Snowboard 2

Quick Start Guide

1. Install device driver

2. Connect Snowboard 2 and a matrix sensor such as MS9723 or MS9724

3. Connect Snowboard 2 and your PC with USB micro cable.

4. Open device manager and check if Snowboard 2 is correctly recognized. You should see 'USB Serial Port(COMxx)' in device manager.

5. Download and unzip Snowforce file

https://www.kitronyx.com/uploads/2/9/2/7/29276707/snowforce-2018.04.13.zip

6. Double click snowforce.exe

7. Click CHOOSE PORT and select port you saw in device manager.

8. Click 'LOAD INI'

9. In file dialog, go to data folde, find snowboard2_standalone_ms9723.ini, and click Open.

10. Click Start

11. Now you can see Snowboard 2 runs.

General Usage

Please consult Snowboard documentation.

Snowforce

Please consult Snowforce documentation. Download instructions

For using Snowboard 2/Pro as an standalone device, load snowboard2_standalone_ms9723.ini.

For using Snowboard 2/Pro together with an Arduino, load snowboard2_arduino_ms9723.ini.

Communication Setting

Knowing Snowboard 2 communication setting is not necessary if you are using Snowforce for data acquisition.

However, if you are considering to build your own application with Snowboard 2, this information will be helpful.

Snowboard 2 has a build-in USB serial communication with following baudrate setting:

- Standalone mode: 1,497,600 bps

If you are using Snowboard 2 as a Arudino shield, please use baudrate of 115,200bps.

Using Snowboard 2

As a Standalone Device

1. Connect USB micro cable to your Snowboard 2

2. Windows 8 and 10 will automatically install USB driver for Snowboard 2. If not, consult FTDI device driver page to manually install device driver

3. Run Snowforce with INI file snowboard2_standalone_ms9723.ini

As an Arduino Shield

If you want to add your own

In a case you are using Snowboard 2 as an Arduino shield, please follow the steps below:

1. Upload Arduino firmware to your Arduino board by following these instructions.

2. Connect USB microcable to your Arduino (not Snowboard 2)

3. Run Snowforce with INI file snowboard2_arduino_ms9723.ini.

Note 1: Snowboard 2 has been tested with Arduino Uno and Leonardo. We believe that Snowboard 2 can work with other Arduino models.

Note 2: Snowboard 2 is an Arduino shield and the photo below shows Snowboard 2 stacked on Arduino Uno.

When you use Snowboard 2 as an Arduino shield, please plug your USB to Arduino not Snowboard 2.

Snowboard 2 Pin Maps

RPack Pin Map

Snowboard 2 Sensor Pin Map

FAQ

How can I reprogram Snowboard 2

Simply speaking, Snowboard 2 cannot be reprogrammed.

However, you can use Snowboard 2 as Arduino shield and then upload your own firmware to Arduino so that you will be able to achieve similar results from reprogramming Snowboard 2.

These links will be helpful to make your own Arduino firmware:

http://sites.kitronyx.com/wiki/snowboard-2#TOC-As-an-Arduino-Shield

https://github.com/kitronyx/snowboard/tree/master/examples/snowforce

How to Implement Wireless Communication

You may be able to use Arduino Bluetooth shield such as Bluetooth Shield 2.0 from SeeedStudio.

Note: To use other Arduino shields, Snowboard 2 should be operated as an Arduino shield as well.

What is the output of Snowboard 2

Output of Snowboard is ADC (Analog to Digital Conversion) value which is proportional to the applied pressure.

Since FSR matrix sensors decreases its resistance according to the applied pressure, the output value of each sensel is computed as follows:

ADC_ij = R_ref / (R_ref + R_ij) * 255

where ADC_ij is (i, j)th sensel of the matrix sensor, R_ref is the value of reference resistor on RPack, and R_ij is the resistance of (i, j)th sensel.

If you want to adjust sensitivity, manually replace 1608 resistors on RPack.