3.5.2 Dashboard Configuration Example

This section gives an example on how to configure the Dashboard module. Although the example utilizes only a subset of the available dashboard elements data sources available in the Data Visualizer, the basic principles are applicable to all elements and data sources.

This example uses manual configuration of the Dashboard module, but it is also possible to use the Atmel Data Protocol (ADP) to set up a dashboard automatically. For more information on ADP and an example of a automatically configured dashboard, see Atmel Data Protocol.

The target application code used in this example and a description of the hardware setup can be found in Dashboard Example Code.

Todo:
  • Open the configuration panel
  • Add a new I/O Dashboard component by double-clicking the I/O Dashboard module
Todo:
  • Enable editing the dashboard by clicking the Edit option in the lower left corner of the Dashboard I/O module
  • Open the Elements panel in the upper right corner of the dashboard and drag elements onto the dashboard.
Tip: To remove an element from the dashboard, select it by left-clicking it, and then right-click the element.
Tip: Changing the parameters in the Configuration section will not take effect until the Set button is clicked.
In this example, three Label elements are added, one as a title for the dashboard and the two others as help text for the slider. A Graph element with one plot was added to be used for the light sensor data. The Y Minimum and Y Maximum values were set to 0 and 255, respectively. A Signal element was added to be able to see which mode is active. When the Night mode is active the signal turns dark blue (Color On) and when the Night mode is inactive the signal turns yellow (Color Off). Finally, a slider was added to make it possible to adjust the Night mode threshold. The Minimum was set to 0 and the Maximum was set to 255. Moving the slider to the left lowers the threshold and results in the Night mode being active at brighter light levels.

When the dashboard has been set up it is time to connect the dashboard to the serial interfaces to enable communication with the target application.

Before the endpoints in the dashboard can be hooked up, the interfaces between the target board and the host computer must be configured. This example uses the DGI SPI interface and the CDC USART interface. The CDC interface will appear on the host computer as an ordinary serial COM port.

Todo: Select correct tool in the DGI Control Panel.
Todo: Click Connect to make a connection to the DGI on the selected tool.
Todo:
  • Click the SPI checkbox
  • Open the SPI Configuration dialog by clicking the Gear button next to the SPI checkbox
Todo:
  • Open the Serial Port Control panel found under External Connection in the Modules section of the Configuration tab in Data Visualizer
Todo:
  • Select the correct COM port corresponding to the connected kit
  • Set the serial port parameters according to the application code
  • Make sure the Open Terminal option is not checked
Todo:
  • Deselect the Edit option
  • Click the Show Endpoints option
  • Drag the SPI source to the graph sink
  • Drag the serial port source to the signal sink
  • Drag the slider source to the serial port sink
Now the dashboard is fully configured and can be used to interact with the Night mode switch application.
Todo:
  • Deselect the Show Endpoints option
  • Click Start in the DGI Control Panel
  • Click Connect in the Serial Port Control Panel
Now the ADC raw values are shown in the graph and the slider can be adjusted to a suitable threshold for the Night mode switch. The signal element shows the state of the switch.