FPGA

FPGA

Flashing Guide

⚠️Modifying FPGA source may have unintended consequences⚠️

Device Compatibility

Overview

The FPGA handles:

  • GPIO output
  • UART for Zigbee and Z-Wave
  • Connections between board components
  • Microphone processing (not provided in source code)

FPGA Source

FPGA source code is located here.

Verilog Cheat Sheet

For refreshers on FPGA Verilog HDL syntax and concepts, check out this cheat sheet.

FPGA Flashing

Below is a guide on how to flash a premade user-provided FPGA bitstream onto the Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA for the MATRIX Creator.

We first need to install a few prerequisites.

Add the MATRIX repository and key.

curl https://apt.matrix.one/doc/apt-key.gpg | sudo apt-key add -
echo "deb https://apt.matrix.one/raspbian $(lsb_release -sc) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/matrixlabs.list

Update your repository and packages.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Install the required packages.

sudo apt-get install matrixio-creator-init

Reboot your device.

sudo reboot

Backup the stock system_creator.bit file.

sudo mv /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/blob/system_creator.bit /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/blob/system_creator_stock.bit

Copy your built system_creator.bit FPGA bitstream file to the blob folder.

sudo cp /path/to/your/file /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/blob/system_creator.bit

Now you can flash the FPGA.

Reset the FPGA.

echo 18 > /sys/class/gpio/export 2>/dev/null
echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/direction
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value

Flash the FPGA.

cd /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/
xc3sprog -c matrix_creator blob/system_creator.bit -p 1

You should receive the following (may vary due to user-provided file).

XC3SPROG (c) 2004-2011 xc3sprog project $Rev: 774 $ OS: Linux
Free software: If you contribute nothing, expect nothing!
Feedback on success/failure/enhancement requests:
        http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=170565
Check Sourceforge for updates:
        http://sourceforge.net/projects/xc3sprog/develop

DNA is 0x99a9bca3325faafd

Reset the FPGA.

echo 18 > /sys/class/gpio/export 2>/dev/null
echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/direction
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value

Updating the matrixio-creator-init package will cause the stock FPGA bitstream to be flashed upon next boot.

You can stop sudo apt-get upgrade from automatically updating the matrixio-creator-init package with the following command.

sudo apt-mark hold matrixio-creator-init

Power off your device.

sudo poweroff

Wait until the green led on your Raspberry Pi blinks 10 times, then unplug the power cable from your Raspberry Pi.

Plug the power cable back into your Raspberry Pi.

Restore Original Firmware

To restore the original firmware, restore the stock system_creator.bit file in the blob folder.

sudo rm /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/blob/system_creator.bit
sudo cp /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/blob/system_creator_stock.bit /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/blob/system_creator.bit

Now you can flash the FPGA.

Reset the FPGA.

echo 18 > /sys/class/gpio/export 2>/dev/null
echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/direction
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value

Flash the FPGA.

cd /usr/share/matrixlabs/matrixio-devices/
xc3sprog -c matrix_creator blob/system_creator.bit -p 1

You should receive the following.

XC3SPROG (c) 2004-2011 xc3sprog project $Rev: 774 $ OS: Linux
Free software: If you contribute nothing, expect nothing!
Feedback on success/failure/enhancement requests:
        http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=170565
Check Sourceforge for updates:
        http://sourceforge.net/projects/xc3sprog/develop

DNA is 0x99a9bca3325faafd

Reset the FPGA.

echo 18 > /sys/class/gpio/export 2>/dev/null
echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/direction
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value
echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio18/value

Allow sudo apt-get upgrade to update the matrixio-creator-init package.

sudo apt-mark unhold matrixio-creator-init

Power off your device.

sudo poweroff

Wait until the green led on your Raspberry Pi blinks 10 times, then unplug the power cable from your Raspberry Pi.

Plug the power cable back into your Raspberry Pi.

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