I would like to use my LEGO serial IR towers as my hardware programmers for my Axon uCs. How can this be done?
Note: for an explanation for why I want to do this read on, but I know some would rather know the issue up front rather than read through a long descriptive before getting to the root question.
Anyway...I run a high school engineering program of which the LEGO MINDSTORMS kit and RCX have been a major component. We have also used the MIT HandyBoard. Both of these uCs have hardware programmers (LEGO - IR communication with uC; HB - RJ11 cable communication with uC). In both cases I can isolate the process of programming and downloading to the uCs from student access to the Windows interface. IOW, I have security settings that block student access to Windows functions such as right click, saving to the C drive, changing settings, etc. The students have no physical access either (usb, floppy, dvd drives are not accessible) to protect from hacking into and changing settings. If any of you work with students you may understand my need to keep students restrained to applications only, and out of the underlying operations of the computers. With 200 students, each with their own idea of how computers should be set up, making changes at will; it does not take long until systems crash and I, as the instructor, can't teach because each workstation needs to be managed differently. Having a set system is critical. So, having a hardware programmer that restricts access is also critical.
With the LEGO serial towers necessary for the RCX, and with almost zero failures with the serial towers (the usb towers lose connection with the host pc periodically and I need to unlock the cabinets and unplug/replug the towers to reactivate them...a real pain. Thus my use of the serial towers.) if I can use the towers for both the RCX and the Axon it would make life that much cleaner than having to introduce another piece of hardware into the system; and the use of the bootloader gives access to an open usb port.
Anyway, if there are some thoughts here; or someone that could write the code for me I would be ecstatic!!