Wireless Control

[trey3670]

see thats what I am doing and it is not changing the action performed when button is pushed,what I am trying to do is replace 2 of the punch commands with a get up from front and get up from back command that way I can walk him around and when he fall get him back on his feet. the numbers of the action change in the .ini but he still does the same thing

are you planing on offering this software forsale? or are you doing this for fun? I cant tell you how much more fun this has made the bioloid for me.
with this kind of software he could go toe to toe with a robnova no problem

[Tech Mech]

Good thinking limor! I've looked through aobrien’s serial port console script, and figured out enough to make a standalone AHK exe that directly converts joystick input to Bioloid serial control commands. No more macros or robot terminal and nothing to install! No need for any Bioloid software or special JoyStick drivers either.

I’ve made it customizable and gave it some smarts. For example, if you are in the Init (standing) position and send the AttackFront command, Bioloid will first send the AttackReady command. This way, the user can throw a few punches without worrying about erratically changing poses from stand to attacking. It also prevents the user from going from AttackReady to walking, which would otherwise result in a fall. If you stop attacking for a few seconds, the Bioloid will return to Init and be ready to walk, turn, etc. It’s a lot simpler than I’m making it sound.

Another good thing about this technique is that everything is executed in Program Mode. So, it will not interfere with any program you may have saved in the Bioloid. You can switch between autonomous (play) and manual control (program) modes without changing the behavior control program.
Both, Prolific usb2serial adapter and actual serial ports worked fine. I've tested this on Windows 2k, XP and Vista.

All that is required is:
• a PC with some form of serial port (possibly BlueTooth)
• joystick/gamepad
plug-and-play is best (HID-compliant game controller). Sometimes, "fancy" gamepads that show up as "USB Human Interface Device" have trouble communicating correctly.

http://bigmech.com/bioloid/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/bioloidserialcontrol.zip

I'd like to know if this works with Zig-Bee and/or BlueTooth hack, but I have neither. Can someone give this a try?

Alpha are you using the Saitek game pad for this? It shows up on my device manager as "USB Human Interface Device" and I think this is causing my comm problems.

[evaderdjo]

Since the Bioloid sensors can detect infrared, would it be possible to control a Bioloid with a simple TV remote? I assume you would you have to write some code and download to the robot that says

If IR code#1 is received, execute motion#1,
If IR code#2 is received, execute motion#2, etc.

With a continuous loop checking for IR codes through the sensor
I make it sound easy, but how difficult would it be?

[Pev]

Hi,

Back in the early days a number of us tried basic TV and universal(programable) IR remotes to no avail. The Frequency the Bioloid sensor runs on seemed to be the issue if memory serves. Inaki did build a custom remote but I never saw the schematic or anything. If you are looking to go this route the following may be useful:

http://robosavvy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=512&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Pev

[AlphA]

see thats what I am doing and it is not changing the action performed when button is pushed,what I am trying to do is replace 2 of the punch commands with a get up from front and get up from back command that way I can walk him around and when he fall get him back on his feet. the numbers of the action change in the .ini but he still does the same thing

Can you post the contents of your ini file here so I can take a look at it? I just swapped out one of the punches for the get up motion on my Bioloid and it worked fine.

are you planing on offering this software forsale? or are you doing this for fun? I cant tell you how much more fun this has made the bioloid for me.
with this kind of software he could go toe to toe with a robnova no problem

Nope. I won't be selling it. I'd rather support the cause. I originally just threw this together for my own use. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it.

Alpha are you using the Saitek game pad for this? It shows up on my device manager as "USB Human Interface Device" and I think this is causing my comm problems.

Yes. I tried to use it on laptop which had all of the Saitek drivers and software installed, and I could not get it to work. I think it has something to do with all of the virtualisation Saitek has done with this game pad (mouse, keyboard emulation). I am currently using it on my new laptop without any issues. I just let windows recognise it as a joystick and did not install any additional drivers. You may want to try uninstalling the Saitek software and remove/uninstall the game pad via the device manager. If you don't want to do that, try tweaking some settings in the Saitek software. I didn't have much luck with the latter, though.

Since the Bioloid sensors can detect infrared, would it be possible to control a Bioloid with a simple TV remote? I assume you would you have to write some code and download to the robot that says
If IR code#1 is received, execute motion#1,
If IR code#2 is received, execute motion#2, etc.
With a continuous loop checking for IR codes through the sensor
I make it sound easy, but how difficult would it be?

Hi,
Back in the early days a number of us tried basic TV and universal(programable) IR remotes to no avail. The Frequency the Bioloid sensor runs on seemed to be the issue if memory serves. Inaki did

build a custom remote but I never saw the schematic or anything. If you are looking to go this route the following may be useful:
http://robosavvy.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=
Pev

I think it's interesting to note Robotis's wireless control solution consists of an additional CM-5 and another AX-S1. I never understood why they would assume that anyone would be willing to pay over $160 bucks for a clunky IR controller.
about $70 (CM-5)
about $35 (battery back)
about $55 (additional AX-s1)
IR isn't the best solution for controlling a moving object. That's a lot of loot for dubious functionality. You could buy a pair of Zig-100's instead of the AX-S1 (total cost over $180) and have radio control, but you would still be stuck with using a CM-5 as a controller. Using a CM-5 as a remote control is overkill to say the least. Not to mention that it would be uncomfortable and heavy. Such poor wireless control solutions seems out of place coming from a company that makes top quality servos and amazingly brilliant robotics kits. I don't understand why there isn't a better option.

A standard should exist: No robot should be released without some form of radio control. Futaba has done an excellent job in this area with their 2.4GHz playstation style controller. Lynxmotion also has what appears to be a very nice PS2 Robot Controller for their Bot Board / Basic Atom 28 equipped robots.
Even if a company wants to keep costs down by making it an upgrade option, wireless radio control should not have to be this complicated. Hopefully they will hear our cries. Until then, it will continue to be happy hacking time.

[Tech Mech]

Couldn't agree with you more Alpha . I think your post should be a sticky on top of Robotis's web site. Maybe they want us to figure out a solution, the box does say "Educational". Seems to me though they could sell a few more kits with ps2 style controller at least as a option.

[tom_chang79]

I couldn't agree more Alpha. The DSS solution that the RCs have enjoyed, for a few years now, was applied to robotics nicely by Futaba... The fact of using an IR solution on any bot is a hindrance, as experienced on the I-Sobot...

Even a wireless solution with a packet forwarding solution like the one you have, is an elegant enough solution. Would be nice if it were more mainstream like bluetooth or the DSS at 2.4GHz...

The DSS would be a good solution ultimately, but a bluetooth would make it Plen-like, being able to control it with your Cell Phone or such (even though most cell phones would make a bad controller, we all have one)..

[Bullit]

Good news on this front. I recently got to see Robotis's new Zigbee controller which they will start selling in just a month or two.

This controller is a bit samller then a PS2 controller and has just one left and one right trigger button and then the others shown here.

[BillB]

The bad news is that it does not look as if it has an analogue controller.

Does the Robotis controller have any trigger buttons - or are there just the 9 buttons on the front?

[AlphA]

Good news on this front. I recently got to see Robotis's new Zigbee controller which they will start selling in just a month or two.
This controller is a bit samller then a PS2 controller and has just one left and one right trigger button and then the others shown here.

Wow! That IS good news. Leave it to Robotis to stay one step ahead of our requests. Naturally, this raises additional questions.

How is it powered?
It appears to have a clear nub at the top. Is this an LED?
Is the ZigBee already on-board, or will it need to be installed?
Does it come with a Zig-100 to be installed in the bot, or is this purchased separately?
How much will it cost?
Where can I find specs?
Do you have any more images?
Where can I buy one?

Does the Robotis controller have any trigger buttons - or are there just the 9 buttons on the front?

Bullit mentioned "one left and one right trigger button". From the image, I gather it will have at least 10.
Up, Down, Left, Right, 1, 2, 3, 4, L-trigger, R-Trigger. I wonder if the center button can be used for control, or it is dedicated to a function (like pairing).


At the risk of looking like a super geek, I enhanced Bullit's image so I could take a better look at it. I might as well share...

[Bullit]

I appologize for the poor quality of my image. I think this is just powered by 2 AA batteries. The nub on top I think is a power LED. I don't recall for sure but I think the center button is a power button. The controller is complete with its own zigbee but I don't know if Robotis will bundle it with a zigbee module for the CM-5. I suspect anyone attending RoboGames 2008 will be able to get a look at it there as Robotis will be attending. I haven't heard anything about pricing yet either.
Stay tuned and watch their site.

[trey3670]

anymore news?

[AlphA]

Good news on this front. I recently got to see Robotis's new Zigbee controller which they will start selling in just a month or two.
This controller is a bit samller then a PS2 controller and has just one left and one right trigger button and then the others shown here.

It's been a little over a month. Any new news?

[Bullit]

We saw them used to control Bioloids at RoboGames. I didn't hear when they would be available for sale.

[srobot]

I'm getting this error when I try to run your script.

Failed Dll SetCommState,SCS_Result=0
The Script Will Now Exit.

any ideas?

Thx

hmm, I am getting the same error. I can confirm that Robot Terminal works with my robot though.

Maybe it is the layout I'm typing it in. For the COM Port should I type it like "1" or like "COM1"?

Also the COM port that works with the Robotis software should work with this software too, correct?

Thanks,
--Scotty