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Getting Started

Getting Started with ProtoTracer

Section titled “Getting Started with ProtoTracer”

Welcome to ProtoTracer: Animation Engine! This guide will help you set up your hardware, build the code, and get started with creating and deploying animations.

Overview

Section titled “Overview”

ProtoTracer is a 3D ray-tracing and animation engine designed to run on Teensy 4.0 and Teensy 4.1 boards. It supports a variety of hardware configurations for Protogen-style characters and pixel matrices.

Hardware Requirements

Section titled “Hardware Requirements”

To use ProtoTracer, you’ll need the following hardware:

  1. Microcontroller: Teensy 4.0 or Teensy 4.1 with a breakout for your LED boards
  2. Display Matrix:
    • HUB75 LED Matrix (two 64x32 panels)
    • WS2812/WS2811 LED strips or panels (WS35 boards)
  3. Additional Sensors (optional):
    • Adafruit BNO055 (IMU Sensor)
    • Adafruit APDS9960 (Gesture/Boop Sensor)
    • SSD1306 (OLED Display)
  4. Power Supply:
    • Sufficient for the number of LEDs you plan to use
    • USB cable for programming

Software Setup

Section titled “Software Setup”

1. Install Visual Studio Code

Section titled “1. Install Visual Studio Code”

Download from https://code.visualstudio.com/

2. Install PlatformIO

Section titled “2. Install PlatformIO”

In Visual Studio Code, go to the Extensions Marketplace and search for “PlatformIO IDE”. Install the PlatformIO IDE extension.

3. Clone the Repository

Section titled “3. Clone the Repository”
Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/coelacant1/ProtoTracer.git
cd ProtoTracer

4. Install Required Libraries

Section titled “4. Install Required Libraries”

PlatformIO will automatically install the required libraries listed in platformio.ini. No manual intervention is needed.

Hardware Setup

Section titled “Hardware Setup”

Connect Your LEDs

Section titled “Connect Your LEDs”
  • For HUB75: Connect the panel to the appropriate pins on the Teensy as per the HUB75 Kit Guide
  • For WS2812/WS2811: Connect the data line to the designated pins per the WS35 Kit Guide

Power Supply

Section titled “Power Supply”
  • Ensure your LEDs have a sufficient and stable power supply
  • Use a capacitor across the power supply to protect the LEDs and microcontroller

Sensor Connections

Section titled “Sensor Connections”

Refer to the Adafruit documentation for wiring details on the BNO055, APDS9960, or other sensors.

Running the Code

Section titled “Running the Code”

After uploading the code:

  1. Connect Power: Provide power to your LED matrix or strips
  2. Observe Output: Animations should start immediately on the display
  3. Debug: Use the serial monitor to debug or view real-time stats if configured

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Build Errors

Section titled “Build Errors”
  • Ensure PlatformIO is installed and up-to-date
  • Verify the correct environment is selected in platformio.ini

No Output

Section titled “No Output”
  • Check LED connections and power supply
  • Ensure the correct LED type is selected in UserConfiguration.h

Sensor Issues

Section titled “Sensor Issues”
  • Verify I2C connections for sensors
  • Check the serial monitor for error messages

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”