In this activity, you will build an environment to test the core functionality of the Abeeway Geolocation Module Discovery Kit using sample precompiled EVB firmware. For this, you need to perform the simple activities described in the Implementation Steps section. You will then be able to run simple tests to familiarize yourself with the features of the Kit as described in Testing Key Functionality Steps.
You don’t need deep technical skills to perform this activity. The sample EVB firmware is ready to use, so you don’t need to prepare a development environment on your machine; hence no development skills are required.
Finally, to use the Abeeway Geolocation Module, you do not need any hardware tools such as a power supply or programmer device, as they are built into the Abeeway Module Discovery board and all necessary antennas are included in the kit.
The Abeeway Geolocation Discovery Kit includes a development board for getting started with the Abeeway Geolocation Module. The geolocation module uses a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN® wireless technologies to provide accurate location information, even in challenging environments such as urban canyons or indoor spaces. The kit is intended for applications such as asset tracking, supply chain management, and smart city solutions. Connections of EVB are explained in Step1 of this cookbook.
STM32CubeWB firmware package contains the firmware binary files which may be needed at the firmware update steps of this activity. The files that you need are:
You can download the package from the product page which is explained in the Step 2 of this cookbook.
For more or up-to-date information, please visit the product web site. For example, the start address of the BLE stack firmware may change with a new version which is documented in the Application Notes of the product.
ST’s STMCubeProgrammer is a software program that is available for free download, and it is used to assist in the process of uploading binary files to EVB. In order to transfer a binary file to EVB, you will require a programming device that is compatible for use with the ST-Link interface. The hardware components of the ST-Link programmer are already provided on the EVB, and they can be used through the interface USB3.
Section 3 of this cookbook will provide you with instructions on how to download the software that you need. The product website contains the instructions that you need to follow.
If you need instructions regarding the USB connection, please go back to Step 1.
The GitHub repository of the Abeeway Geolocation Module Example Project includes a sample application that you can download and use. This application is going to be used in this activity.
This repository features a pre-compiled version of the example application. In addition, you will have the ability to locate the source file of an example application, which you will then be able to change and submit to EVB. On the other hand, for this task, we will use a generated binary file, which will save you setting up a programming environment.
Instructions on how to download are provided in Step 3 of the cookbook. The instructions for uploading files to EVB can be found in Step 7 of this tutorial.
Terminal emulation, which is carried out through the USB3 interface, is utilized in order to communicate with the module. For this purpose you can use Tera Term application, which is an open-source initiative and free to use.
You can get the application by visiting the website of Tera Term, which is covered in Step 8 of this cookbook.
You also have the option of using other terminal emulation applications, such as putty.
This repository features a pre-compiled version of the example application. In addition, you will have the ability to locate the source file of an example application, which you will then be able to change and submit to EVB. On the other hand, for this task, we will use a generated binary file, which will save you setting up a programming environment.
Instructions on how to download are provided in Step 3 of the cookbook. The instructions for uploading files to EVB can be found in Step 7 of this tutorial.
In this activity, you are going to perform two categories of steps. 1st category is to prepare the environment, and 2nd category is to use sample firmware to test functionality on different categories such as BLE, LoRaWAN®, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.
