TiLDA MK3

Using your badge

• Explaining buttons
• Battery
• Hardware
• WiFi How to set up the badge for your wifi and what to do if it doesn't work
• Resetting your badge if files become corrupted after editing.

Hacking your badge

One of the main goals of this years TiLDA is to make it as easy as possible to hack it and share your results. All you need to do so is a computer with USB and your badge.

The badge itself runs code written in the computer language Python which is run by a bit of software called Micropython.

If you want to get going and write your own code (of course you do!) start here: How to get started

The TiLDA badge supports all the default Micropython libraries and their documentation is an excellent starting point to get going. There are however some additional features we have added to the standard functions, so please have a look at TiLDA MK3/documentation for functions related to the WiFi and the LCD screen.

If you're already familiar with all this you can jump right into the topic of "Widgets". Widgets are equivalent to mobile phone apps and they can be shared via the EMF Widget Store. If you want to know more about how this works go to TiLDA MK3/widgets

Charging

The badge charges via a microUSB socket, and takes about 2-3 hours for a full charge. The red charge LED next to the USB connector will extinguish when charging is complete

Hacking your badge

Upon connecting the badge to a computer, it should appear as a mass storage device, and a virtual serial port. Windows will require a driver file for the serial port, which is stored on the badge's mass storage. See here for full instructions.

All of the python code which runs on the badge can be modified on the mass storage device, and new apps can be added this way too. Be careful when using text editors to modify files on the device, if the mass storage is not 'safely removed' before removal, corruption of the file being edited can occur. When writing your own code, it is advised edit code on your computer, then copy it across to the badge, wait for the red 'writing' LED to go out, reset it, and run. This way you don't need to worry about safely removing the badge each time. If something goes wrong, the badge can be reset to its out-of-the-box state, so do not be concerned about breaking anything.

To interactively run code on the badge, a python REPL can be accessed via the virtual serial port. Once you have found the serial port, use your favourite serial terminal to connect to the badge. Since the badge will be running the main software, press Ctrl+c to stop it, and the badge will display '>>>' to indicate it is ready to receive commands.

The badge runs micropython, and as a result does not contain everything you may expect from full python. See the micropython docs in the lniks below for more information. The badge has additional APIs, in particular for the LCD, Wifi and IMU, which are also listed below.

How to build the firmware from scratch

Badge API

See the following links for help and examples

- Microcontroller peripherals [1] (Timers, PWM, serial etc)

- uGFX (screen library)

- RTC (real time clock)

- ADC (analogue reading)

- Timer

Some ideas

- IRC relay

(feel free to add additional ideas, and create links new wiki pages to on-going projects, perhaps someone will want to contribute)