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Paletta Hand

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Enrico Turco edited this page Sep 4, 2019 · 19 revisions

Requirements:

Setting up the Arduino Software

Download the Arduino IDE 1.6.12

  • Unzip/Install the Arduino IDE on your computer
  • Run the Arduino IDE to create the Arduino folders
  • Close the Arduino IDE to get ready for the Tools and Library installation

Installing the FTDI drivers

In most versions of Linux, you can just plug your board in via USB and everything will work, but it is very quiet about it, not giving you any notification that the device is ready. There are many ways to check this, the easiest being to open the Arduino IDE and check under Serial Port for ttyUSB0, but we'd like to show you an easy and definitive way you can check in a terminal.

  • Open up a terminal window and type:
ls /dev | grep ttyU

This will list the contents of the /dev directory that start with 'ttyU'. Once you hit enter, this command should return:

ttyUSB0

Setting up the InterbotiX Tools and Libraries

First download the Tools and Libraries ZIP file. In this .zip file, there will be two folders:

  • libraries -> this folder contains libraries that will add functionality to your Arduino.
  • hardware -> this folder contains the hardware definitions that the Arduino IDE needs to communicate with the ArbotiX-M

To install these files you will move these 2 folders into your 'Arduino' user folder. This is NOT the folder where the Arduino IDE itself is located. This is the path to your 'Arduino' folder.

~/Arduino/

Install XCTU

By default, access to the serial and USB ports in Linux is restricted to root and dialout group users. To access your XBee devices and use XCTU to communicate with them, your Linux user must belong to this group. To add your Linux user to the dialout group:

  1. Open a terminal console and execute this command:
sudo usermod -a -G dialout <user>

where <user> is the user you want to add to the dialout group.

  1. Log out and log in again with your user in the system.

  2. Download and install XCTU for Linux X64.

Usage:

Command via FTDI-USB cable

  • Remove the XBee module from the ArbotiX-M board

The XBee and the FTDI port share a hardware serial port. This means that you can only have one of these devices connected at a time.

  • Plug the FTDI-USB cable as shown in the figure

alt text

  • Check that the power jumper is in this configuration

alt text

This allows you to power the ArbotiX-M from the external power supply

  • Plug the external battery to the board and turn the switch on

  • Run Arduino. We need to pick the ArbotiX board from the boards menu. Select the proper board:

Tools->Board ->ArbotiX Std

Now pick the serial port. Go to

Tools ->Serial Port

and pick the serial port for the FTDI device. Once you have set the board and serial port, go to

Tools ->Serial Monitor

  • Now you are ready to command the gripper:

    • Sending a serial command of "C or c" will close the gripper
    • The gripper stops at the contact (predefined threshold)
    • Again sending a burst of "C or c" will increase the torque and will actuate the Paletta Hand.
    • Sending a serial command of "O or o" opens the gripper

Command via XBees

  • Connect the XBee #2 module X_PC to the Xbee USB adapter as shown in the following figure and plug it to the PC. alt text

  • Run XCTU. Open a terminal and type

cd /opt/Digi/XCTU-NG

sudo ./XCTU.desktop
  • Press the button Discover radio modules connected and select the appropriate communication port. alt text

The application will start to look for different devices connected. Once it will find the XBee module named X_PC, click on Add selected device.

  • Ensure that the XBee #1 module X_GRIPPER is connected to the Arbotix-M board. Hence, plug the external battery to the board and turn the switch on.

  • Search the XBee #1 module X_GRIPPER by clicking on Discover radio nodes in the same network. Once you find click on Add selected device.

  • Select the Console icon to view the console. Click Open. alt text

  • Now you are ready to command the gripper:

    • Sending a serial command of "C or c" will close the gripper
    • The gripper stops at the contact (predefined threshold)
    • Again sending a burst of "C or c" will increase the torque and will actuate the Paletta Hand.
    • Sending a serial command of "O or o" opens the gripper

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