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https://github.com/northeastern-electric-racing/telemetry-hub

Gui application for telemetry and data interaction
https://github.com/northeastern-electric-racing/telemetry-hub

Last synced: 26 days ago
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Gui application for telemetry and data interaction

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README 

        
# Telemetry Hub

This GUI Application allows for processing and display of data generated from the car. It is broken down into a series of Windows, each with different types of connections. These include:

- Vehicle Window: Processes data in real time from the car (usually using data from XBee wireless modules)

- SD Window: Processes log files saved to an SD card on the car

- Database Window: Allows interaction with data from hostorical vehicle sessions



It is written Python using the PyQt GUI framework for the frontend.



## Setup and Installation

The [pipenv](https://pypi.org/project/pipenv/) library is used to extablish a virtual project environment. The only prerequisite is that you have python version 3.10 installed ([here](https://www.python.org/downloads/)).



Follow the steps below to run the project:

1. Clone the repo (Navigate to your desired directory and run `git clone https://github.com/Northeastern-Electric-Racing/Telemetry-Hub.git`)

2. Install pipenv globally (`pip install --user pipenv`)

3. Navigate into the main directory (/Telemetry-Hub) and run `pipenv install` to install all project dependencies

4. Run `pipenv shell` to activate the virtual environment

5. Start the app with the command `python start.py`



After the inital run, only steps 4/5 will be needed to run the app again (enter the environment and start the app).



NOTE: If any of the commands in steps 2-5 fail, prepend them with `python -m` and try again.



### Drivers

If data is not being received from the XBee via the serial port, install the correct driver found [here](https://ftdichip.com/drivers/vcp-drivers/). This should only be an issue on Mac computers. [Here](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ftdi-drivers/mac) is a guide with more information on installing the required drivers on a Mac.



NOTE: There is no current driver for Apple Silicon Macs, so these cannot be used to view live XBee data.



## Tech Resources

The application is written in python using the PyQt GUI toolkit. The following resources are good for an introduction to PyQt:

- [General Qt description](https://wiki.qt.io/About_Qt)

- [Complete PyQt Tutorial](https://www.pythonguis.com/pyqt6-tutorial/)

- [Layouts](https://realpython.com/python-pyqt-layout/)

- [Threading](https://realpython.com/python-pyqt-qthread/)



Python resources:

- [Object-Oriented Guide](https://www.pythontutorial.net/python-oop/)

- [Documentation](https://realpython.com/documenting-python-code/)



## Formatting

We're using [autopep8](https://pypi.org/project/autopep8/) to automatically fix style errors with the code. Run using:



    autopep8 -iraa ner_telhub



To run on any other directory, just swap the name with `ner_telhub`.



It is also recommended to install a Python linting tool (if using VSCode you can easily install an extension). 



## Running Processing Library

To avoid the overhead of the GUI on large files, the ner_processing library can be run seperately. Follow the below steps:

1. Create a directory called `logs` in the project root (same level as `ner_processing`), and place the log files to process

2. Start using the command `python -m ner_processing`. The output file will be written to `output.csv` in the project root



## Deployment

In order to generate an executable, we are using [pyinstaller](https://pyinstaller.org/en/stable/usage.html#building-macos-app-bundles). 

Follow these steps to generate the executable file:

1. Build with the provided spec file depending on your OS by running `pyinstaller telhub_[platform].spec` (win for windows, mac for mac)

2. A folder located at `dist/telhub/` is generated. This is what's needed to run the app. To run, execute the `telhub.exe` executable in this folder



In order to install the app on a specific OS, follow directions [here](https://www.pythonguis.com/tutorials/packaging-pyqt6-applications-windows-pyinstaller/).



We shouldn't have to regenerate the spec files, but if needed, the following commands generated them:

- Windows: `pyinstaller -n "telhub" --add-data "resources/*;./resources" -i "resources/ner_logo.ico" -p "ner_processing" start.py`

- Mac: `pyinstaller -n "telhub" -w --add-data "resources/*:./resources" -i "resources/ner_logo.icns" -p "ner_processing" start.py`