Bluegiga APX4 User manual

APX4 DEVELOPMENT KIT

GETTING STARTED

Thursday, 29 November 2012

Version 1.5

Bluegiga Technologies reserves the right to alter the hardware, software, and/or specifications detailed herein at

any time without notice, and does not make any commitment to update the information contained herein.

Bluegiga Technologies assumes no responsibility for any errors which may appear in this manual. Bluegiga

Technologies' products are not authorized for use as critical components in life support devices or systems.

Bluegiga Access Server, Access Point, APx4, AX4, BSM, iWRAP, BGScript and WRAP THOR are trademarks

of Bluegiga Technologies.

The trademark and logo are registered trademarks and are owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc.Bluetooth

ARM and ARM9 are trademarks of ARM Ltd.

Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.

All other trademarks listed herein belong to their respective owners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Version history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1 What is Bluegiga APx4? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.1 Key Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 APx4 Development Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 APx4 Software Development Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1 How to get started? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2 Preparations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1 Accessing the APx4 via RS232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Accessing the APx4 Linux console via SSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Accessing the APx4 with a web browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.4 Accessing the APx4 through Wi-Fi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Supported features of APX4 Development Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1 Supported features of APX4 Development Kit under Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1 Figuring out IP address from Linux command line using command.ifconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 Checking device information with command.bgtinfo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3 Scanning for low energy devicesBluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4 Scanning for classic devicesBluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5 Checking Wi-Fi interface status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6 Enabling Wi-Fi interface and performing Access Point scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
7 Installing Python on APx4 using OPKG packet manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Contact information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

1 Version history

Version Comments

0.9 Version history added. Version number changed.

1.0 Improved getting started instructions.

1.1 Added Tips and Tricks section

1.2 Added more examples

1.3 Added Wi-Fi usage examples

1.4 Added OPKG example

1.5 Updated to have "Where to start?" section

2 Introduction

This document is a getting started guide for Bluegiga APx4 development kit. The guide instructs you how to set

up the APx4 development kit, power it up and access the Linux operating system on the APx4 wireless

System-on-Module.

2.1 What is Bluegiga APx4?

The Bluegiga APx4 is a small form factor, low power system-on-module that includes the latest wireless

connectivity standards: 802.11 b/g/n and 4.0. APx4 is based on Freescale's i.MX28 processor familyBluetooth

and runs an embedded Linux operating system based on the Yocto Project . In addition to integrating the

454MHz ARM9 processor, the wireless connectivity technologies, Linux operating system the APx4 also

includes with several built in applications, such as the 802.11 and 4.0 stacks, ContinuaBluetooth

v.1.5 compliant IEEE manager and many more. This combination provides an ideal platform for designing

multi-radio wireless gateways that enables fast time-to-market and minimum R&D risks.

The Bluegiga APx4 software can be easily extended or tailored customizing the Linux operating system with

applications. The motherboards for the APx4 can be easily extended to include almost anything from 3G

modems to Ethernet and audio interfaces to and touch screen displays.

The Bluegiga APx4 is an ideal product for applications requiring wireless or wired connectivity technologies and

the processing power of the ARM9 processor, such as health and fitness gateways, building and home

automation gateways, M2M, point-of-sale and industrial connectivity.

2.1.1 Key Features

APx4 is a computing platform:

450MHz ARM9 core (Freescale i.MX28)

64MB RAM and 128MB Flash

Real Time Clock

SO-DIMM form factor

A connectivity platform:

Bluetooth 4.0 dual-mode radio

2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n radio with Wi-Fi Access Point mode

10/100 Ethernet

With many extension options:

Up to 24bit display with resistive touch screen800 x 480,

MMC/SDIO, USB and USB OTG, multiple SPI, UART and I²C, PWM, GPIO and AIO interfaces

I²S

Linux operating system:

Based on the Yocto ProjectTM

Thousands of open source software packets available

Qualifications:

Bluetooth, CE, FCC and IC*

*Ready before mass production

2.2 APx4 Development Kit

The APx4 development kit is a ready-to-use development platform the the the Bluegiga APx4

wireless System-on-Module. The development kit consists of a single APx4 module, a mother board and

the necessary accessories and documentation.

APx4 Development kit consists of the following items:

1 x Bluegiga APx4 module

1 x Bluegiga APx4 mother board

1 x 12V power supply

1 x RS232 cable

1 x Ethernet cable

1 x Micro USB cable

Getting started documentation

2.3 APx4 Software Development Kit

APx4 Software Development Kit (SDK) is a software development platform that provides tools, methods and

documentation allowing you to write applications for the Linux operating system running in the APx4. The APx4

SDK is based on the tools and methods developed and maintained by the Yocto Project.

*APx4 Development kit consists of the following items which are downloadable from

http://techforum.bluegiga.com

Development environment for compiling applications

Example applications

SDK documentation

API documentation

The getting started guide for the Bluegiga APx4 SDK is a separate document from this document.

3 Getting started

3.1 How to get started?

3.2 Preparations

Make sure the power supply is not connected to the APx4 mother board

Connect the APx4 to the motherboard by inserting the APx4 module into the SODIMM socket in 30-45

degrees angle and by pushing the APx4 module into the socket.

Push the module into the socket as far as it goes, otherwise the finger contacts may not connect

properly.

Press the module down so that the metal clips on the receptacle engage and make a clear click.

Ensure that a jumper is connected to the header as shown in the image below. See theCURR. MEAS.

yellow rectangle. For ordinary operation this is the only jumper needed.

There are three ways of accessing the APx4:

Serial port

SSH

Ethernet interface and browser

Wi-Fi interface and browser

Figure : APx4 development kit1

3.2.1 Accessing the APx4 via RS232

Connect the RS232 cable to the motherboard's DEBUG PORT

Open a terminal software and use the following settings:

Property name Value

Baud rate 115200 bps

Data bits 8

Parity none

Stop bits 1

Flow control none

Power on the APx4 motherboard

From terminal software make sure you see the APx4 boot log

U-Boot 2011.12 (Nov 26 2012 - 10:34:49)

DRAM: 64 MiB

WARNING: Caches not enabled

NAND: 128 MiB

MMC: MXS MMC: 0

In: serial

Out: serial

Err: serial

Net: FEC

Hit any key to stop autoboot: 0

UBIFS: reserved for root: 0 bytes (0 KiB)

Loading file 'boot/uImage' to addr 0x41000000 with size 1400792

(0x00155fd8)...

Done

## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 41000000 ...

Image Name: Linux-3.2.12

Image Type: ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)

Data Size: 1400728 Bytes = 1.3 MiB

Load Address: 40008000

Entry Point: 40008000

Loading Kernel Image ... OK

Starting kernel ...

Uncompressing Linux... done, booting the kernel.

Linux version 3.2.12 (jenkins@green) (gcc version 4.6.4 20120303 (prerelease)

(GCC) ) #1 Mon Nov 26 09:37:59 EET 2012

Accessing APx4 Linux console via RS232

Once the APx4 has booted a login will be prompted

The default user name is : root

The default password is : buffy

bgtinfo command prints the hardware and software version numbers

Enabling fforwarder:

Starting blueconnector:

Starting Lighttpd Web Server: unifi1: SDIO block size 64 requires 8 padding

chunks

unifi1: UniFi f/w protocol version 9.1 (driver 9.1)

unifi1: Firmware build 1089: 2010-10-05 14:50

cindr03_core_softmac_rom_sdio_gcc 1089 bfsw@eagle@630492

lighttpd.

Starting automatic package installer: bgtautoinstalld.

Starting finder:

Stopping Bootlog daemon: bootlogd.

_____ _ _

| ___ \| | (_)

| |_/ /| | _ _ ___ __ _ _ __ _ __ _

| ___ \| || | | | / _ \ / _` || | / _` | / _` |

| |_/ /| || |_| || __/| (_| || || (_| || (_| |

|____/ |_| \__,_| \___| \__, ||_| \__, | \__,_|

__/ | __/ |

|___/ |___/

Bluegiga Linux 5.0.0-beta9 apx4devkit ttyAMA0

apx4devkit login:

Avoid removing the APx4 module from the mother board when the power supply is connected in order not to damage the

APx4 module.

Table of contents

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