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Decoding CAN/CANopen logs using your favorite AI prompt

One of the most useful things about text-based AIs like GPT is that you can hand them a piece of data and ask them what they see.  Kickdrive's own support bot can provide great answers, at least for a limited portion of a CAN Monitor log, since the maximum input length for our support bot is limited. For the little test below, I relied on a regular ChatGPT prompt, and the result was almost spot on. In short... TL;DR GPT or any other (coding) AI is an extremely efficient way to look at CAN bus frame data. It will give you all the high-level information, and more.  BUT - you as the developer should still verify what you are doing and know the specifics. Because if the log contains unexpected / unusual data - in our case a vendor specific object number in the 0x3500 range - GPT will present an incorrect answer with the same confidence as a real answer. The ChatGPT prompt Here is the prompt I used after a  Kickdrive  customer asked about how the  Scan  functio...
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Simplifying Field Service with Kickdrive's UI Panel

Using the UI Panel , you can design dynamic user interfaces with Qt Quick/QML technology. This enables you to build personalized interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use, even for those with minimal technical expertise. By representing data objects with graphic controls like dials and sliders, you can streamline the configuration process, making it accessible and efficient. A configuration app for a standalone foil-winder unit using MovingCap For those looking to automate tasks further, the Kickdrive Automation module supports Python scripting, allowing you to script complex sequences and integrate them into your UI Panel. This combination of Qt Quick's graphical capabilities and Python's scripting power makes Kickdrive an ideal solution for creating robust field service tools. To get started, check out our collection of application examples , and related Kickdrive project files or ready-to-run executables available for download .  One-click update tool for field-service ...

Portable hand washing station in times of COVID-19

The current worldwide health crisis many times requires some creativity and some locally sourced solutions, with materials readily at hand. When it came to establishing additional hygiene routines, Fullmo GmbH in Markdorf decided to place a portable hand washing station outside the main entrance. So before anyone enters the building or even touches the main door handle, it's about washing hands according to the well-known recommendations.  Luckily, our talented and resourceful student at Fullmo came up with a clever solution based on two MovingCap 349 drives and a standard (low) pressure washer. The first MovingCap 349 drive acts as a master. It implements a "wash-your-hands cycle" and is started via a standard footswitch connected to one digital input. This drive controls the water flow, and via digital I/O it activates the second drive, which works as a contact-less soap dispenser. The "wash cycle" with fixed waiting times will make sure the soa...

Free CANopen windows tool updated (and fullmo Kickdrive, too)

During the winter break we freshened up our Kickdrive software releases. So new versions v2.0 are available for  Kickdrive Zero, our freeware CANopen windows tool. fullmo Kickdrive, which allows you to do so much more .  You can grab a copy of the updated software from here: http://kickdrive.de/en/index.html?download.htm Changes include: Added support for CANopen data types REAL32 and  OCTET_STRING  Windows 10 compatibility adjustments(especially for fullmo USB2Drive hardware) Baud/Node scan uses now "Reset Nodes" instead of "Start Nodes" Object Editor: Export actual values to .xdc and additional formats (.csv, .cdcf, .txt) The UI Panel now uses the updated QML2 language Other minor corrections and fixes. For a complete overview see the Kickdrive Release Notes .  We'd like to thank the Kickdrive users for their encouraging and helpful feedback. We do realize that Kickdrive releases come a bit slowly. This is because we are v...

Now available: fullmo USB2drive - the advanced USB to CAN and RS485 gateway

While supporting a wide range of third-party CAN Bus interfaces in fullmo Kickdrive and Kickdrive Zero, the fullmo product family is designed as a complete toolkit from gears, positioning drives, master control to the actual HMI software. The new fullmo USB2drive is the missing link between Kickdrive software and CAN/CANopen or RS485 drive environments. fullmo Kickdrive automatically manages the USB2drive features and each Kickdrive application can deliver its own application firmware to the USB2drive. (For programmers - here's how it's done .) The advantages for developers, integrators and end users are obvious: Flexibility - the USB2drive can be whatever you want it to be: A CAN bus interface, a RS485 drive gateway, a master control running your own Python script. Extensibility - new and upcoming firmware variants allow for new applications - multi-axis master control, python-based master control, I/O applications, SD card logging applications, ... No breakage - us...

New releases in 2015 / SPC IPC Drives 2014

We are currently working on updates and improvements for the Kickdrive software tools. The past months have been very busy already, but more focused on custom applications and building drive applications with fullmo MovingCap components and Kickdrive UI Panel applications . New fullmo Kickdrive and Kickdrive Zero releases are planned for March. In the meanwhile, here are some pictures about the MovingCap/ Kickdrive hardware and software kit set shown at the SPS IPC Drives fair in November .

fullmo Drive Script Playground at the Embedded World 2014

(Update: See video & report on  http://qt.digia.com/Embedded-World-2014/ ) Next week, fullmo Kickdrive and a fullmo MovingCap drive are displayed at the Embedded World 2014 in Nürnberg, Tuesday, 25 - Thursday, 27 February 2014, on the Qt by Digia booth , Hall 4, #408. Qt/Digia also published the videos from the Qt Developer Days 2013 in Berlin, where we demonstrated fullmo Kickdrive and the advantage of our UI Panel / Runtime approach combined with the fullmo MovingCap Embedded Python master. Feel free to contact me for any questions! Oliver