MySensors with NodeJS Controller and OTA bootloader on RPi

My RPi runs Arduino to compile and flash sketches and the bootloader. With this setup no separate PC/Mac is needed. Exactly the same could be achieved (faster) using a PC/Mac for all the Arduino compilation and flashing activities – just skip the steps and execute on PC/Mac instead.

Hardware

Headless Raspberry Pi model B with wired Ethernet

I'm connecting a monitor only for first time boot to get the IP address and then connect via Putty/xRDP

Download and install latest Raspbian version on a fresh SD-Card

Tutorials for this task are available on the internet (download, copy to SD)

Setup base parameters

(adjust to your needs - here: RPi-IP: 10.0.1.5 / Router-IP: 10.0.1.1 / password: test / timezone: Europe,Berlin / hostname: mysensors)

login as pi / raspberry
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
#iface eth0 inet dhcp
iface eth0 inet static
address 10.0.1.5
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.0.1.1
nameserver 10.0.1.1
sudo raspi-config
- 1. Expand Filesystem
- 2. Change User Password
  
  test
- 4. Internationalisation Options
  - I2. Change Timezone
    Europe / Berlin
- 8. Advanced Options
  - A2. Hostname
    mysensors
  - A3. Memory Split
    16
Finish
Reboot

Install latest updates

login as pi / test
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo reboot

Install Remote Desktop

Optional… my RPi is headless and I use xRDP to connect from a Windows PC to run a graphical UI if needed (e.g. for Arduino IDE)

login as pi / test
sudo apt-get install xrdp
to confirm it's working as expected try to connect from a remote computer to the RPi (e.g. from a Windows PC using the "Remote Desktop Connection" tool)

Install NodeJS (here: latest stable version available for RPi: 0.10.28)

login as pi / test
sudo mkdir /opt/node
wget http://nodejs.org/dist/v0.10.28/node-v0.10.28-linux-arm-pi.tar.gz
tar xvzf node-v0.10.28-linux-arm-pi.tar.gz
rm node-v0.10.28-linux-arm-pi.tar.gz
sudo cp -r node-v0.10.28-linux-arm-pi/* /opt/node
rm -rf node-v0.10.28-linux-arm-pi/
sudo nano /etc/profile
NODE_JS_HOME="/opt/node"
PATH="$PATH:$NODE_JS_HOME/bin"
export PATH
sudo reboot
to confirm it's working as expected login as pi/test and run "node -v" which should return the installed node version (here: v0.10.28)

Install MongoDB

login as pi / test
sudo useradd -c mongodb -d /home/mongodb -m -U mongodb
sudo mkdir -p /opt/mongo/bin
sudo mkdir /var/lib/mongodb
sudo chown mongodb:nogroup /var/lib/mongodb
sudo mkdir /var/log/mongodb
sudo chown mongodb:nogroup /var/log/mongodb
wget https://github.com/brice-morin/ArduPi/raw/master/mongodb-rpi/mongo/bin/mongo
wget https://github.com/brice-morin/ArduPi/raw/master/mongodb-rpi/mongo/bin/mongod
wget https://github.com/brice-morin/ArduPi/raw/master/mongodb-rpi/mongo/bin/mongodump
wget https://github.com/brice-morin/ArduPi/raw/master/mongodb-rpi/mongo/bin/bsondump
sudo mv mongo /opt/mongo/bin/
sudo mv mongod /opt/mongo/bin/
sudo mv mongodump /opt/mongo/bin/
sudo mv bsondump /opt/mongo/bin/
sudo chmod -R 775 /opt/mongo/bin
sudo ln -s /opt/mongo/bin/mongod /usr/bin/mongod
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/skrabban/mongo-nonx86/master/debian/mongodb.conf
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/skrabban/mongo-nonx86/master/debian/init.d
sudo mv mongodb.conf /etc/mongodb.conf
sudo mv init.d /etc/init.d/mongodb
sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/mongodb
sudo update-rc.d mongodb defaults
sudo reboot
to confirm it's working as expected login as pi/test and run "/opt/mongo/bin/mongo" which should start the mongo shell (type "exit" to close the shell again)
if the RPi loses power without proper shutdown while mongod is running, you can't restart without manually removing the pid file first. To do so run “sudo rm /var/lib/mongodb/mongod.lock”

Install Arduino (and update to latest 1.0.5)

login as pi / test
sudo apt-get install arduino
wget http://arduino.googlecode.com/files/arduino-1.0.5-linux32.tgz
tar zxvf arduino-1.0.5-linux32.tgz
rm arduino-1.0.5-linux32.tgz
cd arduino-1.0.5
rm -rf hardware/tools
sudo cp -ru lib /usr/share/arduino
sudo cp -ru libraries /usr/share/arduino
sudo cp -ru tools /usr/share/arduino
sudo cp -ru hardware /usr/share/arduino
sudo cp -ru examples /usr/share/doc/arduino-core
sudo cp -ru reference /usr/share/doc/arduino-core
cd ~
rm -rf arduino-1.0.5

Enable programming via GPIO UART (for serial gateway only)

login as pi / test
wget https://github.com/SpellFoundry/avrdude-rpi/archive/master.zip
unzip master.zip
rm master.zip
cd avrdude-rpi-master
sudo cp autoreset /usr/bin
sudo cp avrdude-autoreset /usr/bin
sudo mv /usr/bin/avrdude /usr/bin/avrdude-original
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/avrdude-autoreset /usr/bin/avrdude
cd ..
rm -rf avrdude-rpi-master

Install MySensors from Git branch development (here: password: test)

login as pi / test
git clone https://github.com/mysensors/Arduino.git
cd Arduino
git checkout development
cd NodeJsController
npm install
nano NodeJsController.js (optional : removing sample firmwares)
const fwHexFiles = [ ];
to confirm that the NodeJsController is working as expected and connects to the local mongo DB: "node NodeJsController.js" which should start the controller, connect to the database and run into an error connecting to the gateway. Stop node again via Ctrl-c

Start NodeJsController on boot

cd ~/Arduino/NodeJsController
chmod 755 *.sh
sudo cp MySensorsInitScript.sh /etc/init.d/mysensors
sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/var/run
sudo chmod -R 777 /usr/local/var/run
sudo update-rc.d mysensors defaults
sudo reboot
to confirm that NodeJsController is starting at boot, check the log file /home/pi/logs/NodeJsController.log

Configure Arduino

start graphical UI (startx on RPi or via RDP)
start Arduino IDE
File - Preferences
- set sketchbook location to /home/pi/Arduino
- enable verbose output for compilation
- enable verbose output for upload
Close Arduino IDE

Serial Gateway

Hardware

as described for the standard Serial Gateway
I'm using the version with inclusion mode button and LEDs based on no Arduino but a plain ATmega328p on a breadboard
Connect directly to the serial GPIO pins of the RPi:
Arduino GND <-> Raspberry Pi GND (pin 6)
Arduino RX <-> Raspberry Pi TX (pin 8)
Arduino TX <-> Raspberry Pi RX (pin 10)
Arduino RESET <-> Raspberry Pi GPIO22 (pin 15)
Right now I'm using a separate power supply for the serial gateway instead of the 3.3V or 5V pins of the RPi because I ran in some issues with power consumption during programming

Disable default use of serial port

sudo nano /etc/inittab
#T0:23:respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyAMA0 115200 vt100
sudo nano /boot/cmdline.txt - remove part of the file:
console=ttyAMA0,115200
cd /dev
sudo ln -s ttyAMA0 ttyUSB9
sudo apt-get install minicom
sudo reboot

Flash (assuming that the ATmega has a valid Arduino bootloader installed)

login as pi / test
start Arduino IDE
- Tools - Board - Arduino - Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz) w/ ATmega328
- Tools - Serial Port - /dev/ttyUSB9
- File - Sketchbook - SerialGateway
- File - Upload

Setup NodeJsController

nano ~/Arduino/NodeJsController/NodeJsController.js
//const gwType = 'Ethernet';
//const gwAddress = '10.0.1.99';
//const gwPort = 9999;
const gwType = 'Serial';
const gwPort = '/dev/ttyAMA0';
const gwBaud = 115200;
sudo service mysensors restart

Ethernet Gateway

Hardware

as described for the standard Ethernet Gateway
I'm using the version with inclusion mode button and LEDs based on no Arduino but a plain ATmega328p on a breadboard and the ENC28J60 Ethernet module

Adjust Sourcecode (here: address 10.0.1.99 / port: 9999)

[I you are running into compilation errors due to missing files in the utility directory, do the following] cp -R ~/Arduino/libraries/UIPEthernet/src/utility ~/Arduino/libraries/UIPEthernet/utility
nano ~/Arduino/libraries/MySensors/MyConfig.h
//#define DEBUG
start Arduino IDE
- File - Sketchbook - EthernetGateway
- Edit source code
  #define IP_PORT 9999
  IPAddress myIp (10, 0, 1, 99);
- Optional : adjust source code to given hardware
  - Correct include for Ethernet module type (if not using ENC28J60)
  - Switch MyGateway constructor if using inclusion mode button and LEDs
- File - Save
Flash (assuming that the ATmega has a valid Arduino bootloader installed)
- Connect ethernet gateway to RPi (setup as above for serial gateway or via USB FTDI cable
- login as pi / test
- start Arduino IDE
  - Tools - Board - Arduino - Arduino Pro or Pro Mini (5V, 16 MHz) w/ ATmega328
  - Tools - Serial Port - /dev/ttyUSB9 (or /dev/ttyUSB0 if connecting through USB cable)
  - File - Sketchbook - EthernetGateway
  - File - Upload
Setup NodeJsController
- nano ~/Arduino/NodeJsController/NodeJsController.js
  const gwAddress = '10.0.1.99';
- sudo service mysensors restart
Sensor Node Bootloader

Hardware
- as described for a simple Sensor Node
- here: no Arduino but a plain ATmega328p on a breadboard
- using DallasTemperature example (one sensor connected to pin 3)
Compile Bootloader (can be skipped but good to see if everything is working)
- cd ~/Arduino/Bootloader
- make
- this should compile the bootloader and produce three files in the same directory: MyOtaBootloader.o / MyOtaBootloader.elf / MyOtaBootloader.hex
Flash Bootloader
- cd ~/Arduino/Bootloader
- nano Makefile
- adjust avrdude settings to the available programmer. In my case (mySmartUSB MK3 programmer temporarily connected to RPi USB port):
  ISP_PORT = /dev/ttyUSB0
  ISP_SPEED = 115200
  ISP_PROTOCOL = stk500v2
  ISP_MCU = m328p
- make load
End-to-End Test

Add Firmware to Controller
- nano ~/Arduino/NodeJsController/NodeJsController.js
  const fwHexFiles = [ 'DallasTemperatureSensor.cpp.hex' ];
  const fwDefaultType = 0;
- sudo service mysensors restart
Flash Firmware OTA
- tail -f ~/logs/NodeJsController.log
- Power up sensor node with OTA bootloader
Check functionality
- in addition to watching the log file (tail command above) you can connect to the mongo db using a client (e.g. Robomongo) and check if new values are written to the database as a real end-to-end test

MySensors with NodeJS Controller and OTA bootloader on RPi

Hardware

Download and install latest Raspbian version on a fresh SD-Card

Setup base parameters

Install latest updates

Install Remote Desktop

Install NodeJS (here: latest stable version available for RPi: 0.10.28)

Install MongoDB

Install Arduino (and update to latest 1.0.5)

Enable programming via GPIO UART (for serial gateway only)

Install MySensors from Git branch development (here: password: test)

Start NodeJsController on boot

Configure Arduino

Serial Gateway

Hardware

Disable default use of serial port

Flash (assuming that the ATmega has a valid Arduino bootloader installed)

Setup NodeJsController

Ethernet Gateway

Hardware

Adjust Sourcecode (here: address 10.0.1.99 / port: 9999)

Flash (assuming that the ATmega has a valid Arduino bootloader installed)

Setup NodeJsController

Sensor Node Bootloader

Hardware

Compile Bootloader (can be skipped but good to see if everything is working)

Flash Bootloader

End-to-End Test

Add Firmware to Controller

Flash Firmware OTA

Check functionality