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Anton Deguet edited this page Feb 22, 2024 · 47 revisions

What does ISI, Classic, S, Si, Xi, PSM, MTM, ECM, SUJ, HRSV, ... mean?

Some ISI acronyms:

  • ISI: Intuitive Surgical Inc.
  • Classic: refers to first generation da Vinci. The original da Vinci research kit is based on the Classic. Also know as Standard.
  • S: second generation da Vinci. New PSMs/ECM, MTMs arms are similar to first generation.
  • Si: third generation da Vinci. New MTMs, dual console, new stereo display, PSMs are similar to second generation. Supported by the latest dVRK controller, dRAC based.
  • Xi: fourth generation da Vinci. New setup joints, new arm to replace both PSMs and ECM (now known as USMs) can be used to hold tools or camera. Surgeon console and stereo display similar to Si.
  • X: Similar to Si but with Xi patient side arms.
  • PSM: Patient Side Manipulator, 2 to 3 on a full da Vinci system, 2 included in Research Kit: PSM1 and PSM2 - Mechanically identical.
  • MTM: Master Tool Manipulator, 2 on a full da Vinci system (4 with dual console on Si/Xi system): 2 included in Research Kit: MTML and MTMR - Not mechanically identical, last joints are different for left and right arms.
  • ECM: Endoscopic Camera Manipulator, 1 on real da Vinci system.
  • SUJ: Setup Joints, 3 to 4 on a da Vinci system. Not included in Research Kit yet.
  • HRSV: High Resolution Stereo Viewer. At least 3 versions exist, CRT 640x480 (Standard and S), CRT 1024x768 (S HD), LCD (Si/Xi). The Research Kit comes with the CRT 640x480.
  • CCU: Camera Control Unit. The two boxes in the vision cart that are connected to the endoscope cameras. These usually have either an NTSC or SDI output for frame grabbers.
  • Tray, foot pedal tray: foot pedals including clutch, camera, camera focus, bi and mono (or coag). One is included in Research Kit.

Please read the Research Kit user manual: http://research.intusurg.com/dvrkwiki/index.php?title=DVRK:Docs:Main (ISI private wiki)

Generations of da Vinci systems

This is a high level description of the different generations of da Vinci systems.

Model Year Surgeon's console PSM/ECM/USM Setup Joints Endoscope
Classic 2000 Rev 1 Rev 1 (PSM/ECM) Rev 1 Rev 1 with SD
S 2006 Rev 1 Rev 2 (PSM/ECM) Rev 2 Rev 1 with SD or HD
Si 2009 Rev 2 Rev 2 (PSM/ECM) Rev 2 Rev 2 HD
X 2017 Rev 2 Rev 3 (USM) Rev 2 Rev 3
Xi 2014 Rev 2 Rev 3 (USM) Rev 3 Rev 3

What does QLA-FPGA, qladisp, ... mean?

General:

Some JHU acronyms:

  • QLA: quad linear amplifier, JHU designed board with power for up to 4 axis. Used in Classic controllers.
  • dRAC: 10 PWM power lines, JHU designed board to power up to 7 motors and 3 brakes. Used in Si controllers.
  • FPGA: logic board designed by JHU, mounted on top of the QLA. Provides 2 FireWire adapters to daisy chain and connect to PC. Version 2+ also includes an Ethernet adapter. Version 3+ uses a newer FPGA, 2 FireWire and 2 Ethernet adapters, a dual-core ARM processor boots from a micro-SD card.
  • QLA-FPGA: board set including a QLA and FPGA board. Used in the Classic controllers, up to CA9 (see controller versions).
  • DQLA: dual QLA setup with a single FPGA board. Used in the Classic controllers after CA9.
  • Firmware: embedded software running on the FPGA logic board.
  • dMIB: da Vinci Manipulator Interface Board, board designed to interface between the ISI manipulators using an ITT Cannon plus a foot pedal connector and the QLA-FPGA connectors (SCSI and RS cables). Used in Classic controllers.
  • dSIB: da Vinci Setup joints Interface Board. Used in Classic controllers.
  • dSIB-Si: adapter board used to connect the dVRK Si controller to a single arm and its setup joints at the base of the patient cart (either PSM or ECM)
  • dESSJ: dVRK specific board that replaces the original ESSJ on each setup joint of a S/Si patient cart. The board is a pass-through for the FireWire signal and uses a BlueTooth Arduino to get (A2D) and send the SUJ joint values to the PC.
  • dVRK-Si-programmer: board used to boot a Si PSM or ECM with a custom dVRK firmware. The firmware is stored on a micro-SD card.
  • Classic Controller:
    • Enclosure
    • Two QLA-FPGA to control up to 8 axes for versions up to CA9, two QLAs + DQLA adapters + single FPGA (v3+) for versions after CA9
    • dMIB: mounted on the back
    • Power supplies: 12V for logic + motor power:
      • 24V for all actuators on PSM
      • 24V for first 3 actuators and 12 V for last 4 actuators on MTM
      • 36V for ECM, mostly to be able to release the brakes
      • 48V for SUJ, for brakes and PWM units to lift/lower the PSM3 SUJ
    • Safety relay
    • Status LEDs
  • Si Controller:
    • Enclosure (1U)
    • dRAC
    • FPGA v3+
    • Power supplies:
      • 12V for logic
      • 48V for motors and brakes
    • Safety relay
    • Status LEDs
  • qladisp: text based application used to test up to 2 QLA-FPGA boards. See testing hardware with qladisp
  • qlacommand: text based application used to send commands to all controllers:
    • qlacommand -c close-relays: close safety relays for all the controllers connected through FireWire, very useful if you're not using all the controllers connected through the FireWire and e-stop chain and don't want to re-configure all your wiring.
    • qlacommand -c reboot: reboot all controllers, useful after upgrading firmware
    • qlacommand -c reset-encoder-preload: reset all encoder preloads, useful if homing has been interrupted or failed

See JHU Mechatronics for more details: http://jhu-cisst.github.io/mechatronics regarding the QLA-FPGA (JHU public page).

What PC configuration do you suggest?

You will need at least one PC running Linux. If you plan to run some heavy computations along with the dVRK software, please consider using two or more computers and make sure the computer dedicated to the dVRK control is not overloaded. Since we use ROS extensively, it is easy to spread the computing load across computers (see http://wiki.ros.org/ROS/Tutorials/MultipleMachines). For the dVRK controller itself, we recommend:

  • 8 cores minimum, ideally hyper-threaded (Intel i7, i9 or equivalent Xeon)
  • 16 GB RAM minimum, 32 recommended
  • FireWire Adapter
  • FireWire cables. Some cables should be shipped with the controllers. If you need more cables, maybe longer cables, we strongly recommend UniBrain cables (FireWire A to A, 6 pins). We used cables as long as 5 meters without issues.
  • Graphic adapters
    • If possible, use a different computer for the video pipeline (i.e. endoscopic images). See also Video Pipeline.
    • If you plan to send images to the stereo display, you will need two extra VGA outputs for the standard CRTs (or HDMI/DisplayPort with VGA converters) or two DVI outputs for the flat panels (see ISI private Wiki)
    • In general Nvidia cards work fine on Linux. If you have multiple cards, try to match them (use same model for all cards) but we strongly recommend using a single card with enough outputs to drive all the monitors you need. Make sure the drivers from NVidia are properly installed, "nouveau" drivers tend to disrupt the FireWire communication.
  • Software/OS requirements
    • dVRK 2.x:
      • ROS 1:
        • Ubuntu 18.04 or 20.04
        • ROS Melodic on Ubuntu 18.04 and Noetic on Ubuntu 20.04
      • ROS2:
        • Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04
        • ROS Galactic on Ubuntu 20.04 and Humble or Iron on Ubuntu 22.04
    • dVRK 1.7 (older systems, only if you need to run older firmware)
      • Ubuntu 16.04 or 18.04 (64 bits of course)
      • ROS 1: Kinetic on Ubuntu 16.04 on Melodic on Ubuntu 18.04

The PSMs aren't moving

All manipulators should be completely back drivable when not powered. If your PSMs are stiff and you can't move all the joints by hand, make sure you have removed all the brackets and zip ties used to protect the arm during transportation. Please read the unpacking guide: ISI private wiki.

I can't find qladisp but everything else has been compiled

You're probably missing the curses development libraries. Install them, re-run CMake or just catkin build if you're a ROS user. To install on Ubuntu:

  sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev

All signals freeze for a couple seconds

  • Make sure you don't have two programs trying to access the FireWire controllers simultaneously. The low-level API provided by JHU performs a check but you might have found a way to defeat it.
  • Make sure you don't have any other FireWire devices on the same FireWire controller. For example, don't connect an external FireWire hard drive or camera on the same FireWire chain. Please note that PC that comes with a built-in FireWire controller might provide multiple external connectors that are managed by a single FireWire chip.
  • Make sure your FireWire "chain" is good from your computer to the last FPGA-QLA board set. See Firewire below.

Some intermittent signals

Power issues

Most power issues are related to the emergency stop: E-Stop

Firewire connection

See Controller Connectivity.

Symptom

  • Can't even connect to controllers
  • See some of the QLA-FPGA but not all
  • qladisp seems to be working but the display freezes for a couple of seconds

Firewire cables

Cheap cables tend to have more quality issues. We strongly recommend to buy your FireWire cables from Unibrain.

For a more detailed description of the cables used for our controllers (at JHU), see ISI private wiki. The best way to test your setup is to start with a single cable and single QLA-FPGA and then add the extra boards one by one to the daisy chain. This requires to open the controller enclosures.

I plugged my PC to the stereo display but I get no image?

You need a special cable and the correct settings on your computer. The cable adapter is not provided with the Research Kit and is not standard so you will have to make it. See ISI private wiki.

Johns Hopkins University ERC-CISST cisst libraries - Intuitive Surgical da Vinci Research Kit

Old documentation:

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