I have a question about the powerpod software. I am planning a custom hexapod (making my own body and legs) and I was wondering if the software will work on it. Whenever I look at videos of robots with the software they are all of a fairly old looking design with a round body. Will it work on a custom one (I’m basing it on the Phoenix)? If so what do you do? It just seems like you plug it to the computer and just follow the instructions, different robots have different leg designs like the Phoenix has the knee joint above the body while most others dont. Can the software deal with that?
You would need to have the servos connected to the SSC-32 servo controller, and also use the Basic Atom Pro (and a Bot Board 2 helps with all the connections). Without this hardware, you cannot use the PowerPod software. lynxmotion.com/c-9-electronics.aspx
Short Answer, powerpod for the most part only works with the round or strictly inline like BH-3. It was never adapted to work with the Phoenix. The Phoenix code base is set up to much more flexible, but does not have anything to help you configure it like the powerpod did.
I’m designing my own body which will have the legs inline like the BH-3, does this mean I can use the powerpod. Also, how good is the powerpod software, it seems really easy to use and appears to work fine but do you have to tweak it afterwards to make it work perfectly? What hardware does the Phoenix software run on, BotBoardardunio or BB2 w/ BAP28? Could I just use that?
Yes - you will need to play with servo offsets, leg dimensions and body type.
Take a look at the manual to see if it has all the features you want, and also the configuration which needs to be done: lynxmotion.com/images/data/ppodh.pdf
There is Phoenix software for both the Bot Board and the BotBoarduino. In either case you’ll need to adjust the dimensions.
