Arduino package
The arduino package is part of the Octave Forge project and provides an Octave look-alike implementation of the Arduino extension for Matlab.
Installation
package requirements
The Arduino package needs the Arduino IDE to be installed and functioning on the computer in order to program Arduino boards, however does not need it to control boards that have already been programmed.
The Arduino package also requires the instrument-control package to be installed.
octave installation
From octave commmand line:
>> pkg install -forge arduino
Using it
Load it before any usage:
>> pkg load arduino
Arduino board hardware setup
In order to use the arduino hardware with the toolkit, it must be programmed with special firmware.
From octave commmand line:
>> arduinosetup
A temporary Arduino project will be created, with the Arduino toolkit files copied to it and the Arduino IDE will open.
Set the board type and port correctly for the connected Arduino and press the upload button on the IDE.
The sources will be compiled and then uploaded to the connected arduino board.
After successful upload the Arduino IDE should be closed.
Connecting to an Arduino
Assuming a single arduino device is connected to the computer, creating an arduino object with no arguments will find the connected arduino and connect to it:
>> a = arduino;
Where multiple arduinos may be connected to the computer, a specific board can be connected by specifying the name of the port it is connected to:
>> ar = arduino("/dev/ttyACM0")
To list the ports of all programmed available arduinos, the scanForArduinos function can be used:
>> scanForArduinos
This will list information on each detected (programmed with firmware) Arduino board found.
Simple example
The following example shows very basic control of the Arduino package to blink the inbuilt LED.
1. load the Arduino package (if not already done)
>> pkg load arduino
2. create an arduino object
>> a = arduino;
3. what pin is the inbuild LED on? On Uno boards, D13.
>> led_pin = "d13";
4. turn LED off.
>> writeDigitalPin (a, led_pin, 0);
5. turn LED on.
>> writeDigitalPin (a, led_pin, 1);
The full code, with the LED controlled in a loop ti turn it on/off each second is in the following example:
a = arduino; led_pin = "d13"; while true writeDigitalPin (ar, led_pin, 0); pause (0.5) writeDigitalPin (ar, led_pin, 1); pause (0.5) endwhile
Documentation
Documentation and reference for the Arduino toolkit is available as:
- The Online manual