BeagleBoard/GSoC/2020 Projects/PRU Improvements

=Proposal for Implement a REPL interpreter for PRU =

Student: Vedant Paranjape Mentors: Kumar Abhishek, Jason Kridner Code: [N/A] Wiki: https://elinux.org/BeagleBoard/GSoC/2020Proposal/VedantParanjape2 GSoC: [N/A]

=Status= This project is currently just a proposal.

=Proposal= Completed all the requirements listed on the ideas page. the code for the cross-compilation task can be found here submitted through the pull request #138.

About you
IRC: vedant16 Github: https://github.com/vedantparanjape/ School: Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) Country: India Primary language : English, Hindi, Marathi Typical work hours : 10AM - 7PM Indian Standard Time Previous GSoC participation: I find embedded pretty interesting, given I have experience with ESP32, I think I will be able to excel in this project. This is the first time i am participating in GSoC

About your project
Project name: Implement a REPL interpreter for PRU

Description

 * Introduction


 * This project will enable the control of the Beaglebone's PRUs using remoteproc and rpmsg driver rather than using uio drivers. The PRU is a dual core micro-controller system present on the AM335x SoC which powers the BeagleBone. It is meant to be used for high speed jitter free IO control. Being independent from the linux scheduler and having direct access to the IO pins of the BeagleBone Bhilack, the PRU is ideal for offloading IO intensive tasks.


 * Programming the PRU is a uphill task for a beginner, since it involves several steps, writing the firmware for the PRU, writing a loader program. This can be a easy task for a experienced developer, but it keeps many creative developers away. So, I propose to implement a REPL based control of the PRU, hiding all the low level things behind the REPL and providing a clean interface to uses PRU.


 * How will it be done?


 * PRU will run a firmware which will basically run a while loop, which will evaluate certain specified commands sent to it through RPMSG. Accordingly it will execute the described commands on the PRU. After taking a look at PRUSpeak, its command set enables to do advance PRU control. So,the decided commands are:
 * {| class="wikitable


 * SET_PWM || Sets PWM output
 * SET_OUT || Sets HIGH/LOW value of an output pin
 * READ_IN || Reads HIGH/LOW value of an input pin
 * SET_MEM || Sets specified value to specified memory location
 * }
 * SET_MEM || Sets specified value to specified memory location
 * }
 * }
 * }


 * Commands will be sent through RPMSG to the PRU and it will send a response, either SUCCESS or error a message, will be sent through RPMSG by the PRU to ARM.

Experience and approach
I have decent experience in C++, C and Python. I have done several projects involving embedded systems like ESP32, I well-versed with freeRTOS. I recently did a project on ESP32, in which I used ESP to control and plot PID loop running on the embedded device, plotting the values on a python GUI. Other than that I have developed firmware for a 3 DOF arm based on a ESP32 custom board. I did a internship with a embedded deviced startup, where I built:
 * 1) Built TCP network stack for embedded IoT Devices
 * 2) Implemented Synchronous TCP server using Boost.Asio(C++) and Boost.Thread(C++)
 * 3) Implemented a tool to calculate round trip time(RTT) of tcp packets

I actively contribute to open source and do a lot of mini projects throughout the year, you can find my several more interesting projects at my github page

Contingency
I believe that if I get stuck on my project and my mentor isn’t around, I will use the resources that are available to me. Some of those information portals are listed below.
 * 1) https://git.ti.com/pru-software-support-package
 * 2) https://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/PRU_Training:_Hands-on_Labs PRU Guide
 * 3) https://markayoder.github.io/PRUCookbook/ Mark Yoder's cookbook is a excellent guide
 * 4) Derek Molly's beagle bone guide provides all the information needed for getting up and running with my beagle.
 * 5) The technical reference manuals provided by TI on am3358 and am5729 are the best source
 * 6) Processor SDK Linux Software Guide is a good reference material

Benefit
If successfully completed, what will its impact be on the BeagleBoard.org community? Include quotes from BeagleBoard.org community members who can be found on http://beagleboard.org/discuss and http://bbb.io/gsocchat.

Misc
Please complete the requirements listed on the ideas page. Provide link to pull request.

Suggestions
Is there anything else we should have asked you?