May 24, 2021 Software Update

Today we released FarmBot OS v14.0.0 - a major stability upgrade for the FarmBot platform as well as several updates to the web app. Here’s what’s new:

New firmware handler

FBOS v14 contains a complete overhaul of the firmware handler, improving the reliability of the communication between the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi, the handling of edge cases, and the overall maintainability of the code. Many rare and hard-to-recreate bugs have been fixed with this overhaul, and we want to thank @jsimmonds and others who have helped us test this major new release.

New firmware

FBOS v14 includes new firmware for both the Express and Genesis platforms: v6.5.34:

• The new firmware fixes several outstanding issues that were holding back the Genesis version at 6.5.11, so now both platforms are at version parity.
• FIND AXIS LENGTH has been improved so that the FarmBot will now verify the max and home positions with a user-defined number of retries, allowing the bot to overcome false max and home positions. Two new sets of parameters, CALIBRATION RETRIES and CALIBRATION RETRY RESET DISTANCE (MM) are used to fine tune the performance of this functionality.
• Fixed a bug where the firmware would not respect SPEED values when moving in the negative direction.
• Note: Some FarmBots, after the upgrade to v14, may show a Code 30 connectivity condition. If so, simply press the flash firmware button to resolve the issue.

Improved firmware sync indicators

The web app now features an improved UI to indicate when firmware settings are syncing with from the web app all the way down to the firmware.

Miscellaneous

• Verbose firmware send and receive logs have been removed from the stack, though they are still available to developers over SSH.
• Developers and users with special hardware add-ons can now change the firmware’s path from the frontend.
• Added setup wizard steps to facilitate users installing their bots with an ethernet connection.
• Added support for UART communication with external hardware from within Lua sequences (documentation comings soon). Thanks @pinae for the inspiration and assistance - we look forward to seeing what you and others do with this new feature!
• Added support for custom.hex firmwares (documentation coming soon).
• Laid the groundwork for StealthChop mode for the Trinamic TMC2130 stepper drivers included with Genesis v1.5 and Express v1.0 kits. Stay tuned!