Carloop for Particle Gen3 devices

hartmms 2019-02-20 19:57:27 UTC #1

What GEN3 hardware changes are you seeing here in Q1 of 2019 that are causing it to be not stable enough to develop a new Carloop module for?

I ran across a featherwing CAN adapter the other day that looks pretty compelling.

cyclin_al1 2019-02-21 02:27:26 UTC #2

@hartmms,

I moved your question to a new topic, since it did not really fit in with the other thread where it was originally posted.

Now for the answer:
The most significant change affecting Carloop with the Gen3 is the microprocessor hardware.
Gen3 hardware use a Nordic nRF52840 microprocessor which has no built-in support for CANbus.
The existing Electron, Photon and RedbearDuo all use the ST micro STM32F205 microprocessor which does have built-in support for CANbus.

So, it is not at all a matter of stability, but a matter of using different hardware for the CAN interface and developing the lower-level firmware to support CANbus. I do not have any word from Carloop to indicate if they are or are not planning a Gen3 version of Carloop.

By the way, that CAN featherwing looks like it would do the hardware side okay. It is missing the OBD2 connector and I am not sure if it includes an automotive power regulator. It uses a MCP2515 CAN driver, which I think is an older version which may not support CAN-FD. Depending on your needs, it might be okay or you might want to look for something a bit more modern. It does not solve the lack of low-level firmware, so it is only a partial solution.

hartmms 2019-02-21 16:36:23 UTC #3

I'm aware of the microcontroller change from Photon to Gen3 devices that lack a CAN interface. I guess I was more wondering why it was stated the GEN3 hardware was still in flux. From all I can tell, it's pretty frozen, it's just firmware tweaking at this point (mid Feb 2019).

I agree the major development effort for carloop would be the new firmware required since the GEN3 solution requires an external CAN controller.