| title | description | author | tags | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Modulino Installation |
Get started with using the Modulinos |
Hannes Siebeneicher, Sebastian Romero |
|
In this tutorial, we will go through the installation process required for programming the Arduino Modulinos with MicroPython.
The goals of this tutorial are:
- Learn how to install a MicroPython package on an Arduino board (the Modulino package).
We will need a MicroPython compatible board that works with the Modulinos:
We will also need the following software:
The MicroPython Package Installer is a graphical tool that simplifies the installation of external modules without requiring command-line interaction.
- Download and install the MicroPython Package Installer.
- Open the tool and plug in your board.
If the board does not appear in the Detected Boards section, click Reload.
If the board is still not detected, ensure no other programs (e.g., a code editor) are using the board's COM port.
- Search for the Modulino package using the search feature.
- Click Install and wait for the installation confirmation.
- Disconnect the board before returning to your code editor to avoid conflicts due to the COM port being busy.
To install a module, we can use mpremote. Currently, we will need a version of Python installed on our computer.
-
Open a terminal, and write the following line:
pip install mpremote
This will install
mpremote, which makes it possible to install packages on our board via our computer. -
With
mpremoteinstalled, we need to run the following command to identify our board's serial port:mpremote connect list
Which will give us something like this:
/dev/cu.usbmodem101 ecda3b60a4dccb3f 2341:056b Arduino Nano ESP32
The port here is
/dev/cu.usbmodem101. Copy this. -
Now, run the following the command. Make sure to replace
<PORT>with the port of our device obtained in the previous step.mpremote connect <PORT> mip install github:arduino/arduino-modulino-mpy
Upon completion, we should see something like this in the terminal, to verify the success of the installation:
-
Great job. We have now installed the Modulino package on our board!
Troubleshooting:
- Make sure your board is connected to your computer.
- Make sure it is not connected in the Arduino Lab for MicroPython, as this might disturb the connection.
- If you are unable to run
mpremotein the terminal, this means it is not installed. - If you are unable to run
pythonin the terminal, make sure you have installed Python (you can download and install it here) - If you have installed Python and it is still not working, try running
python3andpip3instead. - If you installed Python while having the terminal open, try closing the terminal and re-opening it.
- If you run
mpremoteand there's no board appearing in the list, try re-installing the firmware on your board as it might have failed during installation.
We can now verify that everything was installed correctly. Go to MicroPython Labs and click on the connect icon in the top left corner.
Select the board and press select "connect". We should now be connected to our Arduino board.
If we experience any issues, try disconnecting and connecting the board again and reinstall MicroPython using the MicroPython Installer.
To verify that the Modulino package has been installed correctly, click on the file icon in the top bar of the Labs editor.
We should see a folder called lib and a file called boot.py. Go ahead and press on the lib folder and we should see several files and a folder called modulino.
If we see this, it means the package has been installed successfully.
Now that we have successfully installed everything it's time to program our first Modulino. Below are links to the documentation for all Modulinos. They are also accessible in the side menu at Arduino Docs - MicroPython, under "Modulinos".