MobileRobots Inc.
Arm FLASH Parameters
Chapter 4
Your robot controller’s operating software—P2OS, AROS, or ARCOS—use a variety of robot- and
accessory-specific settings that are stored in its FLASH memory. These include important settings for
your Pioneer Arm.
We describe the Pioneer Arm-related FLASH parameters in detail here. Please consult your robot’s
Operations Manual
for more details about all the other FLASH configuration parameters and
supporting utilities.
Firmware Tools and Parameters
Your robot controller maintains six operating values for each of the six joints of your Pioneer Arm.
These include
HOME
,
CENTER
,
MIN
and
MAX
positions, default joint
SPEEDs
, and
TICKS-PER-
90DEGREES
.
HOME
, of course, is the default, resting position for each joint mentioned often in
previous chapters.
The
CENTER
position values are unique to your Pioneer Arm, and they are calibrated at the factory.
They describe the position value where a joint is half-way between its minimum and maximum
mechanical rotation. These values are not used explicitly by the arm servers, but are available to your
client software through the
ARMpac
server information packet. You may reset these
CENTER
values,
but we caution against it.
Likewise, although the Pioneer Arm’s controller accepts position values 0-255, we set limits on the
range of position values for each joint at the extremes (
MIN
and
MAX
); the servos’ behaviors beyond
these extremes are unpredictable.
The
SPEED
parameters are default joint speeds in 1-millisecond increments. Unlike the other FLASH-
based position values, joint speeds may be modified by your client software through the
SPEED
client
command #78. See the previous chapter for details.
The
TICKS-PER-90DEGREES
define the number of unique positions—ticks—the individual servo takes
for a 90-degree swing in the joint. Use this value to convert absolute joint positions into degrees.
Installing the FLASH Utilities
Your
MobileRobots platform comes with the software on CD-ROM and installed on your robot.
Thereafter, stay tuned to the
pioneer-users
newsgroup or periodically visit our support website to
obtain the latest versions and related documentation:
http://robots.MobileRobots.com
Use the version that matches your host computer’s environment and robot operating system. For
example, use ARCOSV_r.tgz for Linux or ARCOSV_r.EXE with Microsoft Windows
©
systems and SH2-
based Pioneers ("V" is the version number and "r" is the revision number; ARCOS1_3, for example).
The OS distributions are self-extracting, self-installing packages: Simply follow the on-screen
directions. For the Linux/UNIX versions, uncompress and untar them using the appropriate system
utilities. For example, with the Linux version:
% tar –zxvf ARCOS1_1.tgz
The command creates an
ARCOS/
directory in the current path and stores the software there.
With Windows, the ARCOS directory default path is
C:\Program Files\MobileRobots\ARCOS.
Configuring Pioneer Arm Operating Parameters
The
ARCOScf(.exe), AROScf(.exe),
or p2oscf(.exe) program is the tool you use to view and change
your SH2-, H8S-, or C166-based, respectively, Pioneer controller’s identity and operating parameters.
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