Radar Academy - Collection of learning modules to understand TI's radar sensor offering and underlying technical foundation for mmWave radar technology.

FAQ

EVM

FAQ #1 - In CCS, when attempting to connect to the C66x_DSP in functional mode, the device fails to respond to the request.

This can sometimes happen when using the CCS debugger. Application images containing DSP code can still be loaded to the device and function properly. This issue may also occur when using Windows 11, therefore switching to Windows 10 may resolve this issue.

Recommended Option: Flash the empty_sytem.release.appimage under <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/examples/empty/xwrL684x-evm/system_freertos/.

Alternative Option: If flashing the empty appimage from SDK does not resolve this issue, please proceed with the following sequence:

Set the device to flashing mode and flash the R5F release empty appimage in flashing mode (<MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/examples/empty/xwrL684x-evm/r5fss0-0_freertos/ti-arm-clang/empty.release.appimage)
Switch to functional mode
Open CCS and launch the target configuration found under <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/tools/gelfile/CCS_SupportFiles/xwrl68xx_xds110.ccxml
Once the target configuration has launched, right-click the xwrl68xx_xds110 configuration in the Debug view, select Show All Cores, and connect to CS_DAP_0 under Non-Debuggable Cores
Right click the CS_DAP_0, select Show Gel Files View, and load the SDK GEL file (<MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/tools/gelfile/xwrl68xx.gel) through the newly opened panel
Along the context bar at the top left of the CCS window, click Scripts and run the dsp_wakeup_unhalt GEL function under
Connect to the DSP

Note: Upon disconnecting or resetting the device - i.e., interrupting the JTAG connection - the dsp_wakeup_unhalt function may need to be executed once more to reconnect to the DSP. If a target configuration is terminated, then the GEL script will need to be reloaded as well. This reload process can be automated by editing the target configuration to utilize the SDK GEL file as an initialization script which will load anytime the target configuration is launched. To do so, open the Target Configurations panel found under the View context menu, double click xwrl68xx_xds110.ccxml to open it, and navigate to the Advanced tab. Select the CS_DAP_0 found under XWRL68xx_0 -> DEBUGSSM_0 -> subpath_2, click the Browse button next to the initialization script field, and select the previously mentioned GEL file before saving and closing.

FAQ #2 - After issuing an NRST, the device fails to respond to request when attempting to connect to the DSP through CCS.

This only occurs on a limited number of boards. Power cycling the board should properly reset the DSP.

FAQ #3 - The device won't flash or doesn't flash consistently.

If you are running into flashing issues, reset the board through the RESET_SWITCH or by power cycling the device immediately before flashing.

SDK 6.0.3.0

FAQ #1 - The SDK mmWave Demo profile, profile_4T4R_tdm.cfg, will timeout upon attempting to enter low power mode.

Low power mode is currently unsupported in the mmWave demo, but the power driver is still functional - see power modes example under <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/examples/drivers/power/power_modes.

The SDK visualizer configuration, Profile_4Tx4Rx_TDM, can be used instead or the SDK profile can modified to disable low power mode - i.e., lowPowerCfg 0. This will be fixed in a future release.

FAQ #2 - Projects fail to import due to a missing product definition for the L6844. Why is this happening?

CCS can sometimes fail to recognize newly added resources, but first ensure that you've completed the steps documented in the SDK for adding xWRL6844 device information to CCS and SysConfig.

Copy <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/tools/CCS_SupportFiles/xWRL68xx.xml to <CCS_INSTALL_DIR>/ccs/ccs_base/common/targetdb/devices/ - Note: see FAQ #3
Copy both <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/tools/syscfg_deviceData/devices.json and the <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>/tools/syscfg_deviceData/XWRL684X folder to <SYSCFG_INSTALL_DIR>/dist/deviceData
Check for Updates in CCS if product information is not being recognized - see previous steps

If the previous steps do not help, the following steps can be done to help refresh device and product information:

In the top context menu bar, select Help -> Check for Updates
Click Select All, hit Next twice, accept any license agreements, and then hit Finish
The update process can take a few minutes, so please wait until the Software Updates window askes if you would like to “Restart Code Composer Studio to apply the software update?” and hit Restart Now
Optionally, restart your computer after the update

If all else fails, you can either reinstall CCS using the original installer or install new device support, though these effectively do the same thing. Outlined below is how to install new device support:

In the top menu bar of CCS, go to Help > Install Device Support. This will re-open the CCS Setup window.
Proceed through the License Agreement, reboot your machine if prompted, use the default directory location even if it overlaps with the current CCS installation, choose Custom Installation and select mmWave Sensors and at least one other component.
- Feel free to add any debug probes before finishing up the installation
Wait for the installation to complete and re-open CCS when finished
- Make sure to add back in the xWRL68xx.xml file into the targetdb/devices folder of CCS and restart CCS before proceeding to the next step
In the top menu bar of CCS, go to Help > Check for Updates and install any pending updates
CCS should re-open and the device information should properly be loaded.

Update #1: An update to the CCS mmWave Sensors device package with xWRL6844 device support is targeted for March. If possible, please wait for this package to be available.

Update #2: An update to the CCS mmWave Sensors device package has added in xWRL6844 device support. CCS should automatically detect this update if you have the package installed, but you can manually trigger an update check by going to Help -> Check for Updates. If you do not have the package installed, follow the instructions above update #1 for installing new device support.

FAQ #3 - I can't connect to the R5F core when using my own xWRL6844 target configuration. How can I fix this?

In the SDK documentation, it recommends to copy the .xml file xWRL68xx.xml into the <CCS_INSTALL_DIR>\ccs_base\common\targetdb\devices location. This xWRL68xx.xml can introduce a bug where R5F cannot be connected when using custom target configurations.

This file still contains important device information so please copy over the file. However, directly import the xwrl68xx_xds110.ccxml file under <MMWAVE_LSDK6_INSTALL_DIR>\tools\CCS_SupportFiles and use this as your target configuration. You should be able to connect to the R5F.

This will be fixed in a future release.

FAQ #4 - How can I acquire the range bias and Rx channel phase compensation coefficients?

See the following E2E post: https://e2e.ti.com/support/sensors-group/sensors/f/sensors-forum/1476373/iwrl6844evm-xwrl-6844-evm-calibration

Update: Starting in MMWAVE-L-SDK 6.0.4.0, the SDK visualizer supports parsing for the compensation coefficients and contains additional documentation under the mmWave Demo documentation in the SDK User Guide.

FAQ #5 - The project imported, but I can't open example.syscfg, and it won't rebuild due to "TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'gpn')"

This occurs when attempting to rebuild a project with a SysConfig version later than 1.20.0.3587. Please download SysConfig 1.20.0.3587. If you have later versions of SysConfig, you may also have to change the project SysConfig version manually as it may automatically use the latest version. To do so, right click the project in the Project Explorer -> Properties and then General -> Products. If SysConfig does not match 1.20, click on it, hit Edit, and change the version via the dropdown menu. Hit OK and Apply and Close.

Miscellaneous

FAQ #1 - For Radar Toolbox 3.00.00.05, the AWRL6844 In-Cabin Occupancy GUI fails to run when using occupancy_demo_gui.exe ("Unrecognized function or variable 'configDialog'.").

If you have a MATLAB license, please run the demo from source, occupancy_demo_gui.m. If you would like to rebuild the .exe, you can run the following in the src folder: mcc -m occupancy_demo_gui.exe. If you do not have access to a MATLAB license, you can download and run the .exe below using MATLAB Runtime R2024b until this issue is patched in the next Radar Toolbox release.

occupancy_demo_gui.exe

5 months ago