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
