DCA1000EVM: Extract real time data to Linux

Charles Ralli1

Part Number: DCA1000EVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: AWR1642BOOST, MMWAVE-STUDIO

I am using a DCA1000EVM with an AWR 1642 BOOST. I have finally got it working in mmwave studio, but really need it to work on Linux (Ubuntu 20.04) and ideally providing data in real-time. I know mmwave studio only works in Windows, but I thought it would be worth asking if anyone had written code to do this as it would be a very time consuming extra task to do something relatively simple.

If it is not possible to do this without the mmwave studio is it possible to connect the ethernet cable to a different (linux) computer and read the packets through it?

Thanks

Charlie

over 3 years ago

0 Kyle Cousino over 3 years ago

TI__Mastermind 24955 points

Charles,

A couple of points regarding your post.

1. mmWave Studio is designed to be used as an RF characterization tool. It is used to collect raw data using one of the radar EVMs, in your case the AWR1642BOOST, in conjunction with the DCA1000EVM to collect raw ADC samples. These samples can then be processed offline using the built-in post processing tool or importing the captured data file into MATLAB or some other tool for further analysis. This tool is not designed for real-time application

2. The alternative is the Studio CLI tool that is available here: http://dev.ti.com/tirex/explore/node?node=APGFSbQdLPyKV9xwtnje.g__Z2F8GEn__LATEST

However, this tool is also only available for Windows and is not real-time.

The Ethernet connection between the DCA1000EVM and Windows PC needs to be maintained to ensure the expected number of packets matches the received number of packets. You are free to use Wireshark on your PC as a way to validate what is being received on the Windows PC.

Regards,
Kyle

0 Kyle Cousino over 3 years ago in reply to Kyle Cousino

TI__Mastermind 24955 points

If anyone on this forum has personally developed an application that fulfills this use case, you are free to post to this thread. However, TI does not have any plans to release mmWave Studio on any operating system other than Windows.

Regards,

Kyle

0 Charles Ralli1 over 3 years ago in reply to Kyle Cousino

Prodigy 240 points

Thank you for your response. I will look into the CLI tool. There is a Github repo here github.com/.../OpenRadar that allows you to access the data in real-time, however, it has to run alongside the mmwave studio. I knew it was a long shot but thought it was worth asking in case anyone had written the code and fancied sharing it.

Charlie

0 Kyle Cousino over 3 years ago in reply to Charles Ralli1

TI__Mastermind 24955 points

Charles,

Thank you for sharing this GitHub link.

https://github.com/PreSenseRadar/OpenRadar

This will help direct other forum users to this directory for future use.

Please reach out on this forum if you have any other questions.

Regards,
Kyle

0 Sabeeh Khan1 over 3 years ago in reply to Kyle Cousino

TI__Mastermind 21610 points

Hi Charles and Kyle,

I just wanted to add to the conversation, the DCA1000EVM does work on linux without the direct usage of mmWave Studio application. Please follow the instructions described in "TI_DCA1000EVM_CLI_Software_UserGuide.pdf". You can find this document in the following directory 'C:\ti\mmwave_studio_02_01_01_00\mmWaveStudio\ReferenceCode\DCA1000\Docs'. The document describes how to build the source and execute on linux machines.

What is offered here is a command line interface tool. It will simply record the data from the DCA1000 into a .bin file. Post-processing tools targeted for linux would have to be developed on your own. As Kyle has described, it was not designed with the intention of real time processing, but it may be possible to leverage the ethernet streaming capability of the DCA1000 and create a real-time application.

0 Charles Ralli1 over 3 years ago in reply to Sabeeh Khan1

Prodigy 240 points

Hi Saheeb,

Thank you very much that's really helpful. I've looked at the user guide and it looks like just what I need. But I cant find the files I need to download onto the linux computer anywhere. Could you give me a pointer of where they are please.

Thank you,

Charlie

0 Sabeeh Khan1 over 3 years ago in reply to Charles Ralli1

TI__Mastermind 21610 points

Hi Charlie,

Assuming you have already installed MMWAVE-STUDIO (linked below) on a windows machine, you can find the source code in the following directory:

C:\ti\mmwave_studio_02_01_01_00\mmWaveStudio\ReferenceCode\DCA1000\SourceCode

I copied this folder and moved it onto a linux machine manually.

MMWAVE-STUDIO:

https://www.ti.com/tool/MMWAVE-STUDIO

0 Charles Ralli1 over 3 years ago in reply to Sabeeh Khan1

Prodigy 240 points

That's great. Thank you so much

0 Charles Ralli1 over 3 years ago in reply to Sabeeh Khan1

Prodigy 240 points

Sorry one more thing. The files in the SourceCode folder have different names to the ones it says to use in the DCA1000 CLI software user guide and they are spread across several different folders. This brought up a couple of questions:

1. Which folder is quivalent to the ConfigFIle.json that the user guide refers to (I think I have found all the other ones under different names)

2. Do I need to move all the files into a different folder so they are all together? Or is the system coded to look for the files in the correct folders via a relative path?

Thank you

Charlie

0 Sabeeh Khan1 over 3 years ago in reply to Charles Ralli1

TI__Mastermind 21610 points

Answering both of your questions: First compile the source code. Then in the release folder, create the JSON file as per what is described in the mmWave SDK User's Guide in section 3.3.2. The JSON is not provided.

Assuming you have installed the mmWave SDK on a windows machine, you can find the document i'm referring to here:

file:///C:/ti/mmwave_sdk_03_05_00_04/docs/mmwave_sdk_user_guide.pdf

0 Charles Ralli1 over 3 years ago in reply to Sabeeh Khan1

Prodigy 240 points

Ah great thanks. I needed to put make -j6 in to compile the makefile. Looks like I'm getting closer!

Charlie

0 Kyle Cousino over 3 years ago in reply to Charles Ralli1

TI__Mastermind 24955 points

Charles,

I am glad to hear that you are getting the support needed with your original post. Feel free to respond if you have any additional questions.

Regards,

Kyle

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DCA1000EVM: Extract real time data to Linux