Helpers for Display, Buttons, and Setup Functions

Helpers are used to simplify the primary loop code. The helpers:

  • Play a tone to signify a button press or alert;
  • Display a status message in the center of the image area;
  • Display and refresh the sensor image;
  • Display and refresh the histogram image;
  • Enlarge the 8x8 sensor data into a 15x15 display array;
  • Change default parameters for temperature range and alarm threshold;
  • Convert joystick movement to simulate up, down, left, and right button presses to support use with either PyGamer or PyBadge boards.

play_tone() Helper

Using the tone() helper that's contained in the simpleio library, the thermal camera's play_tone() helper plays a musical note through the PyGamer's speaker. The frequency in Hertz and duration in seconds are passed to the helper as the parameters freq and duration.

# ### Helpers ###
def play_tone(freq=440, duration=0.01):
    """Play a tone over the speaker"""
    tone(board.A0, freq, duration)

flash_status() Helper

The flash_status() helper accepts a text string and displays it in the status area of the display. The text appears as white letters for a time specified by duration then as black letters for duration length in seconds. This is very useful for flashing a message that can be seen regardless of the background colors, especially handy while displaying a sensor image.

def flash_status(text="", duration=0.05):
    """Flash status message once"""
    status_label.color = WHITE
    status_label.text = text
    time.sleep(duration)
    status_label.color = BLACK
    time.sleep(duration)
    status_label.text = ""

update_image_frame() Helper

The update_image_frame() helper looks through a list of 225 indexed color values stored by row and column in the GRID_DATA array. The helper converts the color index into a displayable RGB color value and updates the fill color of the corresponding display cell.

To save processing time and improve image frame rate, a cell is only updated if the calculated RGB value has changed from one frame to the next.

def update_image_frame(selfie=False):
    """Get camera data and update display"""
    for _row in range(0, GRID_AXIS):
        for _col in range(0, GRID_AXIS):
            if selfie:
                color_index = GRID_DATA[GRID_AXIS - 1 - _row][_col]
            else:
                color_index = GRID_DATA[GRID_AXIS - 1 - _row][GRID_AXIS - 1 - _col]
            color = index_to_rgb(round(color_index * PALETTE_SIZE, 0) / PALETTE_SIZE)
            if color != image_group[((_row * GRID_AXIS) + _col)].fill:
                image_group[((_row * GRID_AXIS) + _col)].fill = color

update_histo_frame() Helper

The update_histo_frame() helper collects a distribution of 15 temperature sub-ranges within the current temperature display range (one for each color) and displays a histogram of relative temperature values. The helper scans all 225 sensor color index values in the GRID_DATA array and counts the number of times a value falls within one of 15 sub-ranges.

When invoked, the helper displays the histogram range legend values and clears the histogram array used to accumulate the 15 sub-range values. After collecting the histogram data from the array, the largest sub-range value is stored in the histo_scale variable is used to scale the results when the histogram is displayed.

The second part of the helper updates the image area to display the histogram as a series of vertical bars with height proportional to the accumulated sub-range value. The display update starts at the upper left of the display's image area and works down to the lower right. Each cell is filled with a color that corresponds to the color index value. The remainder of boxes in the histogram display area are colored black if not used to build a histogram bar.

def update_histo_frame():
    """Calculate and display histogram"""
    min_histo.text = str(MIN_RANGE_F)  # Display the legend
    max_histo.text = str(MAX_RANGE_F)

    histogram = np.zeros(GRID_AXIS)  # Clear histogram accumulation array
    # Collect camera data and calculate the histogram
    for _row in range(0, GRID_AXIS):
        for _col in range(0, GRID_AXIS):
            histo_index = int(map_range(GRID_DATA[_col, _row], 0, 1, 0, GRID_AXIS - 1))
            histogram[histo_index] = histogram[histo_index] + 1

    histo_scale = np.max(histogram) / (GRID_AXIS - 1)
    if histo_scale <= 0:
        histo_scale = 1

    # Display the histogram
    for _col in range(0, GRID_AXIS):
        for _row in range(0, GRID_AXIS):
            if histogram[_col] / histo_scale > GRID_AXIS - 1 - _row:
                image_group[((_row * GRID_AXIS) + _col)].fill = index_to_rgb(
                    round((_col / GRID_AXIS), 3)
                )
            else:
                image_group[((_row * GRID_AXIS) + _col)].fill = BLACK

ulab_bilinear_interpolation() Helper

The ulab_bilinear_interpolation() helper utilizes ulab array calculations to find values for cells in the 225-cell GRID_DATA array that fall between the 64 known sensor element values. First, the even rows are scanned, assigning the average of the adjacent known cells to each unknown cell. Next, odd rows are scanned, assigning the average of the values above and below to every cell in the row. See the section, 1-2-3s of Bilinear Interpolation for the details of the interpolation method.

def ulab_bilinear_interpolation():
    """2x bilinear interpolation to upscale the sensor data array; by @v923z
    and @David.Glaude."""
    GRID_DATA[1::2, ::2] = SENSOR_DATA[:-1, :]
    GRID_DATA[1::2, ::2] += SENSOR_DATA[1:, :]
    GRID_DATA[1::2, ::2] /= 2
    GRID_DATA[::, 1::2] = GRID_DATA[::, :-1:2]
    GRID_DATA[::, 1::2] += GRID_DATA[::, 2::2]
    GRID_DATA[::, 1::2] /= 2

setup_mode() Helper

The setup_mode() helper pauses normal operation and collects user input to set alarm threshold and display range min/max values. During the Setup mode, the display's average value and label are blanked.

The joystick or PyBadge D-Pad is used to select the parameter to change and to increase or decrease the parameter value. The HOLD button acts as the parameter select button. Pressing the SET button at any time during the Setup mode will exit back to the primary process loop.

The first task is to temporarily display a status message that indicates the camera is in the Setup mode. The display's average value and label are blanked and the measured maximum and minimum values are replaced with the current maximum and minimum display range values (MAX_RANGE_F and MIN_RANGE_F).

After waiting a bit for the status message to be read and prior to watching for button and joystick changes, the index pointer (param_index) is reset to point to the alarm threshold parameter.

def setup_mode():
    """Change alarm threshold and minimum/maximum range values"""
    status_label.color = WHITE
    status_label.text = "-SET-"

    ave_label.color = BLACK  # Turn off average label and value display
    ave_value.color = BLACK

    max_value.text = str(MAX_RANGE_F)  # Display maximum range value
    min_value.text = str(MIN_RANGE_F)  # Display minimum range value

    time.sleep(0.8)  # Show SET status text before setting parameters
    status_label.text = ""  # Clear status text

    param_index = 0  # Reset index of parameter to set

The following is the meat of the setup process. As long as the HOLD (select) or the SET (setup mode exit) buttons have not been pressed, the code loops. During the loop, the joystick is watched or alternately, the UP and DOWN buttons. If the joystick is moved down, the parameter index is incremented, pointing to the next parameter. If moved up, the index will point to the previous parameter. The parameter label text flashes black and white, indicating which parameter is ready to be changed.

In the image_group list (that is defined later in the display portion of the code just before the primary process loop), the three parameter text labels for alarm, maximum, and minimum are sequentially positioned in the list:

  • Alarm text label       --> image_group[226]
  • Maximum text label --> image_group[227]
  • Minimum text label  --> image_group[228]    

Using an indexed position in image_group for the parameters makes it simpler to sequentially step from one parameter to the next.

setup_state = "SETUP"  # Set initial state
    while setup_state == "SETUP":
        # Select parameter to set
        setup_state = "SELECT_PARAM"  # Parameter selection state
        while setup_state == "SELECT_PARAM":
            param_index = max(0, min(2, param_index))
            status_label.text = SETUP_COLORS[param_index][0]
            image_group[param_index + 226].color = BLACK
            status_label.color = BLACK
            time.sleep(0.25)
            image_group[param_index + 226].color = SETUP_COLORS[param_index][1]
            status_label.color = WHITE
            time.sleep(0.25)

            param_index -= get_joystick()

            _buttons = panel.events.get()
            if _buttons and _buttons.pressed:
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_UP:  # HOLD button pressed
                    param_index = param_index - 1
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_DOWN:  # SET button pressed
                    param_index = param_index + 1
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_HOLD:  # HOLD button pressed
                    play_tone(1319, 0.030)  # Musical note E6
                    setup_state = "ADJUST_VALUE"  # Next state
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_SET:  # SET button pressed
                    play_tone(1319, 0.030)  # Musical note E6
                    setup_state = "EXIT"  # Next state

After the HOLD button is pressed, the selected parameter represented by the value of param_index can be changed.

The selected parameter value is incrementally changed by the joystick's up and down movements or pressed UP or DOWN buttons. The new value is checked against and limited to the sensor's factory min/max limits (MIN_SENSOR_F, MAX_SENSOR_F).

In the image_group list the three parameter value labels for alarm, maximum, and minimum are sequentially positioned in the list:

  • Alarm value label       --> image_group[230]
  • Maximum value label --> image_group[231]
  • Minimum value label  --> image_group[232]  

The value label for the selected parameter is changed and displayed.

Meanwhile, a flashing status message indicates which type of parameter is being changed, either the alarm or one of the range values.

When the desired value is reached and the HOLD (select) button is pressed, the Setup process continues back to the parameter select mode. If SET is pressed instead of HOLD, the Setup process prepares to exit back to the primary process loop.

# Adjust parameter value
        param_value = int(image_group[param_index + 230].text)

        while setup_state == "ADJUST_VALUE":
            param_value = max(32, min(157, param_value))
            image_group[param_index + 230].text = str(param_value)
            image_group[param_index + 230].color = BLACK
            status_label.color = BLACK
            time.sleep(0.05)
            image_group[param_index + 230].color = SETUP_COLORS[param_index][1]
            status_label.color = WHITE
            time.sleep(0.2)

            param_value += get_joystick()

            _buttons = panel.events.get()
            if _buttons and _buttons.pressed:
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_UP:  # HOLD button pressed
                    param_value = param_value + 1
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_DOWN:  # SET button pressed
                    param_value = param_value - 1
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_HOLD:  # HOLD button pressed
                    play_tone(1319, 0.030)  # Musical note E6
                    setup_state = "SETUP"  # Next state
                if _buttons.key_number == BUTTON_SET:  # SET button pressed
                    play_tone(1319, 0.030)  # Musical note E6
                    setup_state = "EXIT"  # Next state

Before exiting, a resumption status message is displayed and the display of the average label and value are restored.

Finally, the text strings that may have changed during the Setup process are converted to integer numeric values and returned to the primary process loop.

# Exit setup process
    status_label.text = "RESUME"
    time.sleep(0.5)
    status_label.text = ""

    # Display average label and value
    ave_label.color = YELLOW
    ave_value.color = YELLOW
    return int(alarm_value.text), int(max_value.text), int(min_value.text)

get_joystick() Helper

The get_joystick() reads the joystick if HAS_JOYSTICK is True. Joystick movements beyond set thresholds are represented as button depressions. For example, a value for panel.joystick[1] of less than 20000 means that the joystick was moved upwards; the helper returns the value of +1. A value greater than 44000 indicates downward movement and returns the value of -1.

If the joystick argument is False, the helper returns the increment value of 0 is returned to the calling module.

def get_joystick():
    """Read the joystick and interpret as up/down buttons (PyGamer)"""
    if HAS_JOYSTICK:
        if joystick_y.value < 20000:
            # Up
            return 1
        if joystick_y.value > 44000:
            # Down
            return -1
    return 0

After the helpers are defined, we move on to specifying the text and graphic features of the display.

This guide was first published on Jun 09, 2021. It was last updated on Nov 04, 2022.

This page (Helpers) was last updated on May 31, 2021.

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