Linux/IWR1443BOOST: Increasing the amount and frequency of data points when looking 10m far

Hi Christoph,

Q-1: In this version, there is no option to change the "Range Detection Threshold (0-100dB)" value for the xWR14XX platforms. This was possible in earlier versions (e.g. version 1.2.0). I would like to change that value to see how it influences the amount of data generated by the sensor. Any option to do that in version 3.1.0 or later?

[NS]: These settings have been moved to the Real Time Tuning Tab on the Plots Tab. You can adjust the CFAR and Peak Grouping settings from this tab and see the effects in real time without having to re-send the configuration every time. Please note however, that the values changed from the Real time tuning tab are not saved in profile.cfg saved using the "Save Config to PC" button as it will still save the file with the initial config only. So you'll need to go to the Console on the Configure Tab and save the individual CfarCfg and/or Peak Grouping commands sent by the Real Time Tuning variations. You can then replace the default CfarCfg and/or Peak Grouping commands in the saved peofile.cfg with these. See pictures below

Real Time Tuning Tab

Individual commands sent on the console when Real Time tuning settings are adjusted (note that this snapshot is for IWR6843 but it's the same process for IWR1443)

Q-2: The default/pre-set value for "Frame Rate (fps)" in the tool is 10fps. This results in configuration files that still enable me to receive data, albeit not ideal amounts - only 3 to 4 measurements are sent per second. I want to decrease the fps so the IWR1443BOOST doesn't have to process and send that much data through the UART. But when I decrease the fps value in the tool, it creates .cfg files that result in no data being sent at all. I thought less fps would mean less data and "more air to breathe"/enabling the board to send data in a better flow. Why does decreasing the fps value not seem to help?

[NS]: Are you modifying only the FPS setting between the config that works and the one that doesn't? Reducing FPS only should not cause the demo to crash. Please share the two configurations i.e. the working one and the one that fails.

Q-3: Is there a way to change/increase the baud rate of data being sent through UART? My goal is to receive more data, more specifically to get to 10fps with a setting that allows me to see datapoints up to a distance of 10m. Right now I only get 3 to 4fps (see the configuration above).

[NS]: Please look at the following post:

IWR1642: Maximum Baud rate

However, please note that Baud rate may not be the only bottleneck here. For custom configurations created outside the mmw demo visualizer, you may also run into memory or processing time overruns which can cause the mmw demo chain to crash.

Thanks

-Nitin

Hi Nitin,

thanks for your quick replies.

About the configurations for Q-2, I've tested again, sending the configurations directly via the "send config to mmwave device" button, and like that decreasing the frame rate works as expected. We had used the "save config to pc" button to save configs and then sent them to the IWR1443BOOST through our ROS setup, so we're investigating where the crash came from (and if we find out and there's something to ask here in the forum, I most likely would ask that in its own thread, wherever appropriate).

Nitin Sakhuja said:

Q-3: Is there a way to change/increase the baud rate of data being sent through UART? My goal is to receive more data, more specifically to get to 10fps with a setting that allows me to see datapoints up to a distance of 10m. Right now I only get 3 to 4fps (see the configuration above).

[NS]: Please look at the following post:

IWR1642: Maximum Baud rate

However, please note that Baud rate may not be the only bottleneck here. For custom configurations created outside the mmw demo visualizer, you may also run into memory or processing time overruns which can cause the mmw demo chain to crash.

That article shows which parameters I need to set to increase the baud rate, thank you. In the mmWave Demo Visualizer, the maximal selectable value for the DATA_port Baud Rate is "921600 (recommended)".

Is it ok to increase the baud rate to higher values for the IWR1443BOOST via the parameter loggingBaudRate? What restrictions apply to this value, e.g. a maximum UART Baud rate of 3.125 Mbps as mentioned in the article?

Thanks you,

Christoph