FlowArm PLTW 4 Guide
C O N T E N T S Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 1 Overview.......................................................................4 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................5 USER INTERFACE............................................................................................6 CONNECTING..................................................................................................7 CONNECTING VIA USB (FOR SSC-32U, RB-LYN-850)..........
C CHAPTER 3 O N T E N T S 3 PS2 Control................................................................28 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................29 CONTROLLER MAPPINGS...........................................................................................
1 Overview THE AL5 ARM PROJECT
OVERVIEW Introduction This guide explains how to use the FlowBotics Studio AL5 Arm project. Most of the information in this guide will also apply to the FlowArm PLTW software (RB-Dsp-11). If you have not already done so you'll need to read the FlowBotics Studio user guide and be familiar with how to launch the AL5 Arm project from the FlowBotics Studio Project Browser. The FlowBotics Studio user guide is available from the Help button in FlowBotics Studio.
CHAPTER 1 User Interface When you open the AL5 Arm project you'll see the interface is essentially broken into two main areas, the Robot Simulator and the Control Panel. The Simulator is used to show you how the robot is currently positioned. It also allows you to change the position of the robot. The Control Panel contains elements for connecting to the robot, changing it and for sending and receiving data.
OVERVIEW Connecting Before we go any further we'll talk about how you connect your robot to the PC so that it can communicate with FlowBotics studio projects, such as the AL5 software / FlowArm PLTW. Connecting Via USB (for SSC-32U, RB-Lyn-850) The simplest way to connect is directly using an RS232 to USB cable. Here are the steps you need to follow in order to set this up.
CHAPTER 1 Your robot is now connected and ready to be controlled and programmed by FlowBotics Studio Connecting Via Serial Cable (for discontinued SSC-32, RB-Lyn-100) The simplest way to connect is directly using an RS232 to USB cable. Here are the steps you need to follow in order to set this up.
OVERVIEW Connecting Via Bluetooth (for SSC-32U + Bluetooth, RB-Lyn-851) If you want to be cable free then you can set up a Bluetooth connection. For this your PC will need to have Bluetooth either built in or via a USB adapter. You'll also need an RS232 to Bluetooth connector to plug into the SSC-32 such as the XBee board available from Robotshop. Stage 1 – Bluetooth Pairing If you already have your bluetooth adapter paired with your PC you can skip to stage 2.
CHAPTER 1 STEP 5 Under Hardware And Sound click Add A Device. Windows will search for your Bluetooth device. STEP 6 Once Windows finds your device click on it then click NextYou will be presented with a number of Pairing options. STEP 7 For the XBee we have a pairing code to enter (1234) so we choose option and click Next. STEP 8 Enter the code and click Add Device. STEP 9 Windows will finish the process by adding your device to the system.
OVERVIEW Stage 2 – Connect To The Software With your Bluetooth device successfully paired you can now move on and connect to the software. STEP 1 Start the FlowArm PLTW 4 software STEP 2 In the project user interface click the Bluetooth button so that it is illuminated. This will make sure that the software uses the correct baud rate and adjusts communications for the lower bandwidth.
CHAPTER 1 Simulator The Simulator shows a side elevation representation of the robot arm on the left-hand side and a top elevation of the arm (view from above) on the right-hand side. You can directly manipulate these representations in order to position the arm using the mouse. There are also fine adjustment controls and numerical representations of the position that you can edit for ultimate precision. Side Elevation Controls The side elevation gives you the most control over arm position.
OVERVIEW By holding the SHIFT key whilst right-clicking and dragging you can rotate the wrist joint (if available on your robot arm) Gripper Finally, by holding the CTRL key whilst right-clicking and dragging you can open and close the gripper Finer Control Fine adjustments to the position of the arm can be made using the buttons at the end of each axis.
CHAPTER 1 Top Elevation Controls The top elevation allows you to control the base rotation only. Click on the top elevation and drag to rotate the arm. Finer Control Fine adjustments to the base rotation can be made using the buttons to the right of the top elevation. As with the side elevation these buttons will auto-repeat if held down. The numerical display shows the base angle in degrees. Once again, for high precision control you can click on these and change them.
OVERVIEW Control Panel The Control Panel has several functions. First it provides some essential configuration controls for things like COM port connection and calibration. Second it contains additional controls for manipulating your robot. These compliment the ones we've already talked about relating to direct interaction with the simulator. Finally it houses the sequencer. This is the biggest element in the panel and as such we deal with it in its very own chapter.
CHAPTER 1 Emergency Stop On very rare occasions you may need to stop your robot in its tracks. For this purpose we've added an emergency stop button. Click here and the software will immediately stop all servos and kill all communications. Arm Type The AL5 comes in a number of flavours each with their own dimensions and operating limits. You can select the arm that applies to you from this list. Calibration Small differences in robot orientation are inevitable.
OVERVIEW Gripper Control To define the gripper position use the gripper control. Click on the control and drag to open and close the grippers. For fine control there are open and close buttons. You can click and hold these to continuously open or close the gripper. The gripper position is at 1.0 when fully open and zero when closed. You can see this in the numeric display. This can also be edited for ultra precision. Wrist Control The wrist control is next to the gripper control.
CHAPTER 1 Input LEDs There are four input LEDs that indicate the state of the 4 digital inputs on the SSC-32 board. These are labelled A,B,C and D just like they are on the SSC-32.
2 Sequencer ORCHESTRATING MOVEMENT
CHAPTER 2 Sequences The sequencer allows you to make your robot move over time by transitioning from one position to another. Each transition we call a frame and a sequence of frames we call a sequence. You can create as many sequences as you like. You can play sequences back manually or using the inputs mentioned in the Control Panel section, Input LEDs sub-section. This section describes the sequence management functions of the Sequencer.
SEQUENCER Remove Sequence Click the remove sequence button to delete the currently selected sequence from the list. This action is irreversible so you will be asked for confirmation. Duplicate Sequence If you want to make a new sequence based on an existing one then you can duplicate it. Saving Sequences IMPORTANT: If you want to keep any sequences you create then you must export them otherwise they will be lost when you return to the project browser. To do this click the export button.
CHAPTER 2 Frames We now know how to manage sequences now lets see how you build one. As we said earlier a sequence is made up of frames. A frame represents a transition between robot states over time. In addition to frames, you can also add other sequences to a sequence. This allows quite complex series of movements to be built up very quickly and easily. Adding and Deleting and Naming To add a frame click the Add button. A new frame will be added at the end of the sequence.
SEQUENCER Moving and Resizing To move a frame on the timeline, simply click on it and drag it to the time you want it to start. The start time will be displayed as you drag. How frames move relative to each other is determined by whether the timeline is locked (see previous section). To resize a frame grab the right-hand edge and drag it. When moving or resizing the mouse snaps to the nearest unit on the timeline. If you hold SHIFT while moving or resizing no snap will be applied.
CHAPTER 2 The record button will light up to show that auto record is on. To switch auto record off, double-click on the record button again. Copy and Paste Sometimes you might want to copy the robot state from one frame to another. To do this we have copy and paste. To copy the data from a frame, select it then click the Copy button. To duplicate the data on another frame, select the target frame and click the Paste button. Pause Before Frame You can insert a pause before a frame commences.
SEQUENCER Reverse Frames It's useful to be able to reverse the order of frames in a sequence. To do this click the Operations button and choose Reverse Frames. Sequence Playback Once you have some frames in a sequence you can try playing it. Click the Play button to start the sequencer playing the current sequence. The play button lights up in green when the sequencer is playing. To stop playing click the Play button again or click the Stop button.
CHAPTER 2 By default a sequence does not have a input associated with it. When you click on that box, you will be presented with a list of possible inputs: You can choose one of the 12 function keys from your keyboard (top row) or one of the extra inputs on the SSC-32U (E, F, G, H). A sequence can only have one input associated with it. Similarly, an input can only be associated with one sequence at a time.
SEQUENCER Decision Frame At the end of every sequence there is a permanent frame called the decision frame (it is orange for easy identification): Click on the top part (orange) to change the last action of the sequence.
3 PS2 Control USING THE PS2 CONTROLLER
PS2 CONTROL Introduction The project has been pre-configured to work with the wireless Lynxmotion PS2 controller. To use the controller simply plug in the wireless adapter. The project should detect the adapter within a matter of seconds and the PS2 light will illuminate on the project user interface. IMPORTANT – Use in Analog Mode The Lynxmotion PS2 controller must be switched into analog mode in order for it to work correctly with the project.
