Prerequisites

For the firmware compile build to be successful, the Mcontroller-v7-firmware submodule must have the FanciSwarmTM dependency pack, i.e. libMcontroller-v7-FanciSwarm.a. In addition to the main repository, the dependency pack and the libMcontroller-v7-firmware.a must both be included. STM32CubeIDE is recommended for compiling the Mcontroller-v7-firmware source code, and STM32CubeProgrammer is recommended for flashing and uploading the modified firmware onto the FanciSwarm drone.

Compiling

In STM32CubeIDE, run the Debug build process to compile the firmware. This may need to be done twice, if the first time produces linking errors. The second time should log something like x:x:x Build Finished. 0 errors, 0 warnings. (took x ms). Note that building the firmware using the Release process will not work. Only the Debug build is to be used for the Mcontroller-v7-firmware project.

Uploading

Check which port the drone is connected to, e.g. port=usb1, since it will be used to identify which port is to be used to upload the modified firmware. Also, confirm that serial data transfer is functional and that the baud rate matches the specifications.

In the STM32CubeProgrammer software (recommended to use the CLI terminal to avoid versioning issues and runtime exceptions). When in the programmer CLI, run the following command script:

sudo ./STM32_Programmer_CLI -c port=<PORT_ID> -w ~/<REPO_PARENT_DIRECTORY>/Mcontroller-v7-FanciSwarm/Debug/Mcontroller-v7-firmware.hex 0x08000000 -v -rst

where the flag <PORT_ID> may be modified with your verified port name, and the <REPO_PARENT_DIRECTORY> is to be replaced with the directory url in your local machine that contains the Mcontroller-v7-FanciSwarm project repository.

Note that, when using the STM32CubeProgrammer interface, the version may need to be changed to an older one for the upload to work. This is because of potential runtime exceptions and environment issues that may occur when flashing the firmware through an unstable build.

Configure Firmware for Motion Capture (Vicon)

In a preferred IDE or text editor, find the config.h file in the Clibrary/include/ directory. Modify the following preprocessor directives to change the settings:

#define USE_MAG 1
#define USE_ODOMETRY 1
#define USE_MOTION 1

Once the directives are set, test it with the firmware by compiling it, then uploading it to the FanciSwarm drone processor. If odometry and motion capture work, change the SLAM Z directive setting:

#define USE_ODOM_Z 1