Integrating Raspberry Pi Sensor Data - via MindConnect IoT Extension¶

This guide introduces you to the underlying concept of sensor data integration from Raspberry Pi into MindConnect IoT Extension and illustrates by using of Data Explorer the visualization of the measurements. Tinkerforge sensors will be connected to a Raspberry Pi. The measured values from the sensors are transmitted to MindConnect IoT Extension for further data collection and analytic activities. You can also extend this integration to create much more aspects and assets in MindSphere, synchronize data in real time and also visualize and analyze the measurements via Data Explorer.

Prerequisites¶

• A Raspberry Pi 3 Model B with SD card.

• All the following Tinkerforge products:

  • Master Brick 2.1
  • Barometer Bricklet 1.0
  • Temperature Bricklet 1.0
  • Motion Detector Bricklet 1.0

• A MindSphere Account.

• The MindConnect IoT Extension Service must be activated to use the MindConnect IoT Extension. For activation contact your assigned Account Executive or Customer Success Manager or the support.

• The following roles must be assigned to your user

  • mdsp:core:TenantAdmin, assigned in Settings.
  • mdsp:core:mcie.user, assigned in Settings.
  • Devicemanagement User, assigned in MindConnect IoT Extension.

Preparing the Raspberry Pi¶

This section describes how to configure the Raspberry Pi and check the main parameter and functionalities.

Installing Raspbian and Configuring the Raspberry Pi¶

In this step there are some general preparations, which have to be executed, if you are using the Raspberry Pi for the first time. When it was already done before, you can skip these steps and continue with checking the Java Version.

1. Prepare the Raspberry Pi: connect monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi adapter to the device. Do not connect the Raspberry Pi to the power source yet.
2. Install Raspbian with NOOBS (New Out Of the Box Software). For detailed information, refer to the Getting Started and follow the installation instructions.
   After the installation the Raspberry Pi will boot up into a graphical desktop.
3. Complete the setup by selecting the localization parameters (country, language and timezone), creating a new password and establishing the network connection.
4. Check for software updates, install them and reboot the Raspberry Pi.

5. Enable SPI and SSH driver via the Interfacing Options:
   - Open the terminal and execute: sudo raspi-config
   - Use the arrow keys to navigate to Interfacing Options and press Enter:
   
   - Go to SPI, press Enter and click Yes when asked if you would like to enable the interface. Repeat this for SSH.
   - Reboot the Raspberry Pi.

6. Optional: Edit the localization settings after the installation via: sudo raspi-config
   Select Localisation Options, change the settings and click Finish. Then reboot the Raspberry Pi.
   Alternatively, use Raspberry Pi menu starter: Preferences / Raspberry Pi Configuration / Localisation / Set Locale / OK.

Checking the Java Version¶

1. Open the terminal and execute:

   java -version
   

2. Verify that at least Java SE Version 7 is installed on the Raspberry Pi.

   

Determining the Raspberry Pi's Serial Number¶

1. Execute:

   cat /proc/cpuinfo
   

2. Note the serial number (here: 00000000fbdf4131).

   

Connecting the Raspberry Pi to MindConnect IoT Extension¶

Installing the Cumulocity Agent¶

For connecting to MindConnect IoT Extension, the Cumulocity agent must be installed on the Raspberry Pi.

1. Open the terminal on the Raspberry Pi and download the agent by executing:

   wget http://resources.cumulocity.com/examples/cumulocity-rpi-agent-latest.deb
   

   

2. Install the downloaded agent by executing:

   sudo dpkg -i cumulocity-rpi-agent-latest.deb
   

   

Registering the Raspberry Pi in MindConnect IoT Extension¶

1. Open MindConnect IoT Extension (https://{tenant}.mciotextension.eu1.mindsphere.io) and log in with your credentials.
   If you have any problems with the login, contact the tenant admin for providing you with the credentials.

   

2. Open Devices > Registration and click Register device.

   

3. Select General device registration.

   

4. Enter the serial number of the Raspberry Pi in the field Device ID of the Device Info tab and click Next.

   

   It is not required to add your Raspberry Pi to an existing device group. This is a comfort function for structuring the device overview in MindConnect IoT Extension.

5. The device is successfully registered with the status Pending acceptance. Click Complete.

   

Connecting the Agent to MindConnect IoT Extension¶

The Raspberry Pi is now registered in MindConnect IoT Extension, but not connected. The status Waiting for connection is displayed in the Device registration tab.

Add the host URL to the configuration file to connect the Raspberry Pi:

1. Open the terminal and open the "cumulocity.properties" file for editing.

   sudo nano /usr/share/cumulocity-rpi-agent/cfg/cumulocity.properties
   

2. Navigate through the file using the arrow keys and add a line with the host URL of the MindConnect IoT Extension of your tenant. Do not make any further changes.

   host = http://{tenant}.mciotextension.eu1.mindsphere.io
   

   Note

   Make sure the line is not commented out with a #.
   The host URL has to start with http://, not https://. Otherwise, the device cannot connect.
   Only add the host name in cumulocity.properties and leave the credentials (tenant, user, password) commented out.

   

3. Press <CTRL+X> to exit and enter Y to save the changes.

4. Reboot the Raspberry Pi.

   sudo reboot
   

5. Open MindConnect IoT Extension (http://{tenant}.mciotextension.eu1.mindsphere.io) and open Device > Registration. The new device status is Pending acceptance and an Accept button is displayed.

   

6. Click Accept.

7. Open Devices > All devices to verify the registration. The newly connected Raspberry Pi device is listed.

   

Applying the Workaround for Registration / Connection Issues¶

Skip this section if your Raspberry Pi is listed in All devices.

Patch the installed JDK to fix the issue of the Raspberry Pi not appearing in MindConnect IoT Extension:

1. Download the latest JDK for Java 8 from Oracle, e.g. JDK 8u200, Linux ARM 32 Hard Float ABI.

   

2. Extract the files from the downloaded JDK archive.

3. Open the Terminal on the Raspberry Pi.

4. Stop the Cumulocity service.

   sudo service cumulocity-agent stop
   

5. Delete the device.properties file.

   $ cd /usr/share/cumulocity-rpi-agent/cfg/
   $ ls
   cumulocity.properties cumulocity.properties.template device.properties logback-debug.xmllogback.xml
   sudo rm device.properties
   

6. Verify the deletion of the device.properties file:

   $ ls
   cumulocity.properties cumulocity.properties.template logback-debug.xml logback.xml
   

7. Check if the JAVA_HOME variable is set:

   JAVA_HOME-bash
   

   If the variable is set, the result is similar to:

   JAVA_HOME-bash: /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-8-oracle-arm32-vfp-hflt: Is a directory

   Otherwise, the result is:

   JAVA_HOME environment variable is not set

8. If the JAVA_HOME variable is not set, execute the following steps:

   • Open a new terminal inside pi@raspberrypi and make sure java is installed:
     

     java –version
     

   • Determine the location of the Java executable:

     whereis java
     

   • Run
     

     sudo nano ~/.profile
     

     

   • Set the JAVA_HOME variable by adding a line which specifies the location of the Java executable, such as:

     JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/jdk-8-oracle-arm32-vfp-hflt
     

     

   • Save, close the file and reboot the Raspberry Pi

     sudo reboot
     

9. Navigate to the Java security directory and check if the cacerts file is present:

   $ cd /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-8-oracle-arm32-vfp-hflt/jre/lib/security/
   $ ls
   blacklist blacklisted.certs cacerts java.policy java.security local_policy.jar trusted.librariesUS_export_policy.jar
   

10. Move the cacerts file to another directory (or rename it):

    $ sudo mv ./cacerts ./cacertsbkup
    $ ls
    blacklist blacklisted.certs cacertsbkup java.policy java.security local_policy.jar trusted.librariesUS_export_policy.jar
    

11. Copy the new cacerts file from the extracted JDK download into the security directory:

    $ cd /home/pi/Downloads/jdk1.8.0_191/jre/lib/security
    $ ls
    blacklist blacklisted.certs cacerts cacertsbkup java.policy java.security jartrusted.libraries
    $ sudo cp ./cacerts /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-8-oracle-arm32-vfp-hflt/jre/lib/security//jre/lib/security/
    $ cd /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-8-oracle-arm32-vfp-hflt/jre/lib/security/
    $ ls
    blacklist blacklisted.certs cacerts cacertsbkup java.policy java.security local_policy.jartrusted.libraries US_export_policy.jar
    

    You should see the similar results after the execution of the command.

12. Reboot the Raspberry Pi

    sudo reboot
    

13. Repeat steps for registering the Raspberry Pi.

Changing the Measurement Interval in MindConnect IoT Extension (optional)¶

After registration, the Raspberry Pi can send measurements to MindConnect IoT Extension. Updates are triggered when the data changes significantly or every 3 minutes, otherwise. The interval between measurements can be changed in MindConnect IoT Extension as follows:

1. Open "Devices > All devices" and select the Raspberry Pi device from the list.
2. Select the "Info" tab.
3. Inside the "DEVICE STATUS" panel click on the Edit button for "REQUIRED INTERVAL".

4. Enter the desired interval and save the changes.

   

Reading Data from the Connected Tinkerforge Sensors¶

Installing the Tinkerforge Software¶

1. Install the Brick Daemon software to the Raspberry Pi:

   sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0 libudev0 pm-utils
   wget http://download.tinkerforge.com/tools/brickd/linux/brickd_linux_latest_armhf.deb
   sudo dpkg –i brickd_linux_latest_armhf.deb
   

   If required, enter Y.

   Click here for screenshots of the installation process

   

   

   

2. Install the Brick Viewer software to the Raspberry Pi.

   sudo apt-get install python-qt4 python-qt4-gl python-opengl python-serial python
   wget http://download.tinkerforge.com/tools/brickv/linux/brickv_linux_latest.deb
   sudo dpkg –i brickv_linux_latest.deb
   

   If asked whether to continue, enter Y.

   Click here for screenshots of the installation process

   

   

   

Testing the Tinkerforge Installation¶

1. Connect the Tinkerforge sensors to the Raspberry Pi:

   • Connect the Master Brick to the Raspberry Pi via USB.
   • Connect the Barometer, Temperature and Motion Detector Bricklets to the ports on the side of the Master Brick.

   

2. Start the Brick Viewer:

   bash brickv
   

3. Click Connect.

   

4. Trigger some measurement changes, e.g. by moving an object over the Motion Detector Bricklet or by holding the Temperature Bricklet in your hand.

   

Checking the Sensor Connection in MindConnect IoT Extension¶

1. Open Devices > All devices and select the Raspberry Pi device.

2. Open the tab Child Devices. The Tinkerforge Bricklets are listed as child devices:

   • TFBarometerBricklet
   • TFMotionBricklet
   • TFTemperatureBricklet

   

   Troubleshooting sensor devices

   If FBarometerBricklet, TFMotionBricklet and TFTemperatureBricklet are not listed, execute the following steps:

   • Check if all Bricklets are properly connected to the Master Brick
   • Reboot the Raspberry Pi
   • Open a terminal and execute:
     bash brickv
   • Open a second terminal and execute following commands:
     sudo service cumulocity-agent stop
sudo service cumulocity-agent start
sudo service cumulocity-agent status
     

3. For detailed information about a sensor, click on the sensor in the list, e.g. TFBarometerBricklet.

   • To inspect the data received from the Barometer or Temperature Bricklet, switch to the Measurements tab.

   • To view events received from the Motion Detector, e.g. Motion detected/Motion ended, switch to the Events tab.

Visualizing Sensor Data via Data Explorer¶

This section illustrates how to forward the data from the Device Management to the Data Explorer in MindConnect IoT Extension. The Data Explorer visualizes the data from the connected devices.

Discovering the Data Explorer in MindConnect IoT Extension¶

1. Open the Cockpit of MindConnect IoT Extension.

2. Select Data explorer to visualize data points.
   By default, the Data Explorer displays the first five data points of the selected device or group. Those data points are listed in the panel Data points.

3. Add new data points to the Data Explorer, by clicking Add data point in the panel Data points.

   • Search for the device, e.g. RaspPi.
   • Select and add the data points from the Barometer and Thermometer Bricklet.

   

4. Enable data points from the Barometer and Thermometer Bricklets in the panel Data points to visualize the measurements in the chart.

   

5. To capture information from the Motion Detector Bricklet, add event tracking by clicking Add alarm / event in the panel Alarms / Events.

   • Search for the device, e.g. RaspPi.

   • Add the events from the Motion Detector Bricklet.

     

6. Explore the visualization chart with the selected data points from the Raspberry Pi.

   

Downloading a Data Report¶

The measurements of the data points can be downloaded as a report in Excel or CSV format.

1. Click More... at the top of the Data Explorer.

2. Choose Download as Excel and wait for the report to be generated.

3. Click Download.

4. Open the file in Excel.

Creating Smart Rule¶

The MindConnect IoT Extension Cockpit includes a Smart Rules builder which allows you to create rules from templates.

1. Open Configuration > Global Smart Rules to display an overview of all available Smart Rule templates.

2. Select a Smart Rule template, e.g. On missing measurements create alarm.

3. Click Add Smart Rule.
4. Fill in the required parameters:
5. Inspect the created Smart Rule.
6. Verify the execution of the Smart Rule.
   • Open the Device Management.
   • Select the device targeted by the created Smart Rule and check for new alarm notifications.

Related Links¶

• MindSphere General Information
• MindConnect Products
• MindConnect IoT Extension
• MindConnect IoT Extension Documentation
• MindConnect IoT Extension Getting Started

Any questions left?

Ask the community

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under the Development License Agreement.