Activ
Media Robotics
research community for
Activ
Media robots, including Ayllu from Brandeis University, Pyro
from Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore Colleges, and Player from the University of Southern
California.
Available applications software include the
Activ
Media Robotics Basic Suite and Basic
Suite Pro with state-of-the-art autonomous and guarded operation of the robot and
accessories for surveillance, delivery, and a variety of other remote-agent applications.
Every
Activ
Media robot also comes with a plethora of expansion options, too, including
built-in hardware support for sonar and bump sensors and lift/gripper effectors, as well as
serial-port and server software support for a number of sensors, effectors, and control
accessories, like an onboard PC system, 5-DOF arm, robotic pan-tilt cameras, and much,
much more.
P
IONEER
F
AMILY OF
M
ICROCONTROLLERS AND
O
PERATING
S
YSTEM
S
OFTWARE
The original Pioneer 1 mobile robot server had a microcontroller based on the Motorola
68HC11 microprocessor and powered by Pioneer Server Operating System (PSOS)
software. The first generation of Pioneer 2 and PeopleBot robots used a Siemens C166-
based microcontroller and Pioneer 2 Operating System (P2OS) software. Now, all new
Activ
Media robots, including Pioneer 2, PeopleBot, AmigoBot, and PowerBot, use a
multifunctional Hitachi H8S-based microcontroller and new
Activ
Media Robotics
Operating System (AROS) software.
Plus
platforms sport an advanced
motor-power board for high-power motor drives and systems power.
Although differing in some interfacing features, processing power, support for various
sensors, and I/O, all
Activ
Media Robotics’ server-operating system software—PSOS, P2OS,
and now AROS—are upwardly compatible. Accordingly, client software written to
operate a six-year old Pioneer AT will work with your brand new Performance PeopleBot.
We’ve taken great care to have all client commands for control of that original Pioneer 1
work identically in our latest robots. Client-server communications protocols over a serial
communication link remain identical, too. See
Chapter 6, ActivMedia Robotics
Operating System,
for details.
Your H8S-based
Activ
Media
robot has a variety of expansion power and I/O ports for
attachment and close integration of a client PC, sensors, and a variety of accessories—
all accessible through a common application interface to the robot server software,
AROS. Features include:
18 MHz Hitachi H8S/2357 with 32K RAM and 128K FLASH
Optional 512K FLASH or SRAM expansion
3 RS-232 serial ports (4 connectors) configurable from 9.6 to 115.2 kbaud
4 Sonar arrays of 8 sonar each
2 8-bit bumpers/digital input connectors
1 P2 Gripper/User I/O connector with 8-bits digital I/O and 1 analog input
1 Expansion/bus connector containing
5 Analog input
2 Analog output
8-bit I/O bus with r/w and 4 chip-selects
2-axes, 2-button joystick port
User Control Panel
Controller HOST serial connector
Main power and bi-color LED battery level indicators
AUX and RADIO power switches with related LED indicators
RESET and MOTORS pushbutton controls
Piezo buzzer
2
AmigoBot has an H8S-based microcontroller, but uses the AmigoBot Operating System tailored for its
electronics.
5