Hercules LaunchPad: Safety Demo

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Hercules Safety MCU Demos

The Hercules Safety MCU Demos are designed to highlight key safety, data acquisition and control features of the Hercules platform of microcontrollers. The demos are designed to be run on a PC in conjunction with either a Hercules USB Development Sick or a Hercules Development Kit (HDK) or a Hercules LaunchPad. 
The software includes the following demonstrations:

• Safety Features Demo: Highlights the built in self test and error detection/reporting features
• Ambient Light Sensor Demo: Displays the level of ambient light applied to the board
• Temperature Sensor Demo: Displays the temperature of the board
• LED Light Show: Allows the user to turn on or off the LEDs on the board
• Documentation: Links the user to the Hercules web page for microcontroller related documentation download
• Code Composer Studio: Allows the user to view the microcontroller demo source code in Code Composer Studio

In this project, you'll learn a few things:

• Downloading and installing the required software
• Configuring your hardware to run the Hercules Safety Demo
  

Things you'll need

1. Hercules LaunchPad evaluation kit (LAUNCHXL-TMS57004) -- Get one here! or (LAUNCHXL-RM42) -- Get one here!
2. Code Composer Studio (Integrated Development Environment)
3. Hercules Safety Demo(The demo project and PC end software)
4. 45 minutes

Software Setup

The Hercules LaunchPad comes ready to run an Internal Temperature Measurement demo.  To run this demo you need to complete the following steps:

1. Download and install CCS v5
2. Download and install Hercules Safety MCU Demos

During the installation of Labview Run time library (Part of the demo software installation), the following window might pop out, click "OK" to continue.

Code Composer Studio IDE v5

Code Composer Studio (CCS) v5 is a complete, Eclipse-based integrated development environment (IDE) that supports the Hercules LaunchPad.  This tool enables developers to program, debug, and compule code directly onto your LaunchPad evaluation kit.  CCS is available for free without any restrictions when used with the XDS1000 emulator on the Hercules LaunchPad. 

Hercules Safety Demo

Hercules Safety Demo are designed to highlight key safety, data acquisition and control features of the Hercules platform of microcontrollers. The demos are designed to be run on a PC in conjunction with either a Hercules USB Development Sick or a Hercules Development Kit (HDK) or a Hercules LaunchPad.

Hardware Setup

After CCS is installed, Plug the A (large flat) end of the provided USB cable into your computer. Plug the micro-B end of the USB cable into the debug port on the top of the Hercules LaunchPad.  Windows will automatically detect the hardware and ask you to install the software drivers.  Let Windows run a search for the drivers and automatically install them. To configure your board, do the following steps:

• The Hercules LaunchPad comes pre-programmed with a quick-start safety demo application. The source can be found in the C:\ti\Hercules\Hercules Safety MCU Demos directory or it can be launched through the safety demo GUI.
• The Hercules LaunchPad will power up and start with a LED show. Launch the safety demo through start->All Programs->Texas Instruments->Hercules->Hercules Safety MCU Demos->Hercules Safety MCU Demos.

• The LaunchPad should be pre-programmed with the demo firmware. If it is overwritten by user application code, the right window will pop out. The demo firmware will be programmed into the device once "OK" is pressed. A "PORRST" is required if the demo firmware is re-programmed.

Sometimes, after the demo firmware is re-programmed and asserting "PORRST", the safety demo doesn't work with following error message.

In this case, the user needs to close the Safety Demo GUI application on the PC side and re-launch it. After restart the GUI, the safety demo should work normally.

This problem only ocurrs when the Safety Demo GUI applicaiton find a mismatch in the firmware and re-program the Hercules MCU.

• With the expected software in the LaunchPad, the safety demo wil lead you to the right window.
  • Press the "Safety Features" will lead you to the demo of Hercules safety features, such as memory/CPU selftest and inject ECC/parity error into the built-in RAM.
  • Press the "LED Light Show" will lead you to the demo of two on-board white LEDs D11 and D12. You can turn-on and turn-off those two LEDs and control the brightness of D11, which is connected to Pin NHET08.
  • Press "Ambient Light" will lead you to the demo of measuring the ambient light.
  • Press "Code Composer Studio" will open the CCS5 project of the safety demo software.
  • Press "Documentation" will lead you to the Hercules MCU website.

Additional Information

Some useful tools available on TI's Website:

• HalCoGenprovides a graphical user interface that allows the user to configure peripherals, interrupts, clocks, and many other microcontroller parameters. Once the device is configured, the user can generate peripheral initialization and driver code, which can be imported into CCS, IAR Workbench, or Keil uVision. HALCoGen also includes several example projects for using many of the key peripherals.
• HET IDE is a windows application that can be used to configure and simulate the High End Timer Co-processors on Hercules Safety MCUs.
• UNIFLASH is a standalone tool used to program flash memory on TI MCUs. Uniflash has a GUI, command line, and scripting interface.
• NOWECC generates the data to be programmed into the ECC memory locations of a Hercules Safety MCU device.
• F021 Flash API The F021 Flash Application Programming Interface (API) provides a software library of functions to program, erase, and verify the Hercules on-chip Flash memory.
• Hercules Safety MCU Demos are designed to highlight key safety, data acquisition and control features of the Hercules platform of microcontrollers. The demos are designed to be run on a PC in conjunction with either a Hercules USB Development Sick or a Hercules Development Kit (HDK) or a Hercules LaunchPad.