Flashing the firmware

Before building the physical robot, you must flash the firmware onto the microcontroller.

The TNY-360 firmware is developed using the PlatformIO ecosystem, which provides a powerful and user-friendly environment for embedded development.

All the firmware's source code can be found in the GitHub repository. If you never used VSCode or PlatformIO before, don't worry, we will guide you through the process step by step.

Installing VSCode and PlatformIO

To flash the firmware, you will need to install a software called Visual Studio Code (VSCode) along with the PlatformIO extension. This will allow you to compile the firmware and upload it to the TNY-360's microcontroller.

Step 1: Install Visual Studio Code

1. Head over to the Visual Studio Code website and download the installer for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
2. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Step 2: Install PlatformIO Extension

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Click on the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (or press Ctrl+Shift+X).
3. In the search bar, type "PlatformIO" and press Enter.
4. Click on the "Install" button for the "PlatformIO IDE" extension by PlatformIO.
5. Wait for the installation to complete, and then reload VSCode if prompted.

Cloning the Firmware Repository

Now that you have VSCode and PlatformIO set up, you need to get the firmware source code onto your computer.

1. Go to our GitHub repository and click on the [Code] button, then select "Download ZIP" to get the files.
2. Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a location of your choice on your computer.
3. Open VSCode, and then go to File > Open Folder and select the folder where you extracted the firmware files.
4. Once the folder is open in VSCode, you should see the firmware files in the Explorer sidebar. PlatformIO should automatically detect the project and load the necessary configurations.

Flashing the Firmware

To flash the firmware onto your TNY-360, follow these steps:

1. Connect your TNY-360's main board to your computer using a USB cable.
2. In VSCode, open the PlatformIO sidebar by clicking on the alien icon on the left.
3. Click on the "Project Tasks" section, then expand the "TNY-360" project.
4. Under the "TNY-360" project, click on "Upload" to compile the firmware and flash it to the microcontroller.
5. A terminal should pop up showing the compilation process. If everything is set up correctly, it should compile without errors and then upload the firmware to your TNY-360.
6. Once the upload is complete, you should see a message indicating that the firmware was successfully flashed.

All good!

Now that you have all the components, tools, and PCBs you need, head over to the Fabrication Guide to learn how to 3D print the parts of your TNY-360!