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AmigoBot Users Guide
AmigoBot Hardware
AmigoBot is intended for use indoors, including homes, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, offices,
and research labs. The small, lightweight, and highly maneuverable AmigoBot has two solid 4-
inch rubber tires, each driven by a reversible DC motor. Drive power is differentially pulse-width-
modulated for fine and independent control of translational (forward and reverse) and
rotational (clockwise and counterclockwise) motion. AmigoBot's drive system includes a passive
rear caster for balance, and, unlike many other robots, it can turn in place so it doesn't get stuck
in corners.
Each drive motor includes a high-resolution encoder that is used by AmigoBot's microcontroller
to determine the robot's immediate translational and rotational speeds. Encoder readings also
help determine how far the robot is traveling and the direction in which it is heading.
Figure 2: AmigoBot's components and controls
The standard AmigoBot comes with eight sonar—the six perforated gold discs around the front
and the two in the rear. AmigoBot's micro-controller uses sonar like a bat to not only sense
objects forward, side, and aft, but also to determine how far away they are ("range finding").
AmigoBot Operating System Software
The high-performance, I/O-rich 20-MHz Hitachi H8 microprocessor is the brain of the AmigoBot
microcontroller. It also comes with FLASH read-only memory upon which we have permanently
stored the robot's operating system software. AmigOS, as we call it, manages all the low-level
systems and electronics of the mobile robot, including running the sonar and reading the wheel
encoders, adjusting the motor speeds for turns and when going up and down ramps and over
bumps, playing pre-recorded sounds, and so on.
Like many operating systems, AmigOS is
invisible to most users, doing its job behind the scenes. However, it is an "open" technology: its
interface is freely available for command and control by your own software.
AmigOS also comes with self-contained programs that operate the robot autonomously, without
the need for other computers or intelligent devices. These programs exercise the onboard
motors and sonar and have the robot intelligently wander about on its own, navigating around
obstacles while performing a simple routine of motions and sounds (see "Self-Test Mode").
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