Frame 3
down legs move back,
front legs move forward
In the screenshots of the Maestro Control Center, you can see that the servos are always either at their minimum or
maximum values, which you should have configured to be safe values that do not cause the servo to strain. Your
numbers might be slightly different from the ones shown here. If you have assembled the servos in a different
configuration or connected them to different ports, you will, of course, have different very settings for each frame.
On the Sequence tab, you should now have four frames saved. Select “Play in a loop” and play the sequence to
see your hexapod walk. Rename your sequence to “forward” before continuing.
Walking forward autonomously
Click the button “Copy Sequence to Script” to convert your sequence into a script that can be saved on the
Maestro. If you select the “Run script on startup” option on the Script tab and apply settings, your hexapod will
automatically start to walk. You can now disconnect it from USB and allow it to walk on its own.
Reconnect USB and click “Stop Script” or disable the “Run script on startup” option to get it to stop walking.
Backwards and turning gaits
On the status tab, start again with Frame 0 but go through the sequence of motions in reverse to get backwards
walking: Frame 0, Frame 3, Frame 2, then Frame 1. Save this sequence under the name “backwards”, and test that
it moves your hexapod backwards.
Turning is different. To create turning sequences, you will need to move all front and back legs forward or
backward together, instead of moving the two sides in opposite directions. Try it out, and save two more
sequences: “right” and “left”, verifying that they turn the hexapod right and left.
You are now ready to program your hexapod to avoid obstacles.
Sample Project: Simple Hexapod Walker
© 2001–2010 Pololu Corporation
4. Sequencing the Hexapod Gait
Page 17 of 21
