EXEL EXLs3 User Manual

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EXLs3 rev09-051114

EXLs3

Miniature Wireless

Inertial Measurement Unit

USER GUIDE

(FIRMWARE REV. 6.26)

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Table of contents



1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION .................................................... 3



2. FEATURES ............................................................................ 3



3. HARDWARE OVERVIEW ...................................................... 4



4. INTERNAL BLOCK DIAGRAM ............................................. 6



5. REFERENCE SYSTEM .......................................................... 7



6. MEASUREMENT UNITS........................................................ 8



7. BLUETOOTH SETUP ............................................................ 9

 8. COMUNICATION PROTOCOL ............................................ 13

8.1. BASIC COMMANDS ............................................................ 13

8.2. PACKET DATA TYPES ........................................................ 13

8.3. CONFIGURATION COMMANDS ............................................ 16

8.4. CONFIGURATION REGISTERS ............................................. 16

8.5. CONFIGURATION PARAMETER ACCESS .............................. 19

8.6. REAL TIME CLOCK CONFIGURATION ................................... 21

8.7. OTHER COMMANDS ........................................................... 22

 APPENDIX A. FIRMWARE UPDATE ..................................... 23

 LEGACY FUNCTIONS ............................................................. 26

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EXLs3

Miniature Wireless Inertial Measurement Unit

 1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The EXLs3 is a miniaturized electronic device with the function of real-time Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU).

It features a complete MEMS sensor set, which is composed of a tri-axial accelerometer, gyroscope and compass, a 32-bit Cortex microprocessor for data processing and a Bluetooth radio to send real- time data.

The unit can be used for real-time motion measurement and transmission in particular in the medical field as a wearable device for biomechanical analysis, such as posture assessment, rehabilitation, gait monitoring, joints’ functionality analysis, activity monitoring, etc.

The Bluetooth™ radio allows easy interfacing to a wide range of devices (PC, Tablets, Smartphones) without the need of additional hardware so that data can be transmitted wirelessly up to 10 meters.

The unit is also equipped with an embedded 1 GB flash drive which allows data logging to CSV files and USB interface for file transfer.

The on board 32-bit CPU provide algorithms for orientation estimation with Kalman filtering in order to give high quality measurement.

The integrated rechargeable Litium battery allows continuous data acquisition and streaming up to 3 hours and can be recharged by means of a dedicated docking station.

 2. FEATURES

 Module size 54 mm x 33 mm x 14 mm  Module weight 22 g  32-bit MCU, Cortex-M3 @72 MHz  3-axis accelerometer with selectable full-scale range (±2 / ±4 / ±8 / ±16 g).  3-axis gyroscope with selectable full-scale range (±250 / ±500 / ±1000 / ±2000 dps)  3-axis magnetometer  Orientation estimation with Kalman filtering and quaternion output.  Sampling rate up to 200 Hz for raw data and 100 Hz for orientation data.  Various data packet format available  Bluetooth™ 2.1 class 1.  Up to 7 nodes at the same time can stream data to the same host.  1GB Flash Memory (USB Mass Storage) for data storage  Docking station with micro-USB connector for battery recharging and log-file downloading.  Battery operating time 3h  Firmware upgradable by means of bluetooth connection.

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 3. HARDWARE OVERVIEW

On the front side of the IMU the ON/OFF button and an indicator LED are located. In order to switch-on the device, press shortly the button. The LED lights green. To switch-off the IMU press and hold the button for two seconds, until the LED turns-off.

In addition, the IMU turns-off automatically after 10 minute of inactivity. When the battery reaches a low voltage the LED starts blinking red.

On the back side 4 golden contacts are present in order to allow communication with the docking station for battery recharging and data download.

The Docking-station allows the sensor to be interfaced to a PC via USB cable, for battery recharging and data-log file transfer. The IMU must be properly placed in the docking station as shown in the above picture. For battery recharging is alternatively possible to connect the docking station to a standard 5V power supply equipped with micro-USB connector. The current required to recharge the battery is 250 mA.

When the battery is being charged the EXLs3’s indicator LED turns red.

When the battery is fully charged the LED turns green. By connecting the docking-station to a PC it is possible to access the IMU’s internal storage flash disk, in

order to retrieve data-log files.

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The Multiple Docking-Station allows more units to be recharged at the same time. It also acts as USB hub which allows more units to be seen as multiple distinct flash disks where log files can be found. The multiple docking-station must be used with the provided Power Supply Adapter, otherwise neither battery recharging nor USB hub will work.

The IMU is provided with a special holder which allows easy fixing to a Velcro-strap or similar. The IMU must be placed as shown in the following picture, by sliding it in the holder gently until the body hooks in the retainer, making sure the holder’s lateral rails fit in the respective sensor’s slots.

In case of gait analysis the holder can be used to hook the IMU to shoes-laces, as shown in the following picture.

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 4. INTERNAL BLOCK DIAGRAM

The following picture shows in a simplified form the internal logic of the EXLs3 unit.

The task of the unit is to measure in real-time the linear acceleration and the angular velocity at which the unit itself is subjected (inertial measurements). The unit can at the same time measure the magnitude of the surrounding magnetic field.

All measurements are performed by tri-axial sensors, so both magnitude and vector direction are acquired.

After the compensation of sensor’s raw data (i.e. offset and gain error removal), data and are processed in order to calculate the orientation of the unit related to a earth reference frame in real-time.

Compensated inertial data together with Orientation data are packed and sent wirelessly to the host PC a the desired sampling rate. The produced stream can also be saved in the internal flash drive, as standard CSV file, in order to be retrieved afterwards via USB connection for off-line post-processing and/or analysis.

3-axis Digital

Accelerometer

3-axis Digital

Gyroscope

3-axis Digital

Magnetometer

comp

ORIENTATION ESTIMATION

Linear A cceleration (m/s²)

Angular Speed (rad/s)

Earth Magnetic Field (µT)

RAW D ATA COMPENSATED DATA

DATA

PAC KING

AND

TIME-

STAMPING

BLUETOOTH

RADIO

DATA-LOG

ON INTERNAL

DRIVE

(CSV FILE)

HOST PC

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 5. REFERENCE SYSTEM

All raw inertial measurements (linear accelerations, angular velocity and earth magnetic field provided by the unit are referred to the reference system shown below (body frame).

The orientation of the unit in the space is referred to an earth-bound frame where:

X is pointing NORTH Y is pointing WEST Z is pointing UPWARDS

The orientation of the sensor is given by a quaternion (q0,q1,q2,q3) representing the rotation of the unit’s body frame with respect to the earth frame.

Thus when the X axis of the sensor is pointing NORTH and Y axis is pointing WEST the output is the Identity Quaternion (1,0,0,0).

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 6. MEASUREMENT UNITS

Main data returned in real-time by the EXLs3 to the host system are: Acceleration (AccX, AccX, AccZ)

Angular Velocity (GyrX, GyrY, GyrZ) Magnetic Field (MagX, MagY, MagZ) Orientation (Q0, Q1, Q2, Q3)

For the Acceleration and the Angular Velocity you can chose among several full-scale ranges in order to best fit the specific application requirement.

All data are sent in binary form, so they require conversion to be expressed in standard measurement units.

ACCELERATION

a [m/sec2] = Ka

𝐴𝑐𝑐

32768

SELECTED FULL-SCALE RANGE

±2 g

2 x g (19.613 m/sec2)

±4 g

4 x g (39.227 m/sec2)

±8 g

8 x g (78.45 m/sec2 )

±16 g

16 x g (156.91 m/sec2 )

This formula must be applied to each component (AccX, AccY and AccZ) of the acceleration.

ANGULAR VELOCITY

ω[degree/sec] = Kg

𝐺𝑦𝑟

32768

SELECTED FULL-SCALE RANGE

±250 dps

250 dps

±500 dps

500 dps

±1000 dps

1000 dps

±2000 dps

2000 dps

This formula must be applied to each component (GyrX, GyrY and GyrZ) of the angular velocity.

MAGNETIC FIELD

B[uT] = Km 𝑀𝑎𝑔

FULL-SCALE RANGE

±1200 dps

0.007629 uT

This formula must be applied to each component (MagX, MagY and MagZ) of the angular velocity.

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ORIENTATION

The orientation of the EXLs3 in the space is represented by a unit quaternion (q0, q1 , q2, q3) representing the rotation of the unit’s body frame with respect to the earth frame.

The quaternion’s components returned by the EXLs3 are normalized so that the unity is represented by the value 16384. So the following formula should be applied:

qn =

𝑄

𝑛

16384

n = 0,1,2 and 3

The rotation of the body-frame is identified by an axis of rotation A and an angle of rotation α around that axis:

q0 = cos(α / 2) q1 = Ax sin(α / 2) q2 = Ay sin(α / 2) q3 = Az sin(α / 2)

EXAMPLES:

A rotation of +90 degrees around the Z axis (0,0,1) results:

q0 = cos(90 / 2) = 0.7071 q1 = 0 sin(90 / 2) = 0 q2 = 0 sin(90 / 2) = 0 q3 = 1 sin(90 / 2) = 0.7071

A rotation of -90 degrees around the Y axis (0,1,0) results:

q0= cos(-90 / 2) = 0.7071 q1 = 0 sin(-90 / 2) = 0 q2 = 1 sin(-90 / 2) = -0.7071 q3 = 0 sin-(90 / 2) = 0

The Identity Quaternion (1,0,0,0) indicates the unit’s body frame (X-Y-Z) is aligned with the North-West-Up earth-frame.

 7. BLUETOOTH SETUP

The communication with the unit is done via bluetooth SPP connection, so you should have a Bluetooth

2.1 internal card or USB Bluetooth dongle properly installed on your host machine.

After, you must pair each EXLs3 with the host by going to View Devices and Printers (under Windows 7) and clicking on Add a device. Note your EXLs3 device(s) must be switched-on in order to be discoverable by the host.

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After a few seconds (up to 15) you should se a list of the available EXLs3 devices and you can select the one you want to pair.

Note: for FW rev 6.26+ the EXLs3 is seen as generic Bluetooth device instead of bluetooth headset

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When the following window appear, just ignore the shown code and press Next.

The driver installation starts automatically. During this process you should see at the bottom-right of your screen a notification of new COM port installation. Ignore possible message of driver installation error, depending on the extra profiles supported by your bluetooth dongle).

At the end of the process you should have the EXLs3 device added in the Devices and Printers group:

By double-clicking the EXLs3 device on the window you can access the associated Properties.

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In the Hardware tab, you must take note of the COM number (in the case above COM12) associated with the Standard Serial over Bluettoth Link function.

The identified COM port is the interface your host system will use to communicate with the EXLs3 device.

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

8. COMUNICATION PROTOCOL

The commands used to interact with the device are based on datagrams sent by the host device via the serial port profile over Bluetooth. They are in general constituted of an opcode (1 byte) followed by variable number of parameters (n bytes) and 1 byte checksum, calculated as sum modulo-256 of the previous n+1 bytes.

Byte0

Byte1 .. byte N

Byte (N + 1)

OPCODE

PARAMETERS

CHECKSUM

If the command is properly recognized by EXLs3 it responds with an ACK byte (0x01). In case of error it respond with NACK byte (0x00)

8.1. Basic Commands

START_STREAM (0x3D)

Use this command to start real-time streaming of sampled and processed data to the controlling PC.

Byte 0

Byte1

0x3D

The sensor starts sending to the host the data sampled in real-time with the format shown in the paragraph Packet Data Types.

STOP_STREAM

Use this command to stop real-time streaming.

Byte 0

Byte1

0x3A

The sensor responds with an acknowledge

Byte0

0x01

8.2. Packet Data Types

When in streaming mode, the EXLs3 unit can send different type of packets, depending on the value of the PACKET_TYPE parameter (see in the registers description paragraph).

AGMOB_Type (Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Orientation, vBattery)

This is the most generic packet format, which includes all possible information at the same time.

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With this packet, the EXLs3 units sends the real-time, the acceleration, the angular velocity and the magnetic field, as well as the estimated orientation of the unit.

Together are also packed the value of the EXLs3’s battery voltage and a progressive packet counter. The actual values of acceleration, angular velocity, magnetic field and orientation can be calculated with

the formulas described in paragraph Measurement Units.

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2..Byte3

Byte4 .. Byte9

Byte10 .. Byte15

Byte16 .. Byte21

Byte22 .. Byte29

Byte30 .. Byte31

Byte32

0x20

PKT_TYPE

PKT_CNT

ACC_DATA

GYR_DATA

MAG_DATA

ORIENT_DATA

V_BATT

CHKSUM

PKT_TYPE= 0x9F packet header which identify the type of packet.

PKT_COUNT: progressive packet number ranging from 0 to 10000

Byte2

Byte3

PKT_CNT _L

PKT_CNT _H

ACC_DATA : acceleration data sub-packed as following:

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

Byte7

Byte8

Byte9

AccX_L

AccX_H

AccY_L

AccY_H

AccZ_L

AccZ_H

AccX_H : AccX_L : X component of the acceleration (16-bit, 2-complement) AccY_H : AccY_L : Y component of the acceleration (16-bit, 2-complement) AccZ_H : AccZ_L : Z component of the acceleration (16-bit, 2-complement)

GYR_DATA: angular velocity data packed as following:

Byte10

Byte11

Byte12

Byte13

Byte14

Byte15

GyrX_L

GyrX_H

GyrY_L

GyrY_H

GyrZ_L

GyrZ_H

GyrX_H : GyrX_L : X component of the angular rate (16-bit, 2-complement) GyrY_H : GyrY_L : Y component of the angular rate (16-bit, 2-complement) GyrZ_H : GyrZ_L : Z component of the angular rate (16-bit, 2-complement)

MAG_DATA: magnetic field data packed as following:

Byte16

Byte17

Byte18

Byte19

Byte20

Byte21

MagX_L

MagX_H

MagY_L

MagY_H

MagZ_L

MagZ_H

MagX_H : MagX_L : X component of the magnetic field (16-bit, 2-complement) MagY_H : MagY_L : Y component of the magnetic field (16-bit, 2-complement) MagZ_H : MagZ_L : Z component of the magnetic field (16-bit, 2-complement)

ORIENT_DATA: orientation data packed as following:

Byte22

Byte23

Byte24

Byte25

Byte26

Byte27

Byte28

Byte29

Q0_L

Q0_H

Q1_L

Q1_H

Q2_L

Q2_H

Q3_H

Q0_H : Q0_L : Q0 component of the normalized quaternion (16-bit, , 2-complement) Q1_H : Q1_L : Q1 component of the normalized quaternion (16-bit, , 2-complement) Q2_H : Q2_L : Q2 component of the normalized quaternion (16-bit, , 2-complement) Q3_H : Q3_L : Q3 component of the normalized quaternion (16-bit, , 2-complement)

V_BAT: battery voltage (in mV) data packed as following:

Byte30

Byte31

Vbat_L

Vbat_H

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CHKSUM: sum modulo-256 of all previous bytes:

Byte32

CHKSUM

AGMB_Type (Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, vBattery)

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2..Byte3

Byte4 .. Byte9

Byte10 .. Byte15

Byte16 .. Byte21

Byte22 .. Byte23

Byte24

0x20

PKT_TYPE

PKT_CNT

ACC_DATA

GYR_DATA

MAG_DATA

V_BATT

CHKSUM

PKT_HEAD = 0x97 : packet header which identify the type of packet

Remaining data fields are coded the same of AGMOB packet

O_Type (Orientation)

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2..Byte3

Byte4 .. Byte11

Byte12

0x20

PKT_TYPE

PKT_CNT

ORIENT_DATA

CHKSUM

PKT_HEAD = 0x88: packet header which identify the type of packet

Remaining data fields are coded the same of AGMOB packet

IMPORTANT: Other customizable packet type can be chosen by setting PACKET_TYPE register properly (see the

configuration register paragraph). Every bit in the PACKET_TYPE register enable/disable a different measurement. However, the field sequence in the packet is always derived from the generic AGMOB type by suppressing the unused field. For instance, the packet type AO has the following coding:

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2..Byte3

Byte4 .. Byte9

Byte10 .. Byte17

Byte18

0x20

PKT_TYPE

PKT_CNT

ACC_DATA

ORIENT_DATA

CHKSUM

RAW _Type

Raw data are values as read from the MEMS sensing elements, before any preprocessing and compensation take place. This packet format can be useful for advanced users to operate directly on native data in order to perform specific calibration algorithms.

Byte 0

Byte 1

Byte2

Byte3 .. Byte8

Byte9 .. Byte14

Byte15 .. Byte20

Byte21

0x20

0x0A

PKT_COUNT

ACC_DATA

GYR_DATA

MAG_DATA

CHECKSUM

PKT_HEAD: packet header which identify the type of packet

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Byte0

Byte1

0x20

0x0A

PKT_COUNT: progressive packet number ranging from 0 to 255

Byte2

PKT_CNT

ACC_DATA : acceleration data sub-packed as following:

Byte3

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

Byte7

Byte8

AccX_L

AccX_H

AccY_L

AccY_H

AccZ_L

AccZ_H

GYR_DATA: angular velocity data packed as following:

Byte9

Byte10

Byte11

Byte12

Byte13

Byte14

GyrX_L

GyrX_H

GyrY_L

GyrY_H

GyrZ_L

GyrZ_H

MAG_DATA: magnetic field data packed as following:

Byte15

Byte16

Byte17

Byte18

Byte19

Byte20

MagX_L

MagX_H

MagY_L

MagY_H

MagZ_L

MagZ_H

CHKSUM: sum modulo-256 of all previous bytes:

Byte21

CHKSUM

8.3. Configuration Commands

The EXLs3’s configuration parameters (sampling frequency, full-scale ranges, etc. ) are mapped into a register file, where each parameter has a specific address. The user can modify each parameter in order to adapt the operation of the EXLs3 to the specific requirement of the user’s application. The access to the register file is performed by READ_PARAMETER and WRITE_PARAMETER commands described further.

8.4. Configuration Registers

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ADDRESS

PARAMETER NAME

LENGTH (bytes)

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

0x02

SW_RELEASE

String

info about the device’s SW (read only)

0x12

HW_RELEASE

String

info about the device’s HW (read only)

0x22

BT_NAME

string

Bluetooth name maximum 15 characters max plus null char (‘/0’)

(WARNING: changing this parameter will require entering the Bootloader Mode in order to take effect)

0x34

ACC_FS

Full-scale range of the Accelerometer

0x00 = ±2 g 0x01 = ±4 g 0x02 = ±8 g 0x03 = ±16 g

0x35

GYRO_FS

Full-scale range of the Gyroscope

0x00 = ±250 dps 0x01 = ±500 dps 0x02 = ±1000 dps 0x03 = ±2000 dps

0x36

IMU_DLPF

u8 Internal sensor low-pass filter (reserved)

0x37

IMU_SRD

u8 Internal sensor divider (reserved)

0x38

PACKET_TYPE

Output Packet type. By setting the value of this register it is possible to indicate the information transported by the data packet when streaming or logging.

The following coding is used:

1 0 0 B O M G

where each bit indicates if a specific measurement is enabled

B = Battery voltage O = Orientation M= Magnetometer G = Gyroscope A = Accelerometer

For example if packet_type = 0x9F (hexadecimal) all the measurements are output (AGMOB type packet).

0x9F = AGMOB 0x97 = AGMB 0x81 = A 0x91 = AB 0x8F = AGMO

…. 0x00 = RAW packet type

0x4E

ORIENT_ALG

Selects the algorithm to compute the orientation

0x00 = eCompass (only the accelerometer and the compass are used) 0x01 = Gyro (only the Gyroscope Integration is used ) 0x02 = Kalman Filtering (data fusion between Accelerometer, Compass and

Gyroscope is used)

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0x50

SAMPLE_RATE

Selects the frequency of packets (samples) sent to the host

0x00 = 200 Hz (100 Hz if a packet with orientation is chosen) 0x01 = 100 Hz 0x02 = 50 Hz 0x03 = 33.33 Hz 0x04 = 25 Hz 0x05 = 20 Hz 0x06 = 16.67 Hz 0x07 = 12.5 Hz 0x08 = 10 Hz 0x09 = 5 Hz 0x0A = 300 Hz (No magnetometer data, 100 Hz if a packet with orientation

is chosen)

0x51

STREAM_LOG

Select the Stream and or Log Mode when START command is issued

0x00 = Stream packets via bluetooth 0x01 = Log packets on file in the EXLs3’s internal flash disk 0x02 = Stream & Log packets

0x52

SWRFD

Start When Removed From Dock mode 0x00 = data streaming and/or logging begins immediately after START

command has been sent 0x01 = data streaming and/or logging begins immediately after START

command has been sent only if the EXLs3 is not powered by the docking station, otherwise it waits the dock’s power supply being removed before starting streaming/logging. When the EXLs3 is put back in the docking station and the power supply is restored, it stops streaming/logging

This behavior can be used to synchronize the start/stop time of several sensors.

0x02 = continuous data logging when the EXLs3 is not powered by the docking station, without start/stop commands. In this operating mode no Bluetooth connection is required.

0x53

WAKEUP_MODE

*Only available on EXLs3 with vibration sensor. It configure the device’s wake-up mode

0x10 = BUTTON: the device switches-on by pressing the button 0x20= VIBRO_FAST: the device switches-on with vibration (High sensitivity). 0x21= VIBRO_MED: the device switches-on with vibration (Medium sensitivity). 0x22= VIBRO_SLOW: the device switches-on with vibration (Low sensitivity). 0x30= BUTTON + VIBRO_FAST: the device switches-on with vibration (High sensitivity) or by button. 0x31= BUTTON+VIBRO_MED: the device switches-on with vibration (Medium sensitivity) or by button. 0x32= BUTTON + VIBRO_SLOW: the device switches-on with vibration (Low sensitivity) or by button.

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8.5. Configuration Parameter Access

The access to the register file is performed by a generic READ_PARAMETER and WRITE_PARAMETER commands, which also allow readings or writings of a sequence of multiple consecutive parameters.

READ_PARAMETERS

Use this command to read one or more parameters from the sensors. Parameters are mapped in a buffer as described in the related paragraph. The command lets the user read N bytes starting from

Add_H:Add_L

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4

0x65

Add_L

Add_H

CHKSUM

The sensor responds with a packet containing the N bytes required of the parameter buffer

Byte0

Byte1 Byte(N-1)

ByteN

Data0

Data1

…

Data(N-1)

CHKSUM

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in streaming mode

WRITE_PARAMETERS

Use this command to write one or more parameters to the sensor.

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4 .. Byte(4+N-1)

Byte(4+N)

0x64

Add_L

Add_H

Buffer_data …

CHKSUM

The sensor responds with an acknowledge:

Byte0

0x01

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in sampling/streaming mode. The parameters change takes effect from the following sampling/streaming command. New parameters are stored in volatile memory so they are lost when the device is switched-off. To save permanently the current parameters use SAVE_PARAMETERS command.

SAVE_PARAMETERS

Use this command to save in non-volatile memory the current set of parameters, so that it will be retained also after switching the EXLs3 off.

Byte0

Byte1

0x66

The sensor responds with an acknowledge

Byte0

0x01

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in streaming mode

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EXAMPLES OF CONFIGURATION COMMANDS:

Set SAMPLE_RATE at 100 Hz  WriteParameter command 1 byte, at address 0x50, value = 0x01

OpCode

Nbyte

AddL

AddH

Value

CHKSUM

0x64

0x01

0x50

0x00

0x01

0xB6

Set SAMPLE_RATE at 200 Hz  WriteParameter command 1 byte, at address 0x50, value = 0x00

OpCode

Nbyte

AddL

AddH

Value

CHKSUM

0x64

0x01

0x50

0x00

0xB5

Set PACKET_TYPE at ORIENT_Type  WriteParameter command 1 byte, at address 0x38, value = 0x02

OpCode

Nbyte

AddL

AddH

Value

CHKSUM

0x64

0x01

0x38

0x00

0x02

0x9F

Set ACC_FS at ±16 g  WriteParameter command 1 byte, at address 0x34, value = 0x03

OpCode

Nbyte

AddL

AddH

Value

CHKSUM

0x64

0x01

0x34

0x00

0x03

0x9C

Read SW_RELEASE  ReadParameter command 16 byte, at address 0x02

OpCode

Nbyte

AddL

AddH

CHKSUM

0x65

0x0F

0x02

0x00

0x76

The EXLs3 responds with a stream similar to this:

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

Byte7

Byte8

Byte9

Byte10

Byte11

Byte12

Byte13

Byte14

Byte15

Byte16

‘S’

‘W’

‘=‘

‘6’

‘.’

‘0’

‘9’

‘ ’

0x00

Checksum

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8.6. Real Time Clock configuration

The EXLs3 device is equipped with a Real Time Clock which allow time keeping for proper file creation and time stamping. It is possible to read/write the RTC register by using the following commands.

SET_CLOCK

Use this command to set the time and date value in the RTC.

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

Byte7

0x6E

CHKSUM

YY = Year [0..99] MM = Month [1..12] DD = Day [1..31] HH = Hour [0..23] Mm = Minute [0..59] SS = second [0.59]

The sensor responds with an acknowledge:

Byte0

0x01

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in sampling/streaming mode.

GET_CLOCK

Use this command to GET the data and time from RTC:

Byte0

Byte1

0x6F

The sensor responds with:

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

CHKSUM

YY = Year [0..99] MM = Month [1..12] DD = Day [1..31] HH = Hour [0..23] Mm = Minute [0..59] SS = second [0.59]

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in sampling/streaming mode.

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8.7. Other commands

POWER_OFF

Use this command to switch-off the device.

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4

0x32

CHKSUM

The sensor responds with an acknowledge, right before switching-off.

Byte0

0x01

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in sampling/streaming mode.

RESTORE_PARAMETERS

Use this command to restore all settings to the default values.

Byte0

Byte1

0x67

The sensor responds with an acknowledge.

Byte0

0x01

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in sampling/streaming mode. NOTE: This command does not reset the calibration parameters

START_BOOTLOADER

Use this command to start the bootloader at the next device’s switching-on.

Byte0

Byte1

Byte2

Byte4

0x80

0xBA

CHKSUM

The device responds with an acknowledge..

Byte0

0x01

This command is only accepted if the sensor is not in sampling/streaming mode. NOTE: This command is only supported by devices with bootloader v.1.05 and above.

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

Appendix A. Firmware Update

The EXLs3 unit is equipped with a bootloader, which employs the Bluetooth connection to upload a new firmware on the device. The firmware must be provided as a binary file (.bin) and should be transmitted to the device via a serial terminal emulator which support Y-modem data transfer (e.g TeraTerm or HyperTerminal).

The bootloader mode can be entered when turning on the device be holding pressed the switch-on button for 5 seconds, until the red led starts blinking. At this point the device is in the bootloader mode and will stay here until it receives further instructions. A button press will exit the bootloader mode and normally initialize the device.

When in the bootloader mode, the device waits the connection from the terminal emulator. The following instructions apply to Teraterm terminal emulator, but can be used with any similar program.

We are also assuming that the user already paired the device with the PC, thus having a COM port corresponding to the device.

WARNING! This operation should be done with care and at your own risk. Be sure that the binary file you are going to load to the EXLs3 unit is provided by EXEL only. If the firmware file is not correct your device can be damaged permanently. Be sure that the battery is fully charged before starting the updating procedure, as a the interruption of the process, for any reason, can damage your EXLs3 unit.

To upload a new firmware the user must:

1. Put the device in BOOTLOADER mode (red LED blinking)

2. Start Teraterm on the host PC

3. Connect to the EXLs3 unit by selecting in the File / New connection menu the COM port associated with the EXLs3 unit

Note: The following points 4. and 5. are not required from the bootloader version >1.04

4. Once the communication channel is open press on the PC’s keyboard the keys SHIFT + A, the following bootloader splash screen is shown:

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5. Press on the keyboard the key “1”. The bootloader starts showing a continuous sequence of “C” and wait the file to be uploaded.

6. Select the file to send (EXLs3_xxxx.bin) to the EXLs3 unit by choosing File / Transfer / Ymodem / Send option.

WARNING: only select trusted binary files provided by EXEL, otherwise you can damage your product permanently.

7. The file transfer take place

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8. When the process is completed you can close the communication port by pressing File / Disconnect

9. After the firmware transfer the EXLs3 unit should exit bootloader mode and the LED should turn green.

10. It is advised you switch-off and then switch-on the EXLs3 unit before using it.

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

LEGACY FUNCTIONS

The following configuration parameters and packet format have been kept for compatibility with the initial implementation. It is advised not to use them anymore, and use newer packet formats

CONFIGURATION PARAMETERS

ADDRESS

PARAMETER NAME

LENGTH (bytes)

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

0x38

PACKET_TYPE

0x01 = CALIB_Type (Calibrated data) 0x02 = ORIENT_Type (Quaternions)

0x4F

SEND_BATT

1: Battery Voltage is sent periodically with a dedicated packet

PACKETS FORMAT

CALIB_Type (Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer)

Byte 0

Byte 1

Byte2

Byte3 .. Byte8

Byte9 .. Byte14

Byte15 .. Byte20

Byte21

0x20

PKT_ID

Pkt_count

ACC_DATA

GYR_DATA

MAG_DATA

CHECKSUM_XOR

 Packet Header: the first packet byte is always 0x20  PKT_ID: the identifier for the packet type. For the calibrated data packet it’s 0x0B  PKT_COUNT: progressive packet number ranging from 0 to 255  CHECKSUM_XOR: calculated as XOR of previous Bytes

 ACC_DATA : acceleration data sub-packed as following:

Byte3

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

Byte7

Byte8

AccX_L

AccX_H

AccY_L

AccY_H

AccZ_L

AccZ_H

AccX_H : AccX_L : X component of the acceleration (2-complement) AccY_H : AccY_L : Y component of the acceleration (2-complement)

AccZ_H : AccZ_L : Z component of the acceleration (2-complement)

 GYR_DATA: angular rate data packed as following:

Byte9

Byte10

Byte11

Byte12

Byte13

Byte14

GyrX_L

GyrX_H

GyrY_L

GyrY_H

GyrZ_L

GyrZ_H

GyrX_H : GyrX_L : X component of the angular rate (2-complement) GyrY_H : GyrY_L : Y component of the angular rate (2-complement)

GyrZ_H : GyrZ_L : Z component of the angular rate (2-complement)

 MAG_DATA: magnetic field data packed as following:

Byte15

Byte16

Byte17

Byte18

Byte19

Byte20

MagX_L

MagX_H

MagY_L

MagY_H

MagZ_L

MagZ_H

MagX_H : MagX_L : X component of the magnetic field (2-complement) MagY_H : MagY_L : Y component of the magnetic field (2-complement) MagZ_H : MagZ_L : Z component of the magnetic field (2-complement)

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ORIENT_Type (quaternion)

When this packet type is chosen, the node samples the sensors, applies the internally stored calibration and computes the orientation of the device using one of the available algorithms. The orientation is represented in quaternion form and represents the orientation of the device with respect to a local earth

fixed frame. The node’s body reference frame is the one illustrated in Figure 1, and the earth default

reference frame has x pointing north, y pointing west and z pointing upwards (NWU – North-West-Up). An alternative reference frame can be chosen (NED – North-Est-Down).

Byte 0

Byte 1

Byte2

Byte3 .. Byte6

Byte7 .. Byte10

Byte11 .. Byte14

Byte15 .. Byte18

Byte19

0x20

PKT_ID

Pkt_count

CHECKSUM_XOR

 Packet Header: the first packet byte is always 0x20  PKT_ID: the identifier for the packet type. For the orientation data packet it’s 0x0C  PKT_COUNT: progressive packet number ranging from 0 to 255  q0 – q3: the orientation of the device expressed in quaternion form. Each one of the components

is a 32-bit floating point number in the IEEE 754 standard. The four bytes are organized as follows:

Byte3

Byte4

Byte5

Byte6

Byte 0

Byte 1

Byte 2

Byte 3

IMPORTANT: The CHECKSUM is calculated as XOR of previous Bytes

VBATT (Battery Voltage)

This packet reports the battery voltage in mV. It is sent periodically (typically every 5 seconds) if SEND_BATTERY (address 0x4F) is set to 1.

Byte 0

Byte 1

Byte2

Byte3

Byte4 .. Byte14

Byte15

0x20

0xBA

Vbatt_L

Vbatt_H

CHECKSUM_XOR

IMPORTANT: The CHECKSUM is calculated as XOR of previous Bytes