:
 Serial.begin(115200);
if (!display.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C)) {
	Serial.println(F("SSD1306 allocation failed"));
	for(;;);
	}
	
	delay(2000);
	display.clearDisplay();
	display.drawBitmap(0, 0, PANDA, 128, 64, 1);
	display.display();
}

void loop() {
	// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
}


void setup() {
	// put your setup code here, to run once:
	Serial.begin(115200);
	if (!display.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C)) {
	Serial.println(F("SSD1306 allocation failed"));
	for(;;);
	}
	
	delay(2000);
	display.clearDisplay();
	display.drawBitmap(0, 0, PANDA, 128, 64, 1);
	display.display();
}

void loop() {
	// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
}
  • Step 5. Test the OLED display: Verify that the image appears correctly.