Troubleshooting

Solutions to common issues with Feelix.

The Feelix Mini-Driver board needs to be connected to the external power supply to work properly. The USB port can only be used to download/upload the Arduino code. The motor can NOT be powered through the USB port. Hardware damage may occur.

General

Motor is not behaving as expected

• Check if the power supply is connected.

• The motor draws more current than the external power supply can provide.

• The motor temperature is very hot. Wrong settings could be applied to cause this. Let the motor cool down before continuing.

• Make sure the Feelix Mini-Driver is running the latest code: If you are using your own code, please revert to the stock version to verify whether it is still functioning correctly.

Code is not compiling

• Check if all dependencies are installed

• Check if you have selected the correct board in the Arduino IDE. Feelix Mini-Driver uses the STM32F401RE.

Feelix Mini-Driver is not recognized

• Check if your computer recognizes the microcontroller when its connected via USB. In windows this can be verified by the "Device Manager."

• Make sure the port is not in use by another program (e.g. Serial monitor of the Arduino IDE).

• Try the RESET button.

• Check if STM32CubeProgrammer is still able to detect the device in BOOT mode.

• It is recommended to use the cable provided.

• Test it on a different USB port or computer if possible.

Feelix - Haptic Design Tool

The Feelix Mini-Driver does not connect with the Feelix Haptic Design Tool

• Make sure the device is in RUN mode. The pink colored LED in the Feelix logo should blink periodically

• Try to restart Feelix in case the microcontroller is recognized by the computer but not by Feelix. Otherwise follow the steps at "Feelix Mini-Driver is not recognized".

Motor is not behaving as expected

• Try to recalibrate the motor

• Make sure the right number of pole-pairs are specified (see hardware settings) If not, recalibrate the motor.

Motor cursor does not move

• Check if the magnetic encoder is still working: Upload example code from the FeelixEffect library to read the encoder value Arduino IDE > examples > Feelix MiniDriver Effects > test > sensor.

• If the sensor value is not read, the issue is probably caused by a broken sensor.

Feelix is not loading properly

• Issue occured after update? Go to 'help' > 'development tools'.

• Search for 'application' in the development tools.

• Clear all data.

• Restart Feelix.

If nothing is working..

• Delete the Feelix Mini-Driver from microcontroller settings window.

• Restart Feelix Host software.

• Reconnect to Feelix Mini-Driver.

STM32CubeProgrammer installation

Arduino uses STM32CubeProgrammer in the background to upload code via DFU. If the Arduino IDE cannot find STM32CubeProgrammer on MacOS, it is usually because the stm32_cubeprogrammer_CLI executable is not in the file path expected by the IDE. You can restore this in the terminal.

Use the following command in the terminal:

sudo ln -s /Applications/STMicroelectronics/STM32Cube/STM32CubeProgrammer/STM32CubeProgrammer.app/Contents/Resources/bin/STM32_Programmer_CLI /usr/local/bin/STM32_Programmer_CLI

You can verify if the path is restored with the following command:

STM32_Programmer_CLI --version

If you get a getopt error after uploading, you can install gnu-getopt with homebrew using the following command:

brew install gnu-getopt

If homebrew is not installed, run the following command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

ESP32 is not recognized

Usually this issue is caused by a missing driver. Download and install the CP2102 driver to resolve the issue.

Is your issue not listed here? Report it on GitHub.