Volaser Firmware

The Volaser firmware is written in the Arduino IDE, and uses a microcontroller to make measurements with a TFMini lidar rangefinder, which relays those measurements over a serial connection. It is designed to use the SparkFun ESP32 Thing microcontroller, but any microcontroller should work, with appropriate modification to the pinouts.

Arduino IDE Setup

The easiest way to compile and install the firmware is to use the Arduino IDE. This can be downloaded from https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software.

Install support for ESP32 boards using the Arduino IDE Boards Manager

• Install the current upstream Arduino IDE at the 1.8 level or later. The current version is at the Arduino website.
• Start Arduino and open Preferences window.
• Enter https://dl.espressif.com/dl/package_esp32_index.json into Additional Board Manager URLs field. You can add multiple URLs, separating them with commas.
• Open Boards Manager from Tools > Board menu and install esp32 platform (and don't forget to select your ESP32 board from Tools > Board menu after installation).
• Open the Libary Manager with Tools > Manage Libraries and install the TFmini library (this is to talk to the TFmini laser modules).

Install required libraries

The firmware uses the SerialCommands library by Pedro Tiago Pereira for it's serial interface, and the TfMini by Peter Jansen library to communicate with the lidar. These should be installed in the Arduino IDE library manager.

• Select Tools > Manage Libraries (Shift+Ctrl+I).
• Search for "SerialCommands" and click Install
• Search for "TfMini" and click Install. Make sure to install the correct library (it should say by Peter Jansen).

Installation

• Select the "SparkFun ESP32 Thing" from Tools > Board (or a different board, if you are using a different ESP32 microcontroller).
• Compile the sketch with Sketch > Verify/Compile. If everything is correct it should compile at this point without any errors.
• Plug in the SparkFun ESP32 microcontroller to your computer using a microusb cable. Select the appropriate port from Tools > Port. Upload the sketch to the microcontroller with Sketch > Upload.
  • If the device does not show up under ports, it might have to install drivers. Open the Device Manager and see if the device shows up there. It might take a minute to install the various drivers. Then close the Arduino IDE and reopen it.
• The device should now be detectable by the volaser app via bluetooth.