Robin Lovelock
Senior Member
Hi Folks. This thread asks about what I can do with the simulation mode in the picaxe programming editor.
Details of this robot boat project, including an updated "Snoopy Sails!" video, are on www.gpss.co.uk/autop.htm
and we recently conducted our first sea test. This year we have also been running 24/7 endurance testing on a local lake
of the total boat system including boat (1.3m long, sails 1m high), tracker, and picaxe based autopilot including GPS and wind direction sensor.
We are now in the final stages of testing before we hope to launch a small boat, steered by the picaxe, from the UK south coast to the USA.
In the past year most of our testing has been the total boat system, including our picaxe autopilot software.
Prior to that we also tested the software using our own simulation software and picaxe hardware.
PC running our GPSSIMU--->COM1---RS232 GPS data--->real picaxe autopilot-->real servo and sound output.
On the actual boat the sound is fed through a short range transmitter to a radio on the shore,
so we can monitor progress such as range to destination waypoints and rudder movement, left or right.
I am about to try thgis simulation approach again, but with simulated GPS data for the UK to USA route, via Azores and Bahamas.
This is because there are paths through our picaxe autopilot software not tested when following this route through distant waypoints.
It occurs to me that we might be able to use the "simulate" mode in the picaxe programming editor. I am using v5.4.0.
The most basic need is to take the simulated GPS data into the SERIN statements.
If I run simulate now it stops on "Please enter serin data" from the keyboard.
My GPSSIMU program outputs the NMEA GPS data at 4800 baud on COM1, on the same PC running the editor,
and the same data is being read from a simple text file.
I do hear sounds, resulting from my use of TUNE in the picaxe autopilot, although there seem to be differences,
due maybe to the fact that the picaxe is using the faster M2 chip.
I see the "simulate" menu on my editor v5.4.0 has a "connect" but it says "under development".
Ideally, I'd like the option of testing my picaxe autopilot with the editor "simulate", watching my GPSSIMU display
of the simulated path of the boat on the maps, and listening to the sound indicating rudder movement.
e.g. when the simulator deliberately moves the boat to the left, the sound indicates the boat is being turned right.
If I can't easily do it with the editor "simulate", I'll get out my soldering iron again to wire up some adapter plugs
Many Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and thanks for your advice in the past, particularly Hippy,
without which we would not have such a reliable and low cost solution for our autopilot.
We are also using picaxes for much simpler tasks, like the delay timers in our tracker,
which (unlike most vehicle trackers) uses SPOT and should work in the middle of the Atlantic !
If any of you are on the USA east coast, you are welcome to suggest a landing spot near you - after several months sailing
Robin
www.gpss.co.uk/autop.htm
Details of this robot boat project, including an updated "Snoopy Sails!" video, are on www.gpss.co.uk/autop.htm
and we recently conducted our first sea test. This year we have also been running 24/7 endurance testing on a local lake
of the total boat system including boat (1.3m long, sails 1m high), tracker, and picaxe based autopilot including GPS and wind direction sensor.
We are now in the final stages of testing before we hope to launch a small boat, steered by the picaxe, from the UK south coast to the USA.
In the past year most of our testing has been the total boat system, including our picaxe autopilot software.
Prior to that we also tested the software using our own simulation software and picaxe hardware.
PC running our GPSSIMU--->COM1---RS232 GPS data--->real picaxe autopilot-->real servo and sound output.
On the actual boat the sound is fed through a short range transmitter to a radio on the shore,
so we can monitor progress such as range to destination waypoints and rudder movement, left or right.
I am about to try thgis simulation approach again, but with simulated GPS data for the UK to USA route, via Azores and Bahamas.
This is because there are paths through our picaxe autopilot software not tested when following this route through distant waypoints.
It occurs to me that we might be able to use the "simulate" mode in the picaxe programming editor. I am using v5.4.0.
The most basic need is to take the simulated GPS data into the SERIN statements.
If I run simulate now it stops on "Please enter serin data" from the keyboard.
My GPSSIMU program outputs the NMEA GPS data at 4800 baud on COM1, on the same PC running the editor,
and the same data is being read from a simple text file.
I do hear sounds, resulting from my use of TUNE in the picaxe autopilot, although there seem to be differences,
due maybe to the fact that the picaxe is using the faster M2 chip.
I see the "simulate" menu on my editor v5.4.0 has a "connect" but it says "under development".
Ideally, I'd like the option of testing my picaxe autopilot with the editor "simulate", watching my GPSSIMU display
of the simulated path of the boat on the maps, and listening to the sound indicating rudder movement.
e.g. when the simulator deliberately moves the boat to the left, the sound indicates the boat is being turned right.
If I can't easily do it with the editor "simulate", I'll get out my soldering iron again to wire up some adapter plugs
Many Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and thanks for your advice in the past, particularly Hippy,
without which we would not have such a reliable and low cost solution for our autopilot.
We are also using picaxes for much simpler tasks, like the delay timers in our tracker,
which (unlike most vehicle trackers) uses SPOT and should work in the middle of the Atlantic !
If any of you are on the USA east coast, you are welcome to suggest a landing spot near you - after several months sailing
Robin
www.gpss.co.uk/autop.htm
