Added configuration option in MicroBitConfig to allow the default power level
to be defined. Based on experiments undertaken by the BBC and subsequent policies defined by
the BBC's child protection panel, to is set by default it's lowest level (0),
in order to protect children's privacy.
It should be noted that this is 30dB below the device's default setting, so will
inevitably leave the device more susceptible to interference, and therefore
significantly reduce the reliability of the device. This will likely present
itself through increased packet loss, reduced thorughout, lost data and
connection drop outs. The normal BLE power level on commercial devices
translates to power level of 6.
The author has witnessed an inability to connect to a micro:bit from a
distance of 40cm under domestic conditions using a Samsung S5 mini
running Android 4.4.2.
Added MicroBitConfig.h option to enable/disable whitelisting
Added MicroBitConfig.h option to enable/disable limited period advertising
Added support for limited period advertising
Minor code cleanups
declarations
Added missing operator new[] wrapper in MicroBitHeapAllocator.h
Ammended defualt microBitConfig.h to allocate 90% of available heap, rather
than 95%. this is to leave a little more heap for external libraries.
An e-compass solution requires knowwlede two pieces of data to provide an
accurate heading:
- Accurate calibration of the magnetometer hardware so that reliable
measurements can be taken.
- Knowledge of the pitch and roll of of device, so that the correct
components of the X/Y and Z axis sensors of the magnetomer can be used
to sense the magnetic field in a horizontal plane regardless of the tilt
of the device.
This commit represent changes to the MicroBitAccelerometer and MicroBitCompass
classes to implemen tthese goals. More specifically, this commit provides:
- The introduciton of an interactive calibration 'game', that can rapidly
gather all the data required to calibrate the compass.
- An improved calibration algorithm based on a Least Mean Squares approach of
compass samples, as documened in Freescale Application Note AN4248.
- The inclusion of a simple Matrix4 class to enable efficient Least Mean
Squares implementation.
- A change from asynchronous to synchronous calibration of the compass when
first used. This is in repsonse to a feature request for this from users
and high level languages using microbit-dal.
- Support for detemrining tilt and roll angle in MicroBitAccelerometer
- Support for multiple co-ordinate spaces in MicroBitAccelerometer and
MicroBitCompass. Data can now be read in either RAW (unaltered) data.
MICORBIT_SIMPLE_CARTESIAN (as used previously) or NORTH_EAST_DOWN
(the industry convention in mobile phones, tablets and aviation)
- Implementation of a tilt compensated algorithm, used when determining
device heading.
More specifically:
- BLUEZONE mode renamed to PairingMode (by popular request).
- Added timeout of 90 seconds before automatic device reboot.
- Move from a scroll to a print based algorithm to improve the amount of time key is displayed fully.
- Added compulsory 'click to bond' button press.
- Improved response time of tick/cross being displayed.
- Add maximum depth for event queues, to prevent buggy scripts causing total memory exhaustion.
- Suppress generation of A/B click events when A+B click is generated
- preservation of event ordering on messagebus for resursive event generation cases.
- bugfix of message bus processing to prevent occasional dual processing of events
- bugfix MicroBitDisplay to behave correctly when delay parameter is zero.
Updates to change the behaviour of the scroll/print/animate faily of function away
from being pre-emtive and instead prroviding queing behaviour.
Minor updates to provide complete sets of async equivalent operations
Updates to the scheduler to provide wait/notify/waitone semantics.
More specifically, the build system now uses the semantic versioning meta-data
held in module.json to define a major.minor.patch version. Additionally, is the branch
being compiled is *not* the master branch, the version is appended with <branchname><githash>.
Specific updates:
- Updates to CMake files to expose this to the micro:bit runtime code.
- Addition of uBit.systemVersion() to expose this to application code.
- Displaying of version string over serial if MICROBIT_DBG is enabled.
- Distribution of version string over BLE via the firmware revision characteristic.
First functionally complete BLE profile, matching BLE speicfication v1.6.
More specifically, the following services are now functional:
- AccelerometerService
- MeganetometerService
- EventService
- TemperatureServide
- IOPinService
- DFUService
- ButtonService
- LEDService
Also, updates to underlying device drivers to enable greater configurability:
- MicroBitCompass now supports variable sample rates and temperature sensing
- MicroBitAccelerometer now supports variable sample rates and ranges
- MicroBitThermometer introduced
- MicroBitMessageBus adapted to permit enumeration and block removal of listeners
Finally, MicroBit DFU Service has been changed to the new UUIDs specificed in v1.6 of BLE spec.
MessageBus handlers can now have one of four concurrency modes for the eventuality
of an event being raised whilst a previous event is still being processed. An additional
(optional) parameter is provided to the listen() functions to allow this to be selected
on a per event handler basis. The permissable options are:
MESSAGE_BUS_LISTENER_REENTRANT:
The event handler is fired with the new event, regardless of whether or not
a previous event is still be processed by that handler.
MESSAGE_BUS_LISTENER_QUEUE_IF_BUSY:
The new event is queued until such a time as the previous event has completed
execution. The new event is then processed. This option does not preclude the
processing of the new event by other event handlers.
MESSAGE_BUS_LISTENER_DROP_IF_BUSY:
The new event is dropped, and will never be processed the the event handler.
This option does not preclude the processing of the new event by other event handlers.
MESSAGE_BUS_LISTENER_NONBLOCKING:
The event handler is self-declaring that it never blocks. This flag is used purely
for optimisation, as it permits direct execution of the event hadnelr without inducing
any overhead from the scheduler.
In addition, the following minor revisions were made in this release:
* Cleanup of the #include dependencies contained in the microbit-dal .h files
* Bugfix to the scheduler block on event matching code.
* Introduced a MICROBIT_ID_ALERT MessageBus channel, for general purpose eventing using nonces.
All options defined in MicroBitConfig are now set IFF they already do not have a value.
This allows external configuration of these options much more cleanly. Additional macros
also defined to provide clean implementation for boolean configuration switches.
Also some minor bugfixes:
- Correction of typo of "Microbit.h" => "MicroBit.h"
- Fixed heap corruption bug on gcc as a result of a debug printf in an unsafe context.
This release contains a widespread set of updates and optimisations to the micro:bit
runtime, with a view to reducing the SRAM footprint of the whole system. This is to
provide as much usable HEAP storage for application programs as possible.
Specific updates and optimisations include:
- Additional compilation flags to allow the core micro:bit runtime to be configured.
These are defined in MicroBitConfig.h
- A custom heap allocator. This is now included for two reasons:
1) To provide a simple mechanism to to utilise both the mbed heap space and other memory
regions (such as unused memory in the SoftDevice region) as a single virtual heap.
2) To address some issues that have been noted that are attributable to heap fragmentation.
The micro:bit heap allocator has a simple algorithm, but one that is chosen to respond
well to the relativelt high 'heap churn' found in the micro:bit environment.
All micro:bit components and user programs now use this heap allocator trasparently.
- Updates to BLE services to remove persistent references to their GATT services. This consumes
vast amounts SRAM, rather unecessarily. Instead only handles to the relevant GATT characteristics
are now stored. This specifically includes:
+ MicroBitDFUService
+ MicroBitEventService
+ DeviceInformationService
- Updates to the Fiber scheduler to save SRAM. More specifically:
+ Removed the need to hold an empty processor context to intialise fibers.
+ The IDLE fiber now runs without a stack
+ fiber stacks are now only created when a fiber is descheduled for the first time, thereby reducing heap churn.
+ the 'main' fiber is now recycled into the fiber_pool if it leaves app_main()
+ fibers created through invoke() now only maintains the necessary part of teh parent stack that is needed, thereby
reducing the stack size of spawned fibers.
- Updates to the Message Bus to reduce the overall memory footprint of processing events. More specifically:
+ Event handlers are now always called using invoke(), such that non-blocking event handlers no longer need
a dedicated fiber to execute - thereby saving SRAM and processor time.
+ Processing of events from the event queue is now rate paced. Events only continue to be processed as long as there
are no fibers on the run queue. i.e. event processing is no longer greedy, thereby reducing the number of fibers
created on the runqueue.
- Updates to BLUEZOENE code to bring up core BLE services even if they are not enabled by default. This allows
programs that do not require BLE to operate to benefit from the full range of SRAM, whilst still allowing the
device to be programmed over BLE.
- Updates to the Soft Device initialisation configuration, reducing the size of the GATT table held in the top 1.8K
of its 8K memory region to around 800 bytes. This is sufficient to run the default set of BLE services on the micro:bit
so the additional memory is configured as HEAP storage by MicroBitHeapAllocator.
- Minor changes to a range of components to integrate with the above changes.
+ rename of free() to release() in DynamicPWM to avoid namespace collision with MicroBitHeap free()
+ rename of fork_on_block to invoke() to enhance readbility.
- Many code cleanups and updates to out of date comments.
