TWI833495B - Cloud system for developing controller, controller development method and controller - Google Patents

Abstract

A cloud system for developing a controller has a controller, a terminal device and a platform server. In a code writing mode, the controller allows the writing of a code, and in an emulator mode, the controller performs a function of a first firmware corresponding to the code. The terminal device is connected to the controller and has a browser that supports a function of accessing a peripheral device via a webpage. The platform server communicates with the terminal device, and is used to provide a web page and a service corresponding to the web page to a developer who use the terminal device to develop a second firmware, and generate the corresponding code to the controller via the terminal device. By using the function of accessing the peripheral device via the webpage, the platform sever performs data access to the controller.

Description

Cloud system for developing controller, controller development method and controller

The present invention relates to a technology for developing a controller, and in particular, to a cloud system for developing a controller through a web service provided by a platform server, a controller development method, and a controller development technology designed in conjunction with the present invention. controller.

Micro Controller Units (MCUs) currently on the market are programmable controllers, and their functions can be updated and modified through firmware codes. However, controllers require developers to write their own codes to implement specific functions, so the development of controllers becomes time-consuming and the development costs are difficult to reduce. Furthermore, the developer's terminal device must also install debugging and development-related software that can debug and develop the above-mentioned program codes, and debugging and development-related software has certain requirements on the specifications and computing power of the terminal device. In other words, it is difficult for developers to develop controllers using terminal devices with low computing power, such as netbooks.

In addition to the above technical problems, most programmable controllers are limited by the computing power of their processing units that are not fast enough, and/or are limited by the memory or register used as storage space that is not large enough, making it difficult for developers to Use the controller on the local side to design control functions for a large number of operations, such as implementing neural networks, convolutional neural networks, and display controllers.

It can be understood from the above description that the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to provide a cloud system for developers to develop controllers without installing debugging and development-related software on terminal devices, and this cloud system can reduce the number of developers writing programs. The coding time even allows the controller to implement functions that can only be developed with a lot of calculations.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a cloud system for developing a controller, which includes a controller, a terminal device and a platform server. The controller operates in a program code writing mode or a simulator mode. In the program code writing mode, the controller allows the writing of the program code, and in the simulator mode, the controller performs the first firmware corresponding to the program code. Function. The terminal device is connected to the controller and has a browser that supports web page access to peripheral device functions. The platform server communicates with the terminal device and is used to provide web pages and corresponding web page services to developers using the terminal device to develop second firmware. The platform server accesses data from the controller through the web page access peripheral device function. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, embodiments of the present invention also provide a controller development method, which includes the following steps. The controller establishes a connection with a terminal device having a web page access peripheral device function. The terminal device establishes a communication connection with the platform server. The controller enters code writing mode. Developers use the platform server to provide web page services by operating the browser of the terminal device, allowing the platform server to write program code to the controller. The controller enters emulator mode. The controller performs the function of the first firmware corresponding to the program code and transmits the generated first data to the platform server. The platform server performs calculations on the first data of the controller and generates second data to send to the controller, so that the controller is equivalent to having the second firmware developed by the developer through the platform server to provide web services. Function.

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a controller, which includes a mode controller, a programmable processing unit and a storage space. The mode controller is used to put the controller into code writing mode or simulator mode. In the program code writing mode, the program code is written in the programmable processing unit, and in the simulator mode, the programmable processing unit performs the function of the first firmware corresponding to the program code and generates the first data. The storage space is used to temporarily store the first data and the second data. The controller establishes a connection with a terminal device having a webpage access peripheral device function, so that the platform server connected to the terminal device is used to transmit the program code to the controller, and the controller transmits the first data to the platform server , the platform server performs calculation processing on the first data of the controller, and generates second data to send to the controller, so that the controller has the equivalent function of the second firmware.

Based on the above, the technology for developing controllers provided by the present invention can support more free user interface libraries (UI libraries), and the platform server can update the user graphical interface and provided programs by itself. code without requiring any update of the terminal device. Even the technology of developing the controller of the present invention can have cross-platform advantages and support more types of peripheral devices.

1: Cloud system

10:Controller

101:Mode controller

102: Programmable processing unit

103, 2011, 301, 302: storage space

20:Terminal device

201: Browser

30:Platform server

LK1: connection

LK2: Communication connection

MR1, MR5~MR7: marked place

S601~S607: steps

In order to make the above and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present invention more obvious and understandable, the accompanying drawings are described as follows: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a cloud system for developing a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system according to the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system according to the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system according to the embodiment of the present invention; A diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system; and Figure 5 is a flow chart of a controller development method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In view of the above technical problems to be overcome, embodiments of the present invention provide a cloud system for controller development through web services provided by a cloud platform server, a controller development method, and a controller designed in conjunction with the controller development technology of the present invention. controller. Furthermore, the cloud system includes a platform server, a terminal device (such as, but not limited to, a netbook, a tablet, a laptop or a personal computer) and a controller (such as, but not limited to, presented in the form of a development board). The controller establishes a connection with a terminal device that has a web page access peripheral device function (for example, but is not limited to Web USB to implement this function), and the terminal device establishes a communication connection with the platform server. Therefore, the platform server The server can access the controller directly through the terminal device (including the platform server transmitting data and program code to the controller and the controller transmitting data to the platform server). The platform server also allows developers to write, generate and edit code by browsing the web.

The controller is designed to operate in two modes, one mode is code writing mode, and the other mode is simulator mode. In the code writing mode, the controller is written with code corresponding to the first firmware. In the simulator mode, the controller performs the functions of the first firmware to generate data and transmits the data to the platform server through the terminal device. Then, the platform server processes the data generated by the terminal device and generates another data to the controller, thereby allowing the controller to have the equivalent function of the second firmware. For example, the second firmware is used to implement machine learning functions, which can be used to implement training and classification of classification models, while the first firmware is used to implement data collection control.

On the other hand, the web page provided by the platform server of the cloud system also allows developers to monitor the register values, pin signals and various data of the controller through the browser. In one embodiment, the value of the register at a specific address of the controller can be obtained to determine the input and output interface type set by the controller (for example, universal asynchronous transceiver transmitter (UART), local area network (LIN) , RS486, single-wire transmission and infrared communication technology). In one embodiment, the value of a register at a specific address of the controller can be obtained to determine the function of each pin of the controller. In one embodiment, the value of the register used to store the clock selection signal in the controller can be obtained, and thereby each clock of the controller is displayed to the developer in a clock tree diagram.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a block diagram of a cloud system for developing a controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cloud system 1 includes a controller 10, a terminal device 20 and a platform server 30. The terminal device 20 has a web page access peripheral device function, such as a Web USB Universal Serial Bus (Web USB) function, which uses a JavaScript application interface (API). The form is embedded in the browser 201. For example, Google's Chrome browser supports this feature. The terminal device 20 establishes a connection LK1 with the controller 10 , and the terminal device 20 establishes a communication connection LK2 with the platform server 30 . Since the terminal device 20 has a web page access peripheral device function, the developer can operate and use the web page provided by the platform server 30 through the browser 201 of the terminal device 20, and the platform server 30 can perform operations on the controller 10 through the terminal device 20. Data access.

The controller 10 is a development board including a mode controller 101, a programmable processing unit 102 and a storage space 103 formed by a plurality of registers, allowing developers to develop the functions of the firmware they want to implement, wherein the programmable The processing unit 102 is connected to the mode controller 101 and the storage space 103 . The controller 10 may be a development board of a microcontroller unit, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The mode controller 101 is used to make the controller 10 operate in a code writing mode or a simulator mode. The terminal device 20 configures a corresponding storage space 2011 for the browser 201 to temporarily store data transmitted from the terminal device 10 and the platform server 30 . The platform server 30 will configure storage spaces 301 and 302 for the web page services provided. The storage space 301 is used to temporarily store program codes, and the storage space 302 is used to temporarily store data transmitted from the controller 10 . Generally speaking, the platform server 30 has relatively large computing power. However, the computing power and storage space 103 of the controller 10 may be limited due to cost or power requirements, but the present invention is not limited by this.

When the controller 10 operates in the program code writing mode, the developer can directly use the functions on the web page (web page) presented by the platform server 30 to generate, write and edit the program code through the browser 201 of the terminal device 20 ( Depending on the type of controller 10, the code may be firmware code, software code, or hardware description language code). The program code generated by the platform server 30 not only defines the functions of the firmware, but also defines the clock and pin settings of the controller 10 . The program code temporarily stored in the storage space 301 may be a template program code for developers to edit and rewrite. The platform server 30 will send the program code determined by the developer to the terminal device 20 and store it in the storage space 2011 configured by the terminal device 20 for the browser 201.

Since the browser 201 can support web page access peripheral device functions, the browser 201 can read and write the storage space 103 of the controller 10 , and the controller 10 will write the program code into the programmable processing of the controller 10 In unit 102, the above program code corresponds to the first firmware. The second firmware is a function that the developer wants to develop and implement. The programmable processing unit 102 can equivalently perform the functions of the second firmware according to the written program code. Simply put, developers only need to design the second firmware through the web page, and the platform server will automatically generate the code for the second firmware according to the resources (computing power and storage capacity) of the controller 10 to develop This allows the controller 10 with limited resources to implement the second firmware development work with a huge amount of calculation.

Since the computing power and storage space of the controller 10 are limited, when the controller 10 enters the simulator mode, the function of the first firmware is only implemented based on the program code. At this time, the controller 10 generates The data will first be temporarily stored in the storage space 2011, and then sent to the storage space 302 of the platform server 30. After the platform server 30 processes the data in the storage space 302 again, it is sent to the storage space 2011 for temporary storage. Then, the data processed by the platform server 30 is sent to the controller 10 so that the controller can 10 is equivalent to realizing the function of the second firmware. In another embodiment, platform server 30 does not process data generated by controller 10 .

In one usage scenario, the second firmware is used to implement machine learning functions, such as a neural network, and the first firmware is used to implement a classifier and a data collection control device with a classification model. The first firmware acquires sensing data from an external sensor (connected to the controller 10 through, for example, UART or other input/output interfaces), and uses a classification model to generate classification results based on the collected data, but does not perform a classification model (like a neural network). road) training. The controller 10 will send the data collected by the external sensor to the platform server 30. After collecting a certain amount of data for a certain period of time or a certain amount, the platform server 30 will retrain the classification model. At this time, when the developer makes the controller 10 enter the program code writing mode again, the platform server 30 can rewrite the program code to the programmable processing unit 102 of the controller 10 to thereby update the classification model.

In another usage scenario, the second firmware is used to implement machine learning functions, such as neural networks, and the first firmware is used to implement data collection control. The first firmware is used to obtain data from an external sensor (connected to the controller 10 through, for example, UART or other input/output interfaces). In addition to training the classification model, the platform server 30 can also use the sensor data transmitted by the controller 10 to The measured data is classified to generate data of classification results to the controller 10.

Simply put, when the controller 10 operates in the program code writing mode, through the web service provided by the platform server 30, the developer can use the dialog menu and the rich graphical user interface (Graphic User Interface, GUI) to design and develop. Controller 10, and developers do not need to specifically The device 20 installs specific debugging and development-related software, and even allows developers to reduce the time spent writing code. When the controller 10 operates in the emulator mode, the controller 10 can cooperate with the platform server 30 to allow the controller 10 with limited computing power and storage space to implement the functions of a high-computation hardware circuit, and This allows the controller 10 to be connected and used with more types of peripheral devices. In addition, in the simulator mode, the platform server 30 can also provide a user graphical interface for the developer to select and read the relationship between the signals on the pins of the controller 10, the values of the registers, and each clock. Furthermore, in the simulator mode, the controller 10 can read values or mapping tables to obtain option information of peripheral devices of the controller.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system according to an embodiment of the present invention. When designing and developing the controller 10, as indicated by the mark MR1, the developer can select the input and output interface type of the controller 10 (for example, universal asynchronous transceiver (UART), local Internet) through the web page of the platform server 30 (LIN), RS486, single-wire transmission and infrared communication technology). In other words, when the controller 10 is written into program code, in addition to the functions of the programmable processing unit 102 being defined by the program code, the input and output interface types of the controller 10 are also defined.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 3. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the simulator mode, as marked at MR5, the webpage displays the value of the register of the controller 10 that stores the setting value of the GPA pin (a total of 4 bits), and this value is used to map the GPA pin to The corresponding function, such as marked MR6, the webpage shows the value of the register of the controller 10 that stores the setting value of the GPB pin (a total of 4 bits), and this value is used to map the GPB pin to the corresponding Function.

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 4. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of one of the web pages presented to developers by the cloud system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the simulator mode, as marked at MR7, the web page displays the value of the register of the controller 10 that stores the setting value of the clock selection signal CLKSEL0. In this example, the value of the setting value of the clock selection signal CLKSEL0 is F, and the web page displays the corresponding clock relationships in a clock tree diagram.

Please refer next to Figures 1 and 5. Figure 5 is a flow chart of a controller development method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The controller development method can be executed through the cloud system 1 in Figure 1, but the controller development method of the present invention is not limited to the cloud system in Figure 1. In step S601, the controller 10 establishes a connection with the terminal device 20 having a web page access peripheral device function. For example, the browser of the terminal device 20 supports Web USB, and the terminal device 20 and the controller 10 use Universal Serial Bus (USB). connection. In step S602, the terminal device 20 establishes a communication connection with the platform server 30, for example, through wired or wireless communication. Please note here that the order of step S601 and step S602 can be reversed, or step S601 can be executed between steps S603 and S604, as long as step S601 is executed before writing the program code to the controller 10 .

Then, in step S603, the controller 10 enters the program code writing mode. Next, in step S604, the developer uses the platform server 30 to provide web page services by operating the browser 201 of the terminal device 20, causing the platform server 30 to write the program code into the controller 10. Further, the platform The program code generated by the server 30 is first sent to the storage space 2011 corresponding to the browser 201. Then, the terminal device 20 sends the program code to the controller 10 for writing the program code. After that, in step S605, the controller 10 enters the simulator mode. In step S606, the controller 10 performs the function of the first firmware corresponding to the program code and transmits the generated data to the storage space 302 of the platform server 30.

Next, in step S607, the platform server 30 performs calculation processing on the data of the controller 10, and generates another data to send to the controller 10, so that the controller 10 effectively has the function of the second firmware. Further, the platform server 30 first transmits another data to the storage space 2011 of the browser 201 of the terminal device 20, and then the terminal device 20 transmits the other data to the storage space 103 of the controller 10. On the other hand, in addition to steps S601 to S607 in FIG. 6 , the controller development method of the present invention further includes allowing developers to set various inputs of the controller 10 through the web service provided by the platform server 30 The relationship between the output interface, the values of the registers of the call controller 10 and/or the clocks of the call controller 10 (for example, presented in a clock tree diagram).

Based on the above, embodiments of the present invention provide a cloud system for developers to develop controllers without installing debugging and development-related software on terminal devices, and this cloud system can reduce the time developers spend writing code, and even allow developers to The controller can effectively implement a large number of operations. Furthermore, the present invention mainly establishes a connection with the controller through a terminal device with a web page access peripheral device function, and uses the web page provided by the platform server through the terminal device to generate, edit and write the program code, which not only achieves cross-border In addition to the advantages of the platform, it can also reduce the update time of updating terminal devices. Furthermore, through the controller development technology of the present invention, the controller can also support more types of peripheral devices.

The present invention is disclosed in this article only through preferred embodiments. However, anyone familiar with the art should understand that the above embodiments are only used to describe the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the patent rights claimed by the present invention. Any changes or substitutions that are equal or equivalent to the above embodiments should be construed as being within the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on what is defined in the following patent application scope.

1: Cloud system

10:Controller

101:Mode controller

102: Programmable processing unit

103, 2011, 301, 302: storage space

20:Terminal device

201: Browser

30:Platform server

LK1: connection

LK2: Communication connection

Claims (10)

A cloud system for developing a controller, including: a controller operating in a program code writing mode or a simulator mode, wherein in the program code writing mode, the controller allows the writing of a program code , and in the emulator mode, the controller performs a function of a first firmware corresponding to the program code; a terminal device is connected to the controller and has a browser that supports a web page access peripheral device function; A platform server, communicating with the terminal device, is used to provide a web page and a service corresponding to the web page to a developer using the terminal device to develop a second firmware, and generate a web page corresponding to the first firmware. The code in which the platform server performs data access to the controller through the web access peripheral device function. The cloud system for developing a controller as described in claim 1, wherein the platform server generates the program code and transmits the program code to a storage space of the browser of the terminal device, and the terminal device converts the program code Program code is transmitted to the controller to write the program code to the controller in the program code writing mode. The cloud system for developing a controller as described in claim 2, wherein in the emulator mode, the controller generates a first data, and the first data is transmitted to the storage of the browser of the terminal device space, the terminal device transmits the first data to a storage space of the platform server, the platform server processes the first data to generate a second data, and the platform server transmits the second data The storage space of the browser of the terminal device is provided, and the terminal device transmits the second data to the controller, so that the controller effectively performs a function of the second firmware. The cloud system for developing a controller as described in claim 1, wherein the web access peripheral device functions as a web universal serial bus (Web USB). A cloud system for developing a controller as described in request 1, wherein the program The code is a firmware code, and the controller is a microcontroller unit. The cloud system for developing a controller as described in claim 1, wherein the second firmware is used to implement a machine learning, the first firmware is used to implement a data collection device, and the platform server is used for training This machine learning classifier is a classification model. The cloud system for developing a controller as described in request 1, wherein the service of the web page provided by the platform server is further used to allow the developer to set the input and output interfaces of the controller and call the controller The relationship between the values of each register and/or the clocks of the controller. A controller development method includes: a controller establishes a connection with a terminal device having a web page access peripheral device function; a terminal device establishes a communication connection with a platform server; the controller enters a program code writing mode; A developer uses the platform server to provide a service of a web page by operating a browser on the terminal device, causing the platform server to write a program code to the controller; the controller enters an emulator mode ; The controller performs a function of the first firmware corresponding to the program code and transmits the generated first data to the platform server; and the platform server performs calculation processing on the first data of the controller , and generates a second data and sends it to the controller, so that the controller is equivalent to the function of a second firmware developed by the developer to provide the service of the web page through the platform server. The controller development method described in request item 8 further includes: allowing the developer to set the input and output interfaces of the controller and call the temporary storage of the controller through the service of the webpage provided by the platform server. The relationship between the values of the controller and/or the various clock pulses accessed by the controller. A controller, including: a mode controller for causing the controller to enter a program code writing mode or a simulator mode; a programmable processing unit, wherein in the program code writing mode, the program code is written in the programmable processing unit, and in the emulator mode, the programmable processing unit performs a function of a first firmware corresponding to the program code and generates a first data; and a storage space, Used to temporarily store the first data and a second data; wherein the controller establishes a connection with a terminal device having a web page access peripheral device function, so that a platform server communicated with the terminal device is used to The program code is transmitted to the controller, and causes the controller to transmit the first data to the platform server. The platform server performs operations on the first data of the controller and generates the second data transmission. To the controller, the controller is equivalent to having the function of a second firmware.