OWN Standard IR Communication Protocol

A custom IR communication protocol inspired by NEC, featuring parallel dual-channel transmission using a PYNQ-Z2 FPGA and dual Arduino Uno receivers.

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📋 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Hardware Setup
• Software Setup
• Running the Project
• Protocol Specification
• Modifying the PL Design
• Troubleshooting

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🔍 Overview

This project implements a custom IR communication standard across two components:

Component	Role
PYNQ-Z2 FPGA (PS + PL)	IR Transmitter — sends signals via AR0 and AR1 pins in parallel
Arduino Uno × 2	IR Receivers — decode and display received signals over Serial

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🛠 Hardware Setup

Components Required

• PYNQ-Z2 FPGA board × 1
• Arduino Uno × 2
• IR transmitter × 2 (connected to FPGA)
• IR receiver × 2 (one per Arduino)
• Jumper wires

⚠️ Important: Place a physical barrier between the two IR transmitters to prevent signal interference.

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🔌 Wiring Connections

FPGA → IR Transmitter 1

IR Transmitter 1	PYNQ-Z2 Pin
Data	AR0
VCC	VCC
GND	GND

FPGA → IR Transmitter 2

IR Transmitter 2	PYNQ-Z2 Pin
Data	AR1
VCC	VCC
GND	GND

Arduino 1 (Blue) → IR Receiver 1

IR Receiver 1	Arduino Pin
Data	Pin 11
VCC	5V
GND	GND

Arduino 2 (Green) → IR Receiver 2

IR Receiver 2	Arduino Pin
Data	Pin 11
VCC	5V
GND	GND

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📷 Hardware Photos

Click to expand wiring photos

FPGA + Transmitters:

Arduino 1 (Blue) + Receiver:

Arduino 2 (Green) + Receiver:

Full System Connections:

Transmitter Barrier (interference prevention):

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💻 Software Setup

Project Structure

Own_IR_Standard/
├── PS part/
│   └── nec_onlyFPGA.ipynb          # Jupyter notebook for PYNQ-Z2
├── PL part/                         # Vivado hardware design files
├── arduino part/
│   └── IR_TransmitterReceiver/
│       └── IR_TransmitterReceiver.ino
└── xilinx/overlays/own/
    ├── design_1_wrapper.bit         # FPGA bitstream
    └── design_1_wrapper.hwh         # Hardware handoff file

Required Libraries

• Arduino: Arduino-IRremote

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Step-by-Step Installation

1. Connect the PYNQ-Z2 Board

Connect the PYNQ-Z2 to your computer using:

• Micro-USB cable (power/programming)
• Ethernet cable (network access)

For first-time setup, configure the IP address by following:

• 📺 Video Guide
• 📄 Written Tutorial

2. Access the PYNQ-Z2 Jupyter Server

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://192.168.2.99:9090/

🔑 Default password: xilinx

3. Upload Project Files to the Server

File	Destination on Server
nec_onlyFPGA.ipynb	Your project folder
design_1_wrapper.bit	xilinx/overlays/own/
design_1_wrapper.hwh	xilinx/overlays/own/

4. Upload the Arduino Sketch

1. Open IR_TransmitterReceiver.ino in the Arduino IDE
2. Upload the sketch to both Arduino boards

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🚀 Running the Project

1. Open nec_onlyFPGA.ipynb on the PYNQ-Z2 Jupyter server
2. Modify cmd0_str and cmd1_str variables to set the messages you want to transmit
3. Run all cells in the notebook

What happens:

• The FPGA transmits IR signals simultaneously via AR0 (Transmitter 1) and AR1 (Transmitter 2)
• Each Arduino receives its respective IR signal on Pin 11
• Decoded values are printed in each Arduino's Serial Monitor at baud rate 9600

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📡 Protocol Specification

This protocol is custom-designed and inspired by the NEC IR standard, with the following differences:

Feature	NEC Standard	OWN Standard
Total bits	32 bits	10 bits
Address bits	8 bits	5 bits
Command bits	8 bits	5 bits
Parallel channels	2	2 (concurrent) ✨

🚧 Parallel own transmission (dual-channel) is currently still in progress.

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🔧 Modifying the PL Design

To modify the hardware design in Vivado:

1. Install Required Tools

• Vivado 2020.2 — Download from Xilinx Archive
• PYNQ-Z2 Board Files — Install from this repository

2. Project Folder Responsibilities

Folder	Description
PS part/	PYNQ-Z2 server-side code (Processing System)
PL part/	IP cores and hardware design (Programmable Logic)
arduino part/	Arduino code for testing and debugging

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Symptom	Possible Cause	Solution
No IR signal received	Receiver not powered	Check that the LED on the IR receiver is lit
Garbled / corrupted data	Baud rate mismatch	Ensure both ends use baud rate 9600
FPGA not responding	Board still booting	Wait 1–2 minutes after powering on
Arduino not detected	Connection issue	Check USB cables and verify the correct COM port is selected
Signal interference between channels	No barrier between transmitters	Place a physical divider between the two IR transmitters