Related Manuals for ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot
Summary of Contents for ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot
- Page 1 AmigoBot User’s Guide With Activ Media Robotics Basic Suite Software Navigator WorldLink Trainer Mapper Simulator WorldPass...
- Page 2 AmigoBot customers are solely owned and copyrighted by SRI Inter- national, Inc. The ActivMedia Robotics Basic Suite software on disk or CD and on the AmigoBot server FLASH ROM that accompany the robot and accessories and which are available for network download by...
- Page 3 AmigoBot Users Guide ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot Users Guide Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are...
- Page 4 AmigoBot Users Guide ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot Users Guide Important Safety Instructions ! Read the installation and operations instructions before using the equipment. ! Avoid using power extension cords. ! To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose the equipment to rain or moisture.
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Page 5: Table Of Contents
CHAPTER 1 ?....................1 HAT IS MIGO AmigoBot Hardware ....................... 2 AmigoBot Operating System Software.................. 3 AmigoBot Control Mode Software ..................4 System Mode and Sounds...................... 5 ....................6 MIGO ACKAGE Basic Components (all shipments) ..................6 Optional Components and Attachments................7 User-Supplied Components/System Requirements .............. - Page 6 AmigoBot Users Guide ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot Users Guide Recharge/Power/Battery ..................... 26 Reset, Motors/Test Buttons and System/User LED’s ............. 27 Sounds ........................... 28 ................29 OTORS AND OSITION NCODERS Sonar ............................29 Sonar Sensitivity ........................30 ................30 ERIAL AND CCESSORY ORTS System Serial Port ........................
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Page 7: Introduction
! AmigoBot applications online Help W h a t i s A m i g o B o t ? AmigoBot is an intelligent mobile robot: not a toy, but a powerfully smart moving machine. Intelligent because it has an onboard microcontroller with software (AmigOS) and sensors that enable the robot to sense what’s... -
Page 8: Amigobot Hardware
AmigoBot is intended for indoor use in wheelchair-accessible places, 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... -
Page 9: Amigobot Operating System Software
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... -
Page 10: Amigobot Control Mode Software
AmigoLeash or AmigoWirefree navigating to a goal that you radio modems. select with a click of the mouse. Most people prefer to operate AmigoBot from their PC because it gives them quick, easy access to the robot’s functionalities while working with... -
Page 11: System Mode And Sounds
Internet. We make several software-development environments available so that you, too, may create your own programs like Navigator for AmigoBot and other Pioneer-compatible intelligent mobile robots. Colbert, for instance, comes with Trainer in the ActivMedia Robotics Basic Suite. It is a simple, ASCII text-based interpreted language for finite state-based control of the mobile robot. -
Page 12: Amigo Bot Package
AmigOS, and many other types of system-related tasks. Some system-mode tools like AmigoSounds come with the basic robot. We provide others, such as an AmigOS download tool, at our AmigoBot support website along with new AmigOS software as it becomes available. -
Page 13: Optional Components And Attachments
! Vision AmigoBots may be purchased with or without PCMCIA framegrabbers; if you do not have the proper framegrabber for your subnotebook used with Vision AmigoBot, you will not be able to run ActivMedia Color-Tracking Software (ACTS). ! Internet connection for access to AmigoBot through WorldLink. -
Page 14: Additional Resources
Personal Robots Newsletter You may join ActivMedia’s bi-monthly Personal Robots Newsletter to keep up to date on new accessories, news, and special offers for AmigoBot. To: amigonews-request@amigobot.com From: <your return e-mail address goes here> Subject: subscribe AmigoBot Newsgroup We maintain an email-based newsgroup through which AmigoBot owners share ideas, software, and questions about the robot. -
Page 15: Support
Support Having a problem? Can’t find the answer in this guide or any of the other manuals? Do you know a way that we might improve AmigoBot? First consult this guide and check into our online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on the http://www.amigobot.com server. -
Page 16: Installation & Set-Up
& S N S TA L L AT I O N C h a p t e r 2 AmigoBot comes pre-assembled for out-of- the-box operation. All you need to do to prepare the robot for operation is twist up and position the camera, if you have the e- Presence surveillance hardware. -
Page 17: Windows9X
X-Windows installed, configured, and running with the desktop environment of your choice. ActivMedia Robotics Basic Suite software may install and run fine with other Microsoft operating systems, including Windows®2000, but the many differences in accessory drivers limits our support. You’re on your own with the alternative OSes. -
Page 18: Guis And Displays
We assume that the serial device and the /tmp directory already exist (they usually do when you install LINUX) and that you and others who wish to operate AmigoBot and the Simulator are members of the users group. Indicate the alternate serial port name if you have AmigoLeash or the AmigoWirefree host modem attached to a different port: /dev/ttyS2, for example. -
Page 19: Serial Ports And Connections
S e r i a l P o r t s a n d C o n n e c t i o n s Software that runs AmigoBot from your PC communicates with and controls the robot through a serial connection. Use the AmigoLeash that came with your robot to tether the robot to one of your computer’s serial... -
Page 20: Amigowirefree
AmigoWirefree installed, plug the other end of the AmigoLeash into the RJ-11/12 receptacle (Control Port) that comes out of the top of the robot. The similar RJ-11/12 receptacle on the bottom of AmigoBot next to the charger port and power switch also is a serial port connection, but to a different part of the robot’s controller. -
Page 21: Internet And Lan Connections
Also, AmigoBot’s main power switch also must be ON, too, to provide power to the robot’s AmigoWirefree modem. I n t e r n e t a n d L A N C o n n e c t i o n s With AmigoBot’s ePresence system, including Navigator surveillance... -
Page 22: Ep Resence
WorldLink-connected users instantly, exchange audio messages, and even take digital snapshots. RESENCE The AmigoBot ePresence system contains all the features of a basic AmigoBot, as well as AmigoWirefree and Navigator surveillance hardware, plus two network software applications, WorldLink and WorldPass. -
Page 23: Networking Hardware And Software Basics
PC for access and use of a “TCP/IP-based inter- or intra-network.” WorldLink Network Address and Access To access a WorldLink connected AmigoBot over the network, you, your colleagues, family, and friends must be connected to the same TCP/IP... - Page 24 It consists of the computer’s name and the name and type of network to which it is connected. For instance, “www.amigobot.com” is a hostname; “www” is the name of the computer, “amigobot” is the name of the network, and “.com” is the network type—a commercial one, in this case;...
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Page 25: Framegrabbers And Sound Cards
ActivMedia’s Navigator surveillance hardware—also part of the AmigoBot ePresence system—includes a video camera with integrated microphone, and an audio/video (A/V) transmitter on the robot, and an A/V receiver and framegrabber card for your PC. AmigoBot transmits the sounds its microphone picks up and video... -
Page 26: Joystick
AmigoBot User’s Guide To do all this, you need to install a PC framegrabber into the computer from which you control your AmigoBot. Also install and attach the video output from the A/V receiver into that framegrabber using the accompanying RCA video cable (yellow RCA plugs typically). -
Page 27: Chapter 3 Quick Start
Here are a quick few of the many things you can do with the intelligent mobile robot. Try them out to get a feel for the way AmigoBot senses and maneuvers within its new world. But don’t linger here for long—there’s so much more to do with Mapper, WorldLink, Trainer, …... -
Page 28: Quick Start 2: Navigator /World Link
AmigoBot User’s Guide through, and over things it can see with its sonar. Keep an eye on it, though: AmigoBot can’t see down stairs and could take a nasty spill. Q u i c k S t a r t 2 : N a v i g a t o r / W o r l d L i n k 1. - Page 29 ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide Quick Start socket-like serial connector on top of AmigoBot (not the one on the bottom of the robot). 4. Similarly, although not necessary for operation of the robot, connect the audio and video outputs from your A/V receiver to their respective inputs on your PC’s framegrabber and sound cards or to your TV...
- Page 30 Connect menu. Help is available in the next chapter, too. 9. Click the console arrow keys or the respective keys on your PC’s keyboard to make AmigoBot turn and drive forward and backward (“teleoperate”). Click the red stop button between the arrows or...
- Page 31 Navigator or WorldLink has planned. It then proceeds to drive AmigoBot to that place (intelligent “self-guidance”). The real AmigoBot should turn toward the goal, and then travel the prescribed distance to that goal (default onscreen grid is one meter per unit).
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Page 32: Operations And Modes
P E R AT I O N S A N D O D E S C h a p t e r 4 Your AmigoBot Intelligent Mobile Robot has just a few simple buttons, switches, indicators, and connectors that enable a rich variety of operational modes and applications. -
Page 33: Reset, Motors/Test Buttons And System/User Led's
The AmigoBot’s standard charger takes overnight (8 hours or more), whereas the two-stage fast charger accessory will fully recharge the AmigoBot battery in 2-4 hours. With the fast-charger, you also may continue to operate AmigoBot while charging its batteries, although that will lengthen the recharge time. -
Page 34: Sounds
As part of its microcontroller, AmigoBot has an onboard audio system capable of reproducing recorded voices, music, and sound effects. Up to 255 sounds can be stored in AmigoBot’s 1MB of onboard FLASH memory, for a total of about 90 seconds of assorted audio playback. The... -
Page 35: Motors And Position Encoders
AmigoBot controller uses to sense and to control distance, direction, and speed. AmigoBot’s tires are 4 inches in diameter and made of soft, but firm rubber for good traction and low compressibility. Keep them clean and oil- and grease-free to maximize traction for climbing up and down ramps and over sills, and to minimize slippage on smooth surfaces. -
Page 36: Sonar Sensitivity
AmigoBot operating environments. The sonar gain control is a one-turn screw cap accessible through a small hole on the top and near the front of AmigoBot. You may have to remove an accessory to uncover the hole. -
Page 37: Control Serial Port
Robot Store for hardware and software details. M o d e s o f O p e r a t i o n You may operate your AmigoBot Intelligent Mobile Robot in one of three modes: Self-Test, Control, or System Mode. -
Page 38: Motors Test
! Place AmigoBot in an open, safe, one square meter (three square feet) area on the floor, away from obstacles. ! Switch main power ON or press Reset if AmigoBot already is ON. ! Press and release the black Motors/Test button. -
Page 39: Wander Test
Press the Motor/Test button after the last sonar test to initiate self- wandering. This is a simple, yet robotically sophisticated program that has AmigoBot drive entirely on its own around and through rooms avoiding obstacles, climbing ramps, over bumps, through doors, and so on, somewhat randomly like a curious infant. -
Page 40: System Mode
AmigoBot’s FLASH memory. These data and programs are permanent and persist after you remove power, but with special tools can be changed and updated. AmigoSounds, for example, downloads new sound files to AmigoBot’s 1MB of FLASH. make changes AmigoBot’s onboard software and data when the robot is in System Mode. -
Page 41: Safety Features
S a f e t y F e a t u r e s AmigoBot contains several features that make it safe to use in many environments, even around infants and small pets. Pick It Up! AmigoBot is light, weighing approximately three kilograms (seven pounds), so it can be easily picked up and moved out of trouble. -
Page 42: Low Battery
AmigoBot’s battery discharge to below 10 volts, the onboard systems will go into shutdown. Although it is not able to shut off its power entirely, AmigoBot will stop moving (motors take a lot of power) and wait for you to come to its rescue. -
Page 43: Amigobot Software
A c t i v M e d i a R o b o t i c s B a s i c S u i t e The of software that comes with AmigoBot currently has seven main components: is the crown jewel—a sophisticated graphical-user control... -
Page 44: Chapter 5 Amigobot Software
AmigoBot Software ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide WorldPass provides all the networking and remote-control functionality of Navigator, including network video and audio, but only connects with a robot through a WorldLink host, not to one directly. provides the tools you need to construct a map of your robot’s APPER real operating space (“world”). -
Page 45: Other Amigo Bot Software
The ActivMedia(.exe) program itself is a convenient way to select and run one of the programs in the ActivMedia Robotics Basic Suite. All of the AmigoBot robotics programs (and more) are found in the in the ActivMedia directory of your ActivMedia software distribution. Microsoft Windows9x®... - Page 46 Maintenance & Repair ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide All software is available for licensing and Internet download. http://www.amigobot.com or write to sales@activmedia.com for details.
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Page 47: Maintenance & Repair
E PA I R C h a p t e r 6 Your AmigoBot is built to last a lifetime and requires little maintenance. D r i v e L u b r i c a t i o n The drive motors and gearbox are sealed and self-lubricating, so you need not fuss with grease or oil. -
Page 48: Manually Charging The Battery
If you have the standard or the high-speed charger accessory, insert it into a common 120-volt (European 240) AC power socket. Then insert the charger’s cable into the Charge socket that is next to AmigoBot’s Power switch on the underside of the robot. With the high-speed charger accessory, its LEDs indicate charge status, as marked on its case. - Page 49 ATTENTION! Obtain a Repair or Replacement Authorization Code before returning any defective items. Though ActivMedia Robotics is not responsible for shipping damage or loss, we will assist you in tracking your robot through the shipper.
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Page 50: Appendix
Appendix ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide P P E N D I X Specifications Physical Characteristics Length 33 cm Width 28 cm Height (body) 13 cm Body clearance 3 cm Weight 3.6 Kg Payload 1 Kg Construction Body Molded polycarbonate Chassis 1.6mm CNC fabricated aluminum... - Page 51 ActiMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide Appendix Traversable step max 1.5 cm Traversable terrain All wheelchair accessible Sensors Sonar 8 total 1 each side 4 forward 2 rear Position encoders 2 (one each motor) 9,550 ticks per wheel revolution 30 ticks per mm...
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Page 52: Warranty & Liabilities
A R R A N T Y I A B I L I T I E S Your AmigoBot is fully warranted against defective parts or assembly for 90 days after it is shipped to you from the factory. Accessories are warranted for 90 days. - Page 53 ActiMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide Warranty & Liabilities N D E X Charge, 26 Main Power, 26 Motors/Test, 27 Accessory I/O, 31 Battery, 26 Reset, 27 , ii, 38, 39 Charging Manually, CTIV EDIA ActivMedia Mapper, Docked, 40 ActivMedia Robotics...
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Page 54: Index
Index ActivMedia Robotics AmigoBot User’s Guide Power, 26 Description, 37 ePresence, 15, 16 Main, 26 Konolige, Dr. Kurt, 1 Preferences, 24 Installation, 11 Location, 12 Other, 38 The Simulator, 38 LAN connection, 15, Quickstart, 21 WorldLink, 37 ActivMedia WorldLink, 15, 16... - Page 55 44 Concord Street Peterborough, NH 03458 http://www.amigobot.com 603 924 9100 924 2184 fax...