Smart Thermostat Demo
This guide offers step-by-step instructions for adjusting, flashing, and running an Embedded Wizards GUI example on the phyCORE-RT1170 development kit, allowing you to experience the display quality and I2C touch responsiveness firsthand
Requirements
Hardware
5V USB-C Power Adapter (Included in kit)
Micro-USB Cable (Included in kit)
40-pin FFC/FPC Cable (0151660440)
Not the same as the ribbon cable included with the NXP display
Host PC (Windows 10)
Software
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An account is required (free)
Embedded Wizard Build Environment “IMXRT1170-EVK” zip file.
Optional Tools
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Helps resolve J-link errors by mass erasing memory.
See the Flash Recovery guide
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Sometimes the MCUxpresso will do this automatically.
Hardware Setup
Set the boot switch (S5) to QSPI Flash.
With the blue stripe facing the front of the display face, connect the flat flex cable to the LCD.
Connect the flat flex cable to the mipi-dsi (X3) connector on the RT1170 development kit. The blue stripe should be facing away from the carrier board.
Connect the micro-USB to the USB console connector (X15) and to the Host PC, the 5V USB-C power supply to an outlet and then to the development board (X9), and the 9-pin J-link device to the development board (X18) and to the Host PC.
Extracting Demo Visuals from Embedded Wizard
Unpack the Embedded Wizard Build Environment for IMXRT1170-EVK to your local file system (e.g. C:\nxp\EmbeddedWiz\RT1170\IMXRT1170-EVK).
Note
Please make sure to use a short working folder path because MCUXpresso IDE (to be more precise: Eclipse) has restrictions regarding the file path length.
Open the Smart Thermostat example in the Embedded Wizard
Studio.Project > Open Example > SmartThermostat
Change the example “WidgetSet” settings to generate code for the MCUxpresso IDE rather than the GCC ARM toolchain.
PlatformPackage = NXP .iMX_RT_VGLite.RGB565
CleanOutputDirectories = true
OutputDirectory = C:\nxp\EmbeddedWiz\RT1170\IMXRT1170-EVKVGLite\Application\GeneratedCode
PostProcess = C:\nxp\EmbeddedWiz\RT1170\IMXRT1170-EVK-VGLite\Application\Project\MCUXpresso\IMXRT1170-EVK-VGLite\MCUXpresso_ew_post_process.cmd
ScreenSize = 1280 x 720
Adjust the background size to increase demo display from 800x400px to 1280x720px.
Note
Images and icons can be found in this folder (Be sure to keep the same name and format): C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Embedded Wizard 12\Examples\SmartThermostat\Res
Save the example and generate code by pressing F8.
To preview the demo press F5 to view on Host PC
Flashing the Smart Thermostat Demo with MCUx IDE
Launch the NXP MCUXpresso IDE and select the directory \Application\Project\MCUXpresso as workspace directory
Install the EVKBMIXRT1170 SDK
To import the project (File -> Import) and choose “General - Existing Projects” into workspace and press Next.
Open the Pin Muxing Tool.
Use the “Functional Group” drop-down menu to find the signals in use.
Open the list Pin Muxing Signals Settings.xlsx or Pin Muxing Signals Settings.pdf. This contains all the various signals and their settings for the RT1170 development kit. Use the Pin Muxing Tool to set the signals to their proper settings.
Click on the “Update Code” button to apply signal changes to IDE project. Once completed, this will return you to the IDE project page.
Note
Note: Return to the IDE project page without updating the code with the tool icon, located in the upper right corner.
Open 2 COM ports and connect them to the USB serial console connection. This will display more information about what has been flashed to the development kit later.
Each COM port should be set to these parameters seen in the image below.
Click on the project “IMXRT1170-EVK-VGLite” and “Build” the project to verify there are not errors.
Then “Debug” the project. This will throw an error about the “RT1176xxxx processor”
Correct this error message by editing the debug configuration.
Right click on IMXRT1170-EVK-VGLite -> Hover over “Debug As” -> Select “Debug Configuration”
Under the “JLink Debugger” tab change the “Device” to the processor “MIMXRT1176xxxA_M7” and press “Debug”.
Flash the RT1170 development kit by clicking on the “Resume” icon.
Note
The Resume icon should be red and green if the debug process went successfully.
The demo should automatically be displayed on the kit. A quick debug is to press the RST button to verify that the demo was flashed.
Verify that the COM port reads the correct demo setting from the USB console.
Watch the Smart Thermostat Demo in action!
Resources from Embedded Wizard on the i.MXRT, Embedded Wizard GUI on i.MXRT. The phyCORE-RT1170 development kit’s design was modeled after NXP’s EVK board, therefore the majority of resources for the EVK can be applied to the development kit with minor adjustments.
Watch the Digital Dashboard Demo in action!