Wireless Control

[AlphA]

I've been wanting to control my Bioloid with a wireless game controller. This is what I cam up with, for now. I didn't think it would work well, but it's really not too bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLVa9U-bnK0
http://bigmech.com/bioloid/
http://bigmech.com/bioloid/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/bioloidserialcontrol.zip

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[limor]

Great stuff!
what is the wireless gamepad you are using and how did you link its output with robot-terminal ?

(btw: you can copy-paste the "embed" youtube text onto the forum post)

[Bullit]

Nice.

Does the controller interact with the bioloid or the PC?

We connected wireless PS2 controllers to CM-2's via SPI and was quite successful at that.
You can check out my post here which covers how to connect to a CM-5.

We did notice some interrence problems in some areas with the PS2 controllers though. In most places it was fine. Of course the firmware was all our own as the SPI interface isn't supported in the bioloid firmware.

Now we are using PS3 six axis bluetooth controllers which talk to Gumstix boards.

Keep up the good work!

[BillB]

Ingenious - what an innovative use of the Terminal editor and Joystock macros.

[Tech Mech]

Looks like a Saitek pad

http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/p2900.htm

[Banzai_One]

Did you need to do any extra programming to make it work?

I just finished building a remote controller out of an extra CM-5, an AX-1S, and a spare AX-12.

[AlphA]

I appreciate your comments.

Yes. It is a Saitek P2900. I used this one because it has the 6 on top (Street Fighter style) buttons and good joystick to virtual keyboard macro implementation.

As for programming, there is none. The game pad communicates with the PC running Robot Terminal then Robot Terminal talks to the CM-5 (in program mode).

The Saitek driver comes with a virtual keyboard and programmable macros, but any device (keyboard, mouse, joystick, pedals, Wiimote, etc.) would work if you were to run something like AutoHotkey to convert joystick buttons to keyboard macros.

[Banzai_One]

So the robot is still connected to your PC via the USB cable?

The controller I built communicates using the IR tranceiver on the AX-S1. I used a servo with the motor turned off as a mode selector and programmed it to send a different set of command codes depending on the angle of rotation that the servo was set.

[AlphA]

No. I don't believe the Bioloid can do anything with a USB cable, and the controller is completely wireless.

The robot is, however, connected to a laptop via serial. This should be remedied with the use of a ZigBee or BlueTooth hack. Actually, can anyone using either wireless solution confirm that one can communicate with the CM-5 via Robot Terminal using any of the following methods?

PC Serial > Serial2Zig > Zig-100 > ...air... > Zig-100 > CM-5
or
PC USB ZigBee Dongle > ...air... > Zig-100 > CM-5
or
PC BlueTooth > ...air... > BlueSmirf > CM-5

[Bullit]

I can confirm robot terminal with bluetooth on both ends. 57.6k baud on CM-5 end.

[siempre.aprendiendo]

I use BlueConsole, a RS232-BT adaptor, and it works very well at 57600 and at 115200 changing the CM-5 firmware

[Bullit]

Just to clarify, the CM-5 bootloader only runs at 57.6k (unless you replace it) so to update the firmware, the CM-5 side must be set to 57.6k. The PC side can be set to any baud rate you like since its virtual any way.

[siempre.aprendiendo]

Just to clarify, the CM-5 bootloader only runs at 57.6k (unless you replace it) so to update the firmware, the CM-5 side must be set to 57.6k. The PC side can be set to any baud rate you like since its virtual any way.

Yes, it 's pretty tedious, in addition I should change, every time the baud rate is changed, the BlueConsole baud rate...

[limor]

The Saitek driver comes with a virtual keyboard and programmable macros, but any device (keyboard, mouse, joystick, pedals, Wiimote, etc.) would work if you were to run something like AutoHotkey to convert joystick buttons to keyboard macros.

what a great idea!!

I've been using AutoHotkey for a long time but didn't think of applying it to convert Joystick events to keyboard events inside robot-terminal.

I came across this post on their forum, which implies that you can actually use AutoHotkey to convert Joystick events to directly to COM port communications (Bluetooth, Zigbee, serial port)

[AlphA]

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?