Revision as of 14:22, 17 October 2016

Note: Most of the information of this website is obtained from: http://learn.trossenrobotics.com/projects/182-arbotix-getting-started-guide-arduino-ide-1-6-x-setup.html Please refer to the previuos link if you need more information.

Configuring the environment

Setting up the Arduino Software

• Download the Arduino IDE 1.6.x according to your operating system from: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software .
• Install the Arduino IDE
• If you have chosen to download the installer, run the installer and install the software in a path of your convenience.
• If you have chosen to download the sources (Linux or zip on Windows), uncompress the software in a path of your convenience
• Open/run Arduino IDE, so it will create all the folders needed
• Close Arduino IDE

Installing Tools and Libraries

• Download the robot libraries from: here .
• Uncompress the libraries to a path of your convenience. In this file you will find two folders: hardware and libraries
• Copy both folders to the <ARDUINO_MAIN_DIRECTORY>. In some Windows you will find this folder in My Documents\Arduino\ , while in others you will find it in Documents\Arduino\ . In Linux you will find this folder in ~/Arduino/.
  Important: If you already have a libraries folder inside your <ARDUINO_MAIN_DIRECTORY>, move the content of the libraries folder downloaded inside the libraries folder of <ARDUINO_MAIN_DIRECTORY>.

Check installation

• Open/run Arduino IDE
• Open a Robot Test:

 
File -> Examples -->ArbotiX --> Tests --> ReactorTest

• Select the Arbotix board

Tools -> Board -> ArbotiX Std

• Compile the program

Program-> Verify/Compile

If there is no errors, you are ready for the next step. If you found some errors, please review the previous steps.

• Close Arduino IDE

Installing FTDI drivers

If you are using Linux or Mac, skip this step. If you are using Windows, power up the robot and connect it to your computer. Windows should ask you to install some FTDI drivers to be able to connect to the robot.

Hello World example

We have created a helloWorld example to test the communication with the robot. Please download it from here in your prefered destination. Untar the file:

tar -xvzf helloWorld.tgz

Compiling the code

File --> Open --> <HELLOWORLD_EXAMPLE>

Tools -> Board -> ArbotiX Std

Program-> Verify/Compile

Downloading the code to the robot

Once compiled, select the correct por to download the binaries: In Linux, typically:

tools -> Port -> /dev/ttyUSBX

In Windows, typically:

tools -> Port -> COMX

where X depends on your system and the number of peripherals on it

Upload your code to the board:

Program -> Upload

The IDE will notify that it is uploading and after some seconds it will say uploaded .

Playing with HelloWorld

This example allows you to move different joints of the robot.

Once the code have been loaded, you can open the serial port:

Tools --> Serial Monitor

In some seconds you should see the board communicating the following menu:

################################
Serial Communication Established
################################
################################
Please enter option 1-6
0) Relax Servos
1) Hold Servos
2) Get Joints Pos
3) Gripper Close
4) Gripper Open
5) TestAllJoints
6) MoveSpecificJoint
################################

Lets explain the different options

• Option 0 unpowers the servomotors of the robot.
• Option 1 powers the servomotors of the robot.
• Option 2 prints the position of every generalized coordinate (Base, Shoulder, Elbow, Wrist and Wrist rotation).
• Option 3 closes the gripper.
• Option 4 opens the gripper.
• Option 5 provides a test movement for the complete robot.
• Option 6 allows to move specific joints. In this case, once the option is selected, the following menu will appear:

Base: 0
Shoulder: 1
Elbow: 2
Wrist: 3
Wrist Rot: 4

Joint to move?: 

The user must choose one of the 5 options, which correspond to different joints.

For every joint, once selected, the program will ask for a position to move, given the limits of the joint, for example:

Joint selected: 1
Shoulder: [-0.33, 2.97]
Position to move?: 

Once the position is provided through the serial port it will return all the information inserted, for example:

Moving Joint: 1 to position: 1.57

and it will move to the specified position.

Practice 1 Template (P1)

For the implementation of Practice 1 of the "Control and Robotics in Medicine" subject of the "Master on Bioengineering" of the UPM, we have created a students template. You can download the template from here

Structure

The template has 4 different files:

• poses.h : A file where different generalized coordinates can be stored.
• servos.h : A library to manage the servomotors independently.
• robot.h : A library to manage the different joints of the robot.
• P1-Template.h : The place where the practice should be developped.

Libraries

This Section provides important information for the resolution of Practice1. It is based on the explanation of different methods to control the robot, but it does not explain the complete set of methods. To get and exahustive description of all methods the servos.h and robot.h files must be studied.

In principle, all interaction with the robot will be made by means of the robot.h library. Main methors are as follows:

• void ROBOT_GripperOpen(void) : It opens the gripper, so it can release an object if already grasped.
• void ROBOT_GripperClose(void) : It close the gripper, so it can grasp an object if correctly located.
• void ROBOT_SetSingleTrajectory ( double *f_pos, uint16_t un_time, uint8_t un_trajectory_type ) : It performs a trajectory form one point (Q(t₀)) to another point (Q(t_f)). Q(t₀) and Q(t_f) are defined as generalized coordinates Q={q₁,q₂,q₃,q₄,q₅}. Moreover, Q(t₀) is defined as the coordinates at which the robot is located once the instruction is set.
  • double *f_pos : Q(t_f) is coded as double * , for example:

    double m_fCoordTest[]       = {0,M_PI/2,-M_PI/2,0,0};
    

  • uint16_t un_time , represents the time that it takes to travel from (Q(t₀)) to Q(t_f),that is: t_f - t₀ in milliseconds.
  • uint8_t un_trajectory_type , represents the type of trajectory to perform: Linear (LINEAR = 0) or Cubic (CUBIC1 = 0)
    
    Therefore, if we want to move the robot for the actual position to position m_fCoordTest taking 2 seconds with a linear function, we need to execute:

    ROBOT_SetSingleTrajectory (m_fCoordTest, 2000, LINEAR);
    

    I we want to move the robot to the same coordinates but in 10 secons with a cubic function, we need to execute:

    ROBOT_SetSingleTrajectory (m_fCoordTest, 10000, CUBIC1);
    

  • void ROBOT_SetDoubleTrajectory ( double *un_pos1, double *un_pos2, uint16_t un_time1, uint16_t un_time2, uint8_t un_trajectory_type ) : It performs a trajectory form one point (Q(t₀)) to another point (Q(t_f)) passing by a point (Q(t_v)). Q(t₀), Q(t_f) and Q(t_v) are defined as generalized coordinates Q={q₁,q₂,q₃,q₄,q₅}. Moreover, Q(t₀) is defined as the coordinates at which the robot is located once the instruction is set.
    • double *f_pos1 : Q(t_v) is coded as double * , for example:

      double m_fCoordTest[]       = {0,M_PI/2,-M_PI/2,0,0};
      

    • double *f_pos2 : Q(t_v) is coded as double * .
    • uint16_t un_time1 , represents the time that it takes to travel from (Q(t₀)) to Q(t_v),that is: t_v - t₀ in milliseconds.
    • uint16_t un_time2 , represents the time that it takes to travel from (Q(t_v)) to Q(t_f),that is: t_f - t_v in milliseconds.
    • uint8_t un_trajectory_type , represents the type of trajectory to perform. Only cubic trajectories are allowed (CUBIC2 = 2)
      
      Therefore, if we want to move the robot for the actual position to position m_fCoordTest taking 5 seconds passing by m_fCoordVia with 2 seconds from the start, we need to execute:

      ROBOT_SetDoubleTrajectory (m_fCoordVia, m_fCoordTest, 2000, 3000, CUBIC2);
      

    Implementation

    P1-Template.ino follows the same structure as the helloWorld.ino example. However, a new option has been included in the menu (Opcion A). This option calls the P1Solution method. If you open P1-Template.ino and go to the end of the file, you will see the following code:

    void P1Solution ( void )
    {
      /* START CODE TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE STUDENTS */
    
      /* END CODE TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE STUDENTS */
    }
    
    

    It is between those comments where you must implement all functions required to achive the task. Remember you may need some delay instructions, defined as void delay (uint16_t millisec) ,

    to prevent some instructions to execute before you need them.