Author Archives: biemadmin2012

How to configure Android adb without using the mini-usb

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android serial lines debugAs presented in an earlier blog post, the Android adb daemon (in the host device) can be set to listen for requests coming from wifi or ethernet instead of the default usb. This process is common for the majority of Android smartphone/tablets and in order to achieve it, the host device must receive at least a set of initialisation commands sent throughout the mini-usb connector.

The mini-usb is a very good connector but when you have to disconnect and reconnect it many times, it may fail or broke. As a consequence, having a mini-usb connector that does not work, means that you can not upload your apks, debug and in general manage your Android device. Continue reading →

How to create an Android System App with the Ltouch Panels

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Android software stackThe topic we would like to tell you today is how to create an Android System App with the any of the touch panels/tablets Ltouch F, FW (Wifi) or development boards Ltouch S and SW (Wifi). An Android system app is a special kind of application that has higher privileges and does not live in normal user application sandbox.

Example of tasks that can be performed with system apps are:

  • Install and remove other apps
  • Execute commands in super user mode with the Java command: Runtime.getRuntime.exec
  • Low level permission for interacting with the platform
  • Full access to device’s resources

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Industrial Automation: An introduction to the Pltouch

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Pltouch processors schemaHome and industrial automation projects employ a big set of products, such as sensors, touch screens, external modules, PLCs and HMIs in order to solve specific problems and dealing with special requirements. The current scenario shows that the logic and the user interface are frequently managed by different components, using a common bus in order to communicate and modify statuses. 

Based on this state of the art, our research and development lab, designed and created a brand new product with the aim of merging some of the products presented above, in order to reduce complexity, enhance user interface experience and especially reduce the costs.

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Industrial Automation with Android: Acquisition of 6 PT100 Probes

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The project I’m working on is about making an industrial automation system using an ARM Cortex A8 1Ghz Android-based touch HMI and a slave bm6PTI expansion module that communicates using RS485 and Modbus.

From the Android touch screen is possible to directly read 6 class B PT100 Temperature probes through an expansion module using RS485 and Modbus protocol at a speed of 19200 bps.

If required, it is possible to extend the project by adding other expansions modules up to a total of 63 bm6PTI therefore 378 temperature probes can be read.

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New Android Touch Panel with Wifi Support

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Android Touch Panel Rear CoverWe are proud to announce that a new product has been released on our on line store. It is an Android based touch panel for industrial and home automation HMI projects.

It features a 7″ capacitive multi touch display together with a SoC Samsung Cortex A8 microprocessor running at 1Ghz, 512 MB DDR Ram with many interfaces such as RS485, RS232, I2C, SD, Camera and many more.

The additional feature that distinguishes this touch panel is the full support of Ethernet as well as WAN 802.11 b/g/n networks.

The product comes in two versions:

  • The Ltouch FW has an anodized and polished 5mm thick frontal frame and rearward cover. Thanks to this layer of protection and a special assembly process, the product has an IP54 frontal ingress protection (dust and water).
  • The Ltouch SW is a development board that have the same features as the Ltouch FW but it does not have the frontal frame and rear cover protection. This is especially useful when it need to be mounted in an already existing structure.

0-10V, NTC/PTC and 4-20ma Arduino Analog Inputs Converter: the bmANA

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The bmANA is an essential product when reading from analog inputs with Arduino.

4-20ma arduino analog input converter bmana

0-10V, NTC/PTC and 4-20ma Arduino Analog Inputs Converter

We are glad to present a simple but very powerful and flexible board that let you read different types of analog inputs. Now ready from our online store.

It is well known that in the home and (especially) in the industrial automation world the most used analog input types are 0-20ma/4-20ma (current), 0-10V (tension) or NTC/PTC thermocouples. Conversely, makers already know that the Arduino boards support 0-5V tension analog inputs only.

Based on these assumptions, we designed and created a new board that converts analog signals to 0-5V tension with 10-bit resolution. This will enhance spectrum of projects in which Arduino can be used.

The BmAna board has 4 analog inputs and each one can be set with one of the following measurement type:

  • 0-20ma (current)
  • 0-10V (tension)
  • PTC (thermocouples)
  • NTC (thermocouples)

Power supply: can be used either 5Vdc or 24Vdc for the most widespread use in every field of application.

To make easy and secure the connections with the measurement sources, we used terminal blocks.

Where and how can be used? This 0-10V, NTC/PTC and 4-20ma Arduino conversion board can be used for instance with our Bmini! Take for instance a flat cable with a RJ45 connector: plug it to the Bmini (through the J8 connector) and connect it to the bmAna. You have now expanded the functionalities of the Bmini and ready for reading almost all types of analog inputs currently used in the home and industrial automation sector.

Do you like this product? Just let us know!

In the following posts, we will present in more details the board features providing examples and technical specs.

Stay tuned!

Mounting Additional USB Storage Devices on Android

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On all the Ltouch products, once a USB Storage is connected to one of the four USB connectors available, the Android system will automatically mount it on /mnt/usb and you will be able to see it from the System Preferences/Storage.

However, this happens only for the first USB storage device that you plug. If you need to mount additional Flash memories, you need to manually tell Android how (and where) to set it up. Continue reading →

How the Mount SD Card Android Process works

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Mount Sd Card AndroidIn this blog post, I’d like to show you how the mount SD Card Android process takes place and in particular, how to configure Android in order to auto mount a new SD Card when plugged in. The situation in which the mount point is different from /mnt has been considered as well.

The following code has been tested on the Ltouch F Android tablet for industrial and home automation projects together with Android Gingerbread.

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