Flowcode Support Board

Hi,
My understanding flowcode app developer (FAD) is that FC runs on a PC and a microcontroller is commanded remotely. Thus the program logic is on the PC and the interaction with the world is done via the microcontrollers I/O. FAD commands an action and the micro responds.

I'm keen to use FAD as more of a monitoring tool. With FC running conventionally on the microcontroller and so that it can be a standalone device but the user can use FAD to connect and monitor the variables and states of the microcontroller.
The micro would periodically send values out (UART or USB) and FAD recieves and displays them in graphs, icons etc..
I worked on a example of this sometime ago and it worked but was a clunky interface for exchanging information in this way. I then got drawn into another project.

In the last 6 months or so, has FAD developed any featrues that lend themselves to this alternative approach?
Thanks, J.

Hi jay_dee

With the App Developper you have many options to collect data, signals or measured values. You can easily transfer this via LAN, Wlan, USB, Bluetooth from a stand alone CPU system.

I use an ESP32 with bluetooth and Wifi already integrated and a Microchip PIC32 with an additional Bluetooth module from Microchip and somethimes I use a LAN module.
Everything works very well and I think the App Developper is one of the best programs for collecting and displaying data.


regards

Stefan

Thanks Stefan,
I had a simple interface working over UART, thus I could use it from simple board developmnet upwards.
Whilst I got something working, my attempt felt pretty clunky.
Do you have a simple example you would be willing to share?
I know FAD is not sold as a PIC monitoring tool, more a PC based FC platform but I can see real benifit using it in this alternate maner.
J.

Hi J.
Have you tried any of these free apps?

Hi,
Yes i've worked through a couple of the examples... and they seem to use the SCADA command and responce approach. So the FAD application is very must the master the PIC is a dumb slave.
I'm trying to flip this and not load up the PIC with a lot of permanent routines servicing FAD requests. Ideally the PIC would just be sending out a standardised data steam ( over UART/USB or whatever) and a FADroutine would process this.
Since I would like to logically structure it in some way I started looking at JSON but have gotten quite lost in doing this within FAD or FC.
J.

Hello,

I would be very interested to see how you get on using JSON. We have a parser for FAD but not for embedded, there might be an easy way of allowing this but it's a very generic standard so for embedded it might make more sense to write it as you need it.

We do a similar thing for our control boxes where they are bacially doing a closed loop PID controller. The box will do it's own thing and maintain tthe control but the FAD can set parameters such as the setpoint, the control channel, the frequency etc.

Again it's using the standard command and response approach but the difference is that not everything is driven directly from the PC. Somethings are driven using a timer interrupt or something as part of the main program loop.

Another option might be to use somethng like Modbus?

Hi jay_dee

Do you have a simple example you would be willing to share?

I only have a simple monitoring of the status from a device with a PIC. It's working by Bluetooth or USB Adapter
A description of how I did it. Maybe you can use some parts of it.
I hope it help you a litle
regards

Stefan