Book Image

BeagleBone Black Cookbook

Book Image

BeagleBone Black Cookbook

Overview of this book

There are many single-board controllers and computers such as Arduino, Udoo, or Raspberry Pi, which can be used to create electronic prototypes on circuit boards. However, when it comes to creating more advanced projects, BeagleBone Black provides a sophisticated alternative. Mastering the BeagleBone Black enables you to combine it with sensors and LEDs, add buttons, and marry it to a variety of add-on boards. You can transform this tiny device into the brain for an embedded application or an endless variety of electronic inventions and prototypes. With dozens of how-tos, this book kicks off with the basic steps for setting up and running the BeagleBone Black for the first time, from connecting the necessary hardware and using the command line with Linux commands to installing new software and controlling your system remotely. Following these recipes, more advanced examples take you through scripting, debugging, and working with software source files, eventually working with the Linux kernel. Subsequently, you will learn how to exploit the board's real-time functions. We will then discover exciting methods for using sound and video with the system before marching forward into an exploration of recipes for building Internet of Things projects. Finally, the book finishes with a dramatic arc upward into outer space, when you explore ways to build projects for tracking and monitoring satellites.

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BeagleBone Black Cookbook
Nov, 2015 | 346 pages
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Table of Contents (16 chapters)
BeagleBone Black Cookbook
BeagleBone Black Cookbook
Credits
Credits
About the Author
About the Author
About the Reviewers
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Setting Up for the First Time
Setting Up for the First Time
Introduction
First boot up
Power requirements – basic guidelines
Display
Essential GNU/Linux commands – the command shell
Essential GNU/Linux commands – typical commands
Edit a text file from the command shell
Connectivity
Package management – Installing packages using apt-get
SSH / Remote access
System images
2
Basic Programming Recipes
Basic Programming Recipes
Introduction
Introduction to BoneScript
Toggle LED
Using the Cloud9 IDE
Node.js basic recipes
Adding a new module to Node.js
Using Node.js with Johnny-Five
Python basic recipes
Adding libraries
Running a Python script to control the LEDs
3
Physical Computing Recipes Using JavaScript, the BoneScript Library, and Python
Physical Computing Recipes Using JavaScript, the BoneScript Library, and Python
Introduction
Controlling external LEDs
Using buttons – button press function
Using analog sensors
Variable resistance sensor – photocell
Using motors
4
Exploring GNU/Linux Recipes Using Bash, Autotools, Debugger, and systemd
Exploring GNU/Linux Recipes Using Bash, Autotools, Debugger, and systemd
Introduction
The basic shell script
Epoch Time shell script
Compile and install
Compile and install Git from source
Debugging
Debug a simple C-code application from the command line using GDB
Debug an application remotely from Eclipse and GDB server
systemd services
Basic commands for systemd services
Optimize boot time
Create a systemd service to run at boot time
5
Basic Programming Recipes with the Linux Kernel
Basic Programming Recipes with the Linux Kernel
Introduction
Kernel application binary interface
Installing the latest kernel image
Installing and building a custom kernel
Interactions with the kernel – sysfs entries and controlling the GPIOs
Device Tree and its roots
Device Tree / basic build
Device Tree / advanced – adding DT overlay to run a custom cape
Universal cape overlay
Running a script to check DT usage on GPIO pins
6
Run Faster, Run Real Time
Run Faster, Run Real Time
Introduction
Installing a test tool
Modifying the kernel using RT-PREEMPT
Modifying the kernel using Xenomai
Programmable real-time units – an introduction
A simple PRU test with an assembler
Running an ultrasonic range sensor with the PRUs
Using Python with the PRUs
7
Applied Recipes – Sound, Picture, and Video
Applied Recipes – Sound, Picture, and Video
Introduction
Wiring up a mini amp and speakers
Creating a high-quality audio platform with Volumio
Using videos and displays in projects
Testing a mini LCD cape
Making a video chat client prototype using Linphone
8
The Internet of Things
The Internet of Things
Introduction
Location-based recipes – hooking up GPS
Location-based recipes – Bluetooth LE and Beacons
Using sensors and data with ThingSpeak
Making things smarter – building a wireless digital picture frame
9
The Black in Outer Space
The Black in Outer Space
Introduction
Grabbing the International Space Station flyover data and visualizing it
Tracking using RTL-SDR
Airplane tracking with RTL-SDR
Satellite tracking using GPredict and RTL-SDR
Satellite tracking using the SatNogs Network client / ground station and RTL-SDR
Adding other interfaces – ISS tracking and text to speech
Index
Index

About the Author

Charles A. Hamilton is the owner of HudsonWerks, a New York City-based DIY hardware and development shop for new products. Passionate about emerging technologies, open source hardware, and the maker movement, his background as a "technology creative", entrepreneur, and maker provides readers with a unique perspective.

Besides BeagleBone Black, Charles works frequently with other hardware platforms, including the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, and UDOO development boards, open source board architecture and PCB design, micromechatronics, and sensors. He is also an advocate and keen user of emerging low-cost manufacturing and design tools such as 3-D printers and laser cutters. Among other subjects, Charles keenly follows advances and design challenges in the arenas of IoT, space technologies, and next-generation health and wellness devices. He writes and blogs at http://www.hudsonwerks.com.

He is a former creative director at AT&T and product developer at a New York City-based new product development agency. Charles' development expertise spans devices in the consumer electronics, digital media, display, voice recognition, and telecommunication markets. He is also a proud papa to his 4-year-old son, Hudson.

I would first like to acknowledge the support of Jason Kridner, the Texas Instruments embedded applications Evangelist and founder of Beagleboard.org, without whom this book would never have achieved liftoff. Additionally, immeasurable thanks need to go to John Reaves of Learning Worlds and Masuo Kitano of Seiko Epson Corporation, who ignited the prototyping-and-build-something-crazy spark in me. Jonathan Hirschman of PCB:NG gave it a further push by showing us the way to cook up PCBs from scratch, literally. Finally, more than thanks are necessary to the two people that showed the greatest forbearance in seeing this project to its conclusion: my wife, Mary, and little boy, Hudson. Without their encouragement, patience, and love, this book would never have happened. For this, I am humbled and grateful.

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