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[FAQ] DLPC230-Q1: DLP Auto HUD Gen 2 Resources and Documentation

Part Number: DLPC230-Q1
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: DLP5530PROJQ1EVM, DLP5530PGUQ1EVM

[Page Under Construction]

This resource and documentations page is intended to serve as a guide for users evaluating and developing AR HUD (Augmented Reality Heads Up Display) solutions.

Table of Contents:

  1. Out of Box Demo with EVM
  2. Design Considerations
  3. Calibration
    1. Understanding Calibration
    2. Understanding Calibration Setup
    3. Coarse Combination Finder Script
    4. Initial Connection and Setup
    5. Calibration Routine
    6. Interpreting Calibration Sweep Results
    7. Interpreting Unit Sweep Results and Generating Calibration Binary File

DLP Automotive Product Information:

  • To explore the DLP Automotive Products page on TI.com please go here.
  • To explore the DLPC230-Q1 Chipset please go here.
  • To explore the DLP5530Q1-EVM electronics only page please go here.
  • To explore the DLP5530PROJQ1EVM interior projector evaluation module please go here. To see more information on the True Green version please go here.
  • To explore the DLP5530PGUQ1EVM picture generation unit projector evaluation module please go here.

DLP Labs:

The following links provide training curriculum to learn more about DLP technology. 

  • To see Texas Instruments training videos on DLP Technology in general please go here.
  • To see Texas Instruments training videos on DLP Automotive Technology please go here.

 

Out of Box Demo with EVM:

This section will go over unboxing, connecting and starting out with the EVM straight from the box. Basic settings and configuration settings will be discussed and demonstrated.

To control the EVM and general evaluation, a customer will need to  install and run the DLPC230 Control Program Lite by clicking this button. Note that the customer will need to create an account with Texas Instruments.

If a customer or Texas Instruments Employee would like access to the complete version of the DLPC230 Control Program with full features and auto-calibration features which are not available in the Lite version, please contact a DLP Automotive applications engineer. 

To create and customize system settings that will be flashed onto the EVM, the DLP Composer for Automotive applications will need to be requested from a DLP Automotive applications engineer.

1. Getting started with the EVM [To Do]

Out of box setup [To Do]

To access the DLP5530PROJQ1EVM User Guide, you can find the link here. Other variations of the user guide for other EVMs can be found on TI.com. 

The following video goes over how to adjust simple display settings and show external content from a computer onto the EVM using the DLPC230 Control Program.

2. Overview of DLPC230 Control Program [To Do]

Please see the following html page of the DLPC230 Control Program Help User Guide to get an overview of all the features and settings.

8168.DLP Control Program™ (Automotive) Help.mhtml

3. How to Flash the EVM

The following video goes over steps to save and backup the current flash image on the EVM as well as flash a new image onto the EVM.

To Do: Please see the following zip folder of a default composer project with flash image. 

4. DLP Composer Guide

In the DLP Composer GUI at the top there will be a help button. If you press the help button, it will open a link to a DLP Composer Help User Guide. Make sure to select the Head-up Display option. 

                     

Design Considerations:

The following section will go over design considerations for a system that must be taken into account before steps like calibration.

1. Photodiode Placement

DLP HUD systems utilize photo feedback in the control loop for LED driver control and thus the photodiode is an important aspect of the photo feedback process. 

Photodiode placement must be carefully considered during system design which can affect system performance and calibration sweep results down the road. A badly placed photodiode in a system will limit system performance and dynamic range and very little can be done during the calibration routine to compensate or overcome system limitations caused by a badly placed photodiode.

An ideally positioned photodiode will produce strong and balanced amplitude for each of the three LEDs at the system target white point. 

Please see the following document discussing photodiode placement in more detail.

2514478_PD_App_note_RevA.pdf

Calibration Process:

The calibration process is an important step for every system and the following content is provided to help get started. 

1. Understanding Calibration

The following PowerPoint will provide an introduction to the calibration process.

0245.DLPC230 Calibration Introduction.pptx

2. Understanding the Calibration Setup

The following PowerPoint will go through all equipment and the setup of both hardware and software needed to get ready for the calibration process. 

4010.Calibration Setup Guide.pptx

2.1 Updating Embedded Software Package [Important]

In the following video, steps will be shown to correctly  update the embedded software package If this step is not done, all the calibration data may have compatibility issues with software and the calibration routine will have to be redone. 


 

2.2 Default Calibration Project

The following zip folder provides a basic example calibration project with the continuous mode coarse combinations already filled in. The next step would be to run the coarse combination python script found in section 3 to generate and add the discontinuous mode coarse combinations. 

Please also check and confirm calibration settings which are outlined in section 5 before performing the calibration routine. 

example_calproj.zip

2.3 Motorized USB Filter Wheel Setup and Testing

This video will go over how to remove and insert the filter wheel as well as test functionality of the Motorized USB Filter Wheel. There will be a required software to control the Filter Wheel shown in the video that can be found at the following link.

         

3. Running the Coarse Combination Finder Python Script

In this video, steps will be shown to find the discontinuous mode coarse combinations using the control program and python script. Note that no color analyzer or filter wheel is needed to run the coarse combination finder python script as the system performs internal analysis and uses internal feedback systems. 

Please see the attached python file for the coarse combo finder script. It is in a zipped folder so you will have to extract the folder. 

coarse cal finder script.zip

Notice:

Note that the coarse combo script will produce a large quantity of coarse combinations that will lead to longer initial calibration routine test time. The more coarse combinations provide more brightness range options for the system to test and evaluate during calibration and can then be optimized afterwards. After running calibration, the number of coarse combinations can be reduced for faster calibration time.

In the following example, after running the coarse combo script, there were 34 combinations to test and run.

After running calibration, coarse combinations were removed or not needed and at the production level, was down to 12 combinations to test and run. This leads to a significantly reduced calibration routine test time and in some cases, the number of coarse combinations have been reduced even more based on system designs. 

4. Connecting and Initial Setup for Calibration Process

In the following video, steps will be shown to connect to the EVM and the Color Analyzer to begin the calibration process.

5. Calibration Routine

The following content will go over the steps to run the calibration routine.

3073.DLPC230 Calibration Routine edited version 2.pptx

The following document discusses and demonstrates the amount of time taken to complete a calibration routine after an optimized coarse combination list has been created.

1856.DLPC230 Calibration Example Time.pptx

6. Interpreting Calibration Sweep Results

The following videos will go over interpreting the results. 

6.1 Interpreting Coarse Brightness Range Graph

The following video will discuss how to interpret and adjust the coarse brightness range graph which plots all the coarse combination brightness bars and results from the temperature sweep.

6.2 Interpreting Sweep Data and Target Colorpoint Matching

The following video will go over the sweep data information generated from the sweeps. Colorpoint matching will also be discussed from the Generated Calibration File log. 

         

7. Interpreting Unit Sweep Results and Generating Calibration Binary File [To Do]

The following video shows how to flash the final generated calibration binary file onto the EVM/system and discuss some issues a user may run into.

Tutorial explaining how final coarse combinations are selected. [To Do]

7.1 Discoloration Debug

The following PowerPoint will go over if a system exhibits discoloration in the dimming range and how to fix the issue.

DLPC230 Calibration Discoloration Debug.pptx

7.2 Generating Calibration File Help

The following PowerPoint will go over some errors and issues a user may run into when attempting to generate the calibration file. (Note this PowerPoint is a work in progress)

DLPC230 Calibration Generating Calibration File Help.pptx

7.3 Running Calibration Routine from Command Line Interface

The following PowerPoint will go over how to run the calibration routine from a command line interface and the command can also be called externally through a script. 

DLPC230 Calibration Gen 2 CLI Tutorial.pptx