Nexys A7 Keyboard Demo

This project is a Vivado demo using the Nexys A7's USB HID Host port and USB UART bridge, written in Verilog. When programmed onto the board, whenever the user presses a key on a keyboard connected to the USB HID port (J5, labeled “USB HOST”), a scan code is sent to the Nexys A7-100T through a PS/2 interface. This scan code is read and transmitted to the computer via the USB-UART bridge. When the key is released, a scan code of 0xF0XX is transmitted, indicating that the key with PS/2 code “XX” has been released.

To use this demo, the Nexys A7 must be connected to a serial terminal on the computer it is connected to over the MicroUSB cable.

For example: If the user presses the space bar on a keyboard connected to the Nexys A7, the scan code “29” will be sent to the computer. When the space bar is released, “F0 29” will be printed.

Additional information on how this demo can be used can be found in appropriate READMEs, linked below.

• Nexys A7 with a MicroUSB Programming Cable
• Vivado installation compatible with the latest release of this demo (2020.1)
  • See Installing Vivado, Vitis, and Digilent Board Files for installation instructions.
• Serial Terminal application to receive messages printed by the demo
  • See Installing and Using a Terminal Emulator (Redirect) for more information.
• USB Keyboard

The following releases of this demo can be used with instructions found in the corresponding READMEs in order to run the demo.

Releases are only compatible with the version of the Xilinx tools specified in the release version number. In addition, releases are only compatible with the specified variant of the board. For example, the v2020.1-1 release for Nexys A7-100T can only be used with Vivado 2020.1 and Nexys A7-100T variant of the board.

The latest release version for this demo is highlighted in green.

Note: Releases for FPGA demos from before 2020.1 used a different git structure, and used a different release tag naming scheme.

Note for Advanced Users: All demos for the Nexys A7 are provided through the Nexys-A7 repository on Github. Further documentation on the structure of this repository can be found on this wiki's Digilent FPGA Demo Git Repositories (Redirect) page.

Instructions on the use of the latest release can be found in this dropdown:

Using the Latest Release

This page has been moved, the new location is Using a Digilent FPGA Github Demo's Releases (2020.1).

Set up the Nexys A7

Plug the microUSB programming cable into the Nexys A7's PROG/UART port and the USB Keyboard in the USB HID port (J5, labeled “USB HOST”).

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This page has been moved, the new location is Using a Digilent FPGA Github Demo's Releases (2020.1).

At this point, the demo is now running on your board. Refer to the Description and Functionality sections of this document for more information on what it does.

All materials related to the use of the Nexys A7 can be found on its Resource Center.

For a walkthrough of the process of creating a simple baremetal software project in Vivado and Vitis, see Getting Started with Vivado IP Integrator and Vitis (Redirect). Information on important parts of the GUIs, and indirect discussion of the steps required to modify, rebuild, and run this demo in hardware can also be found here.

For technical support, please visit the FPGA section of the Digilent Forum.

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