Programming in C

[boutboutnico]

Hi all,
I just have a bioloid kit. What I have to know to programming in C code the cm-5?
thanks,
Nico

[siempre.aprendiendo]

You should have some working knowledge of C programming, or at least want to learn it

- C Programming for Microcontrollers is a good a easy to read introduction book

- Robosavvy section Programming the Bioloid

And information about the hardware:

AX-12+ manual. The actuators.
"http://robosavvy.com/site/docs/Bioloid/AX-12(english).pdf"

AX-S1 manual. The module with several sensors
"http://robosavvy.com/site/docs/Bioloid/AX-S1(english.pdf)"

And Bioloid user's guide

Hope it helps

[boutboutnico]

Hi,
thanks a lot, it should help me.
Nico

[tom_chang79]

I just briefly checked out Pepper's C library for the CM5.

Seems like there are some functions that initiates RS485 communication. So my question is, does the CM-5 use RS485 type of protocol for serial? If so, why can't the Dynamixel 117 be used with CM-5?

[Bullit]

The CM-5 supports AX series servos which are TTL level communication. It does not support DX or RX series servos without modification.

The CM-2+ supports TTL, RS485 and CAN( which is actually rs485 with a strict protocol)

The firmware in the ATMega128 does not distinguish between TTL and RS485. The difference is in the electronics only.

I hope this helps.

[tom_chang79]

Ahh, I see, has anyone tried adding a differential driver to the CM-5 such as a MAX481E chip? Are the DX and RX servos compatible with the Bioloid kit in terms of mechanical mounting? The AX servos seems to have more mounting lugs on the servo case.

[Bullit]

You could add a max485 chip. So I think with some fine soldering work modify a cm-5 to support both ax / dx & rx. I haven't actually done this with a cm-5 but I've used the cm-2 and cm-2+'s and I'm very familiar with the firmware and schematics of all these boards. As I'm sure you are aware the dx and rx servos are 4 pins for the differential pair.
I haven't used the ax series myself but I believe they are smaller then the rx-28's so I would imagine that the brackets in the bioloid kit are not compatible. I believe the mechanical dimensions and iges files are available at the robotis site.
The schematics for the cm-2 and cm-2+ include the max485. These too can be found at the robotis site. I believe somewhere on this site is the cm-5 schematic. I think several people have recreated it.

[tom_chang79]

Curious, are you running a Bioloid yourself, or are you running something like the Cycloid II/III?

I saw the Cycloid on tribotix's website and they look pretty mean!

[JonHylands]

Ahh, I see, has anyone tried adding a differential driver to the CM-5 such as a MAX481E chip? Are the DX and RX servos compatible with the Bioloid kit in terms of mechanical mounting? The AX servos seems to have more mounting lugs on the servo case.

The AX-12 is completely different, both in terms of how they interface and how they are mounted.

All the servo types are different in terms of mounting. The RX-28 looks like an RX-64, but it is smaller, and the mounting hardware is smaller.

- Jon

[Bullit]

My bot is more cycloid like. You can see pictures and videos of last years version of Zog around in robosavvy, robotsdreams, tribotix, youtube or just our website farrellrobotics.

Since last year the design has changed somewhat and we have moved away from a CM-2 controller to the gumstix Verdex.

[tom_chang79]

hey Bullit, your humanoid is a beaut! Are those custom brackets or are they from the cycloid kit?

I saw the youtube video of you and brother duking it out, pretty awesome...

How come I don't see much of the cycloid series of bots in the US from Robotis? Is Robotis trying to focus their marketing towards their Bioloid kits?

[Bullit]

The brackets on our bots are all custom. Robotis only sold the cycloid for one or two years. 2004 and 2005 I think. They don't sell it or the brackets anymore.

I think Robotis has both the bioloid and the expert or college markets in focus. They probably sell more bioloids at smaller margins. I've been working with Robotis parts for a couple of years now and I have to say I'm still very pleased with them.

[tom_chang79]

Back to the topic at hand, what kind of C compiler does the Bioloid community use?

With all the info I'm gathering at the knowledgebase, I'm guessing that people are using GNU C compiler (GCC) with the Atmega168 and CM-5 library?

What does the Bioloid "expert" kit use? Does it come with some sort of a cross compiler of some sort?