This extension communicates with Arduino (Atmel µC) through a tcp Socket Server.
It is rather meant as a basic framework to show how to establish a Connection between Arduino and Clients. Go ahead and customize it to your needs: Add Sliders, Switches, etc. in the menu.js and Outputs/Inputs on the Arduino. Get Crazy and Control your Room Lights from any Computer on the Network ;)
Warning If you update this extension from extensions.gnome.org, ALL files in the extension directory will be OVERWRITTEN. Any customization you made to the extension will then be lost, so please make a backup before you click on "update". The only part that should need active customization is menu.js which is creating the menu entries. This makes it easy to save your custom configuration by just backing up menu.js and still being able to get the latest updates.
- Show menu including a switch, slider and sensor value in the panel (basic configuration).
- Send values of the switch and slider via serial or ethernet to the Arduino board and receive sensor values from it.
- Multiple clients can be connected to the Server.
- Data is automatically synced between every connected client and the Arduino.
- Auto reconnect in case of network failure.
- Scripts for Arduino are included in the extension directory (Ethernet or Serial)
You have two options to get your Arduino running:
-
Use the Arduino as the Socket Server directly (You need an Ethernet Shield or sufficient adaptor like enc28J60 for this to work). Since this has the big advantage of not needing a Computer to serve as an interface between Arduino and the Clients, it is the recommended method. Using an ethernet Module unfortunately comes with limitations in terms of connectable clients (enc28J60: 4 clients, w5100: 1 client -> see "Known Issues")
-
Use a Computer to run a python based Socket Server that communicates with Arduino via Serial. No additional Hardware is needed for this to work and there are no limits when connecting multiple clients.
Method 1:
Get the UIPEthernet library for Arduino (in case of an enc28J60 Controller) written by Norbert Truchsess and import it in your Arduino IDE:
[https://github.com/ntruchsess/arduino_uip]
Or uncomment the corresponding lines in the arduino sketch to use a w5100 controller
Connect the Ethernet Module as follows:
Module Arduino
CS (SS) pin10
SI (MO) pin11
SO (MI) pin12
SCK(CK) pin13
RESET RESET
VCC 3.3V for enc28J60 (5V for w5100) Be careful. Selecting the wrong voltage can damage your controller!
GND GND
Connect LEDs to pin2 and pin3 of the Arduino (and any sensor signal to pin A0 to get the values displayed in the Extension)
Load the "Arduino_Sketch_SocketServer_UIPEthernet.ino" onto your Arduino (make sure to set up the desired IP and Port according to your configuration) and connect it to your network.
Set up the IP and Port of the Server in the Extension Settings and start the Extension.
Enjoy controlling your LEDs.
Method 2:
Connect your Arduino via USB-Serial with the PC
Connect LEDs to pin2 and pin3 of the Arduino (and any sensor signal to pin A0 to get the values displayed in the Extension)
Load the "Arduino_Sketch_SocketServer_PythonSocketServer.ino" onto your Arduino
Determine what Serial Port your Arduino is connected to (IDE > Tools > SerialPort): something like /dev/ttyUSB0 for generic Serial Converters
or /dev/ttyACM0 for Arduinos with Atmel Serial Converter
Make the python Script executable:
chmod +x ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/arduinocontrol@simonthechipmunk.noreply.com/python/arduino_socketserver.py
Start the python Server:
python ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/arduinocontrol@simonthechipmunk.noreply.com/python/arduino_socketserver.py "IP" "Port" "Device"
example: python ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/arduinocontrol@simonthechipmunk.noreply.com/python/arduino_socketserver.py 127.0.0.1 21567 /dev/ttyACM0
Set the IP Address of the Server to 127.0.0.1 for a local Server or set it to your Comuter's Network IP to make it available to other clients on the Network
Set up the IP and Port of the Server in the Extension Settings and start the Extension.
Enjoy controlling your LEDs.
If you ever need to determine what the Server is sending at the moment, you can use a simple text based client to connect to it. You can find the Script
in the python directory:
chmod +x ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/arduinocontrol@simonthechipmunk.noreply.com/python/debug_socketclient.py
python ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/arduinocontrol@simonthechipmunk.noreply.com/python/debug_socketclient.py "IP" "Port"
- custom path to menu.js
*(fix)(concerns: python Socket Server) The serial address of the Arduino board may vary between reboots. The correct device has to be set up manually when starting the python Socket Server. Setting up udev rules should resolve this issue.
*(limitation)(concerns: w5100 Ethernet Module) It is only possible to connect to this module with one client at a time, even though the chip itself supports up to four connected clients. This is a limitation of the Arduino Ethernet library that only requests socket0. A feature request was already committed on the official Arduino GitHub repository but wasn't implemented yet. [arduino/Arduino#1260]
The UIPEthernet library for enc28J60 devices does not have this limitation. Many thanks again to Norbert Truchsess for his great work on this.
Version numbering follows the uploads to the extension website.
Version 3 (23-11-2014)
- first public version
Version 4 (29-03-2015)
- auto reconnect and menu status messages
- separate menu.js for easier customization of the menu entries
- github repository https://github.com/simonthechipmunk/arduinocontrol
- support for translations
Version 5 (30-09-2015)
- fix auto-reconnect issue when using python server
- fix several minor issues and gnome-shell warnings
- support for gnome 3.18
Version 6 (27-04-2016)
- support for gnome 3.20
Version 7 (02-10-2016)
- support for gnome 3.22
Version 8 (15-02-2018)
- support for gnome 3.26