fwt_software/docs/configuration.md

Configuration & Commands

Three layers control behaviour: the config.ini file (read once at startup), command-line flags, and interactive console commands typed on stdin while running.

config.ini

Parsed by the inih library (ini.c). Keys are flattened to Section.name and stored in a std::map<std::string,std::string> (main.cpp lines 35-40, 64-95).

Important: the binary reads from a hardcoded absolute path, not the file next to the binary: /home/ggs/projects/Fire_Gimbal_Control/bin/x64/Release/config.ini (main.cpp line 66). See known-issues.md.

Keys

Section	Key	Type	Used as	Notes
General	tower_name	string	Tower identity; substituted into all MQTT topics and CamEvent payloads	e.g. Rietschen, Staeffelsberg
General	image_interval	int	Seconds between captures; converted to imagerate = 1/interval	Required (parsed with stoi)
General	debug	int (0/1)	Sets motorctl_info_out; when on, prints full telemetry each tick
Network	zkms_server_ip	string	MQTT broker address the client connects to	"ZKMS" = the ground-station server
Network	mqtt_user	string	MQTT username	Plaintext
Network	mqtt_pw	string	MQTT password	Plaintext
Camera	id_Cam1..id_Cam4	string	Camera IDs; non-empty ones are added in order	GigE IP (192.168.11.101) or USB ID (DEV_1AB22C0AADED)

Camera index → output folder mapping is by position (first configured camera = index 0): 0 → RGB, 1 → ACR, 2 → NIR (Camera.cpp lines 342-347).

Two config files exist (and differ)

File	tower_name	interval	broker	cameras
config.ini (repo root)	Rietschen	5	10.11.12.13	3× GigE IPs 192.168.11.101-103
bin/x64/Release/config.ini	Staeffelsberg	3	127.0.0.1	1× USB DEV_1AB22C0AADED

The Release copy is the Staeffelsberg deployment. Neither sits at the hardcoded path the binary actually reads — see known-issues.md.

Example

[General]
tower_name = Staeffelsberg
image_interval = 3
debug = 0

[Network]
zkms_server_ip = 127.0.0.1
mqtt_user = fwt_gimbal
mqtt_pw = aeroaero

[Camera]
id_Cam1 = DEV_1AB22C0AADED

Command-line flags

Parsed by Boost.Program_options (main.cpp lines 104-153). All take a bool value (presence + value); the code treats presence of the option as "on" regardless of the value.

Flag	Short	Value	Effect
--help	-h	—	Print options and exit
--init	-i	bool	Run the endstop-finding init sequence before the main loop
--start	-s	bool	Start camera capture automatically (no start console command needed)
--demo	-d	bool	Demo/simulation mode: copy test_smoke.jxl instead of encoding real frames

Usage: ./Fire_Gimbal_Control.out --init 1 --start 1

Init sequence (--init)

When --init is set, before entering the loop the program sends to the motor controller, with delays (main.cpp lines 220-241): r → e → q → (wait 60 s) → y → ud56 ("set number of intervals per turn" = 56). This finds endstops and configures the sweep resolution.

Interactive console commands

While running, lines typed on stdin are parsed by Parser.h (Boost.Spirit Qi) into up to four tokens: command device option value. The grammar expects alphabetic tokens separated by spaces and an optional trailing number. CMD_eval then maps them to actions (main.cpp lines 244-273).

Type this	Meaning
start	Start camera acquisition + saver thread
stop	Stop camera acquisition
debug	Toggle telemetry printout (motorctl_info_out)
set camera fps <value>	Change camera acquisition frame rate (AcquisitionFrameRate)
set camera jxlq <value>	Set JPEG XL quality/distance (0 = lossless; higher = lossier)
set camera jxle <value>	Set JPEG XL effort (libjxl effort level)
set camera display <0|1>	Toggle live OpenCV preview window
set fps <value>	Set the capture interval rate imagerate (images per second logic), not camera fps
set motorctl <cmd>	Forward a raw command string to the motor controller over serial
exit	Stop the program (sets running = false)

Notes:

• set camera ... options are handled in VimbaHandler::evaluateCommand (Camera.cpp lines 241-251); only fps, jxlq, jxle, display are recognized.
• Because the grammar tokenizes on spaces with a trailing number, commands like set motorctl <cmd> rely on the <cmd> landing in the option field. Numeric-only motor commands and multi-token strings may not parse as expected — see known-issues.md.

Raw motor-controller command reference (observed)

These short strings are sent over serial (sendCommand) by the program or via set motorctl. They are interpreted by the motor controller firmware (not in this repo); listed here for reference of what the software emits:

Command	Sent when	Apparent meaning
r, e, q	init sequence	endstop/homing steps
y	init sequence	(post-home step)
ud56	init sequence	set intervals-per-turn = 56
p	ControlCode 0 capture	stop / advance to next interval
kd<heading>	ControlCode 1 capture	drive to target heading <heading>