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PASCO Python API for Wireless Sensors

Project description

Python

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README

This PASCO Python library allows users to connect to PASCO Wireless sensors using Python. Create your own data collection application, use sensors to interact with other hardware devices, or come up with your own unique solution!

For project examples, view our pasco_python_examples repository.

How do I get started?

To install the package into your Python environment, type this into your Terminal

pip install pasco

In your project file, import the PASCOBLEDevice class and/or the CodeNodeDevice class.

To connect to a regular wireless sensor

from pasco import PASCOBLEDevice

To connect to a //code.Node (Note: The Icons package is optional)

from pasco import CodeNodeDevice, Icons

Compatible Sensors

  • //code.Node
  • Smart Cart
  • Wireless Acceleration Altimter
  • Wireless CO2
  • Wireless Conductivity
  • Wireless Current
  • Wireless Diffraction
  • Wireless Drop Counter
  • Wireless Force Acceleration
  • Wireless Light
  • Wireless Load Cell
  • Wireless Magnetic Field
  • Wireless Motion
  • Wireless O2
  • Wireless Optical DO
  • Wireless pH
  • Wireless Pressure
  • Wireless Rotary Motion
  • Wireless Smart Cart
  • Wireless Temperature
  • Wireless Voltage
  • Wireless Weather

Testing

  • Wireless Blood Pressure
  • Wireless Soil Moisture

Connecting to a sensor

Device Structure

Device: A physical PASCO wireless sensor is a device Sensor: A device can have multiple sensors built in Measurements: A sensor can offer multiple measurements

Device Structure Example

A Wireless Weather Sensor would be a "device". The "device" has 4 sensors ['WirelessWeatherSensor', 'WirelessGPSSensor', 'WirelessLightSensor', 'WirelessCompass']

Each "sensor" can have multiple measurements

  • WirelessWeatherSensor: ['Temperature', 'RelativeHumidity', 'AbsoluteHumidity', 'BarometricPressure', 'WindSpeed', 'DewPoint', 'WindChill', 'Humidex']
  • WirelessGPSSensor: ['SatelliteCount', 'Latitude', 'Longitude', 'Altitude', 'Speed']
  • WirelessLightSensor: ['UVIndex', 'Illuminance', 'SolarIrradiance', 'SolarPAR']
  • WirelessCompass: ['WindDirection', 'MagneticHeading', 'TrueHeading']

Available Commands

device = PASCOBLEDevice() Create a Bluetooth device object
device.scan(sensor_name_filter: string [optional]) Scan for available bluetooth devices. Returns a list of available devices
device.connect(ble_device: BLEDevice) Connect to a device using the object returned from the scan command.
device.connect_by_id(pasco_device_id: string) Connect to a device using the 6 digit ID printed on the sensor.
device.disconnect() Disconnect from a device
device.is_connected Returns true/false to tell device connection state
device.get_sensor_list() Get a list of sensors that a device has
device.get_measurement_list(sensor_name: string [optional]) Returns all the measurements that a device has
device.read_data(measurement: string) Get a single reading from a single measurement
device.read_data_list(measurements: List[string]) Get a list of readings for multiple measurements
device.get_measurement_unit(measurement: string) Get the default units for a single measurement
device.get_measurement_unit_list(measurements: List[string]) Get a list of default units for multiple measurements

PASCO's Bluetooth sensors will turn off after 5 minutes of no activity. To keep the device on, call the device.keepalive() method. This will keep the connection active without requesting any new data.


Step 1: Create an object for the device

my_sensor = PASCOBLEDevice()

If you know the device's 6-digit serial ID (printed on the device) you can quickly scan and connect using the command: my_sensor.connect_by_id('111-123')

Otherwise perform Steps 2 & 3 to scan/connect.

Step 2: Scan for available bluetooth (BLE) sensors

my_sensor.scan() Returns list of BLE devices found in the scan. my_sensor.scan('Temperature')` Returns a list of Temperature sensors found

How to use:

found_devices = my_sensor.scan()

Step 3: Connect to a BLE sensor found from the scan

The scan command will return a list of found devices. Iterate through that list to determine which device you want to connect to.

One way is to print the list and prompt the user like this:


for i, ble_device in enumerate(found_devices):
    print(f'{i}: {ble_device.name}')

selected_device = input('Select a device: ')
my_sensor.connect(found_devices[int(selected_device)])

Example of how to scan/connect


my_sensor = PASCOBLEDevice()
found_devices = my_sensor.scan()

print('\nDevices Found')
for i, ble_device in enumerate(found_devices):
    display_name = ble_device.name.split('>')
    print(f'{i}: {display_name[0]}')

# Auto connect if only one sensor found
selected_device = input('Select a device: ') if len(found_devices) > 1 else 0
ble_device = found_devices[int(selected_device)]

my_sensor.connect(ble_device)

Step 4: View Device Sensor(s)

A device can have one or more on-board sensors. To view the list of sensors use the command my_sensor.get_sensor_list(). This returns a list of sensor names that a device has.

Step 5: View Device Measurement(s)

Each sensor in the device can have one or more measurements. If you want to view all the measurements that a device has, use the command my_sensor.get_measurement_list().

To view only the measurements that a sensor has, use the sensor name (from the list in Step 4) like this my_sensor.get_measurement_list('WirelessWeatherSensor').

Step 6: Start collecting data!

The measurement variable names come from Step 4

To read the Temperature my_temperature_sensor.read_data('Temperature')

To read the RelativeHumidity my_weather_sensor.read_data('RelativeHumidity')

To read a multiple measurements at one time my_weather_sensor.read_data_list(['Temperature','RelativeHumidity'])

To get the units for a single measurement my_temperature_sensor.get_measurement_unit('Temperature')

To get the units for a list of measurements my_weather_sensor.get_measurement_unit_list(['Temperature','RelativeHumidity'])


//code.Node Specific Commands

In order to connect to a //code.Node we must import the CodeNodeDevice object and (optionally) the character library which allows a user to display icons on the 5x5 LED Array.


from pasco import CodeNodeDevice, Icons

my_code_node = CodeNodeDevice() Create //code.Node Bluetooth device object
my_code_node.set_led_in_array() Set an individual LED in the 5x5 LED Array
my_code_node.set_leds_in_array() Set multiple LEDs in the 5x5 LED Array
my_code_node.set_rgb_led() Set the RGB LED
my_code_node.set_sound_frequency() Set the speaker frequency
my_code_node.scroll_text_in_array Scroll text on the 5x5 LED Array
my_code_node.show_image_in_array() Display an image in the 5x5 LED Array
my_code_node.reset() Reset all of the //code.Node outputs

Set LEDs on the 5x5 Display


x, y coordinates on the //code.Node 5x5 LED display
---------------------------
| 0,0  1,0  2,0  3,0  4,0 |
| 0,1  1,1  2,1  3,1  4,1 |
| 0,2  1,2  2,2  3,2  4,2 |
| 0,3  1,3  2,3  3,3  4,3 |
| 0,4  1,4  2,4  3,4  4,4 |
---------------------------

intensity range is 0-255

Set one LED

code_node_device.set_led_in_array(x, y, intensity)

Example: This will turn the top center LED on at max brightness

code_node_device.set_led_in_array(2, 0, 255)

Set multiple LEDs at once

code_node_device.set_leds_in_array(led_list, intensity)

led_list = [[4,4], [0,4], [2,2]]
code_node_device.set_leds_in_array(led_list, 128)

Set the RGB LED

code_node_device.set_rgb_led(r, g, b) r, g, b indicate brightness ranges between 0 and 255.

r = 20
g = 100
b = 200
code_node_device.set_rgb_led(r, g, b)

Turn the speaker on/off

code_node_device.set_sound_frequency(frequency) Send frequency (int) in Hz


code_node_device.set_sound_frequency(440)

Turn the speaker off


code_node_device.set_sound_frequency(0)

Scroll Text on the 5x5 LED Array

code_node_device.scroll_text_in_array(text) This will scroll the text on the //code.Node's display


code_node_device.scroll_text_in_array('HELLO WORLD')

The character library

code_node_device.show_image_in_array(Icons().smile) If we import the Icons class from the character_library to our project we can show unique images on the 5x5 LED Array. Refer to the library file to see available options. Examples:


code_node_device.show_image_in_array(Icons().smile)
code_node_device.show_image_in_array(Icons().heart)

Reset the code_node outputs

code_node_device.reset() Turn the 5x5 LED display, RGB LED and speaker off.

Let's put it all together

Example 1A: One shot read

Connect to a Wireless Temperature Sensor and get one reading:

from pasco import PASCOBLEDevice


temp_sensor = PASCOBLEDevice()
temp_sensor.connect_by_id('055-808')

temp_value = temp_sensor.read_data('Temperature')
print(temp_value)

temp_sensor.disconnect()

Example 1B: One shot read and display units

from pasco import PASCOBLEDevice


temp_sensor = PASCOBLEDevice()
temp_sensor.connect_by_id('055-808')

temp_value = temp_sensor.read_data('Temperature')
temp_units = temp_sensor.get_measurement_unit('Temperature')
print(f'{temp_value} {temp_units}')

temp_sensor.disconnect()

Example 2: Scan/select a sensor and read data

Scan for a sensor and get the current temperature. In this example we can use a Temperature, Weather or //code.Node to read the temperature measurement. We do not need to specify a device type. We will continuously read and display the result.

from pasco import PASCOBLEDevice


my_sensor = PASCOBLEDevice()
found_devices = my_sensor.scan()

print('\nDevices Found')
for i, ble_device in enumerate(found_devices):
    display_name = ble_device.name.split('>')
    print(f'{i}: {display_name[0]}')

# Auto connect if only one sensor found
selected_device = input('Select a device: ') if len(found_devices) > 1 else 0

ble_device = found_devices[int(selected_device)]
my_sensor.connect(ble_device)

# Loop that will read/display the data 100 times
for i in range(100):
    current_temp = my_sensor.read_data('Temperature')
    print(f'The current temp is {current_temp}')

my_sensor.disconnect()

Example 3: Working with the //code.Node

Below is a simple example that shows how to connect to a //code.Node, read a measurement and control an output.

from pasco import CodeNodeDevice


code_node = CodeNodeDevice()
code_node.connect_by_id('481-782')

while code_node.read_data('Button1') == 0:
    if code_node.read_data('Brightness') < 2:
        code_node.set_rgb_led(100,100,100)
    else:
        code_node.set_rgb_led(0,0,0)

code_node.scroll_text_in_array('Goodbye')

code_node.reset()

Example 4: Connect to multiple sensors

We can also connect to multiple sensors. Here we are connecting to a //code.Node and Wireless Force Sensor. We are also using //code.Node specific commands and testing the Character Library.

from pasco import PASCOBLEDevice, CodeNodeDevice, Icons


code_node_device = CodeNodeDevice()
found_devices = code_node_device.scan('//code.Node')

if found_devices:
    for i, ble_device in enumerate(found_devices):
        print(f'{i}: {ble_device.name}')

    selected_device = input('Select a device: ') if len(found_devices) > 1 else 0
    code_node_device.connect(found_devices[int(selected_device)])
else:
    print("No Devices Found")
    exit(1)

force_accel_device = PASCOBLEDevice()
found_devices = force_accel_device.scan('Force')

if found_devices:
    for i, ble_device in enumerate(found_devices):
        print(f'{i}: {ble_device.name}')

    selected_device = input('Select a device: ') if len(found_devices) > 1 else 0
    force_accel_device.connect(found_devices[int(selected_device)])
else:
    print("No Devices Found")
    exit(1)

code_node_device.reset()
light_on = False

for i in range (1000):
    if force_accel_device.read_data('Force') > 10:
        if light_on == False:
            code_node_device.set_rgb_led(100,100,100)
            code_node_device.set_sound_frequency(200)
            code_node_device.show_image_in_array(Icons().alien)
            light_on = True
        else:
            code_node_device.reset()
            light_on = False
        while force_accel_device.read_data('Force') > 10:
            pass

code_node_device.disconnect()
force_accel_device.disconnect()

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