Installation
Change the
HasGripper
FLASH parameter to a value of 1 (at the ‘
>
’ prompt type,
‘
hasgripper 1
’ and press
Enter
). Then ‘
save
’ the parameter change both to your
robot's FLASH and again to a FLASH configuration file that you store on disk for later
retrieval and upload to your robot’s FLASH. For example, ‘
save P2withGripper
’,
creates the P2withGripper file that you may later ‘
retrieve P2withGripper
’ then
‘
save
’ to FLASH.
You need to enable your Gripper in the FLASH only once; the change persists until you
change it again with the FLASH configuration tool.
Exit the program (‘q’ at the command prompt) and then
RESET
your robot’s controller
(red button on the User Control Panel).
S
TEP
7: T
EST THE
G
RIPPER
Time to test your new Pioneer Gripper. Start your client PC, either onboard or attached
to your robot’s controller through the
SYSTEM
serial port on the User Control Panel. If you
had just performed Step 6, press
RESET
once to restart the controller.
Note that if the Gripper paddles are not closed with the Lift down, resetting the controller
automatically puts it into that storage position. This is also an initial test of whether the
Gripper is installed properly and operating normally.
Locate and start the ActivMedia Robotics Interface for Applications (ARIA)
demonstration program
demo(.exe)
. It’s already installed in
/usr/local/Aria/bin
(Linux) or accessible through
Start:Programs:ActivMedia Robotics:ARIA
(WIndows)
from your onboard PC. Otherwise, install it on your PC from the CDROM that
accompanied your robot or from a fresh distribution you may download from the
support website,
. For operation details, see your
robot’s operation manual.
Once connected with your robot server, the ARIA demo client has a Gripper control
mode option. Simply press the ‘
g
’ or ‘
G
’ (shift-g) key on the PC to enable that mode. The
ARIA demo displays the current state of your Gripper sensors, including limit switches and
breakbeam IRs. Press the keyboard arrow keys to raise and lower the Lift, and open and
close the Gripper paddles manually; the
space bar
key stops the Gripper motors.
Or press the ‘e’ or ‘E’ key to have the ARIA demo automatically exercise the Gripper
and Lift.
Press the ‘
esc
’ key to disconnect the ARIA demo and quit.
T
ROUBLESHOOTING
If you’ve never gotten the Gripper to move at all, or if you’ve just reinstalled it on the
robot but it does not move at all when tested, first make sure that your ARIA client
actually is connected with the robot’s controller. Please read the ARIA demo client text
messages as it makes the connection just after startup. It should say that it has
connected to the robot and displays the robot’s salient parameters, such as type
(“
Pioneer
”), subtype (“
P3DX
”, for example), and your robot’s name, if you set that FLASH
parameter. If not, check your serial connections and program setting.
If your ARIA
demo
client connects okay, but the Gripper doesn’t move, check and make
sure that you have properly enabled the Gripper parameter in the robot’s FLASH.
3
AROS uses a “.cfg” and ARCOS appends the “.rop” file name suffix.
8
