Hi all,
I’m building an autonomous hexapod and I’m having some difficulties. I started first by programming it for the ps2 controller and had some problems but got it to work somewhat before. Everything still wasn’t right but I knew I at least had communication throughout the robot, so I continued to my final goal and started working on making it autonomous. I went into powerpod and changed the program from PS2 to Autonomous, saved, and downloaded it through Basic Micro Studio, everything loaded without errors but nothing happens with the hexapod when powered on. Looking through the code, it looks like there’s some kind of subroutines (attack mode) that the robot should be able to do but I’m not sure. I’m planning on using sonar sensors for the robot to communicate eventually and I don’ t know if the hexapod is just waiting for something(sensors) to communicate with it, or if it’s capable of performing these routines already written in the code(attack mode). Please any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Justen
I would strongly suggest sorting out the issues before moving on. However I will try to help. Ahem… from the tutorial…
Step 13. Autonomous Program Information
You can use this program to create your own autonomous program or integrate your own remote control code. Just edit the lines in movequery sub routine. The variables that effect the motion of the robot are as follows:
Walking speed is defined by the XSpeed and YSpeed variables. The XSpeed variable has a range of 120 (forward) to -120 (backwards). The YSpeed variable has a range of 120 (right) to -120 (left). Rotation is named Steering. It’s not really steering because if you try to turn while both XSpeed and YSpeed are 0, the robot will rotate in place. The range is 20 (right) to -20 (left) for steering and the speed of rotation is proportional to the value. The body height is set by the Height variable and also has a range of -25 to 25.
For this version, to alter the LegUpShift (leg lift), you can utilize a range of 20 (close to floor) to 70 (about 2.5" from floor). If LegUpShift > 45 the tripod Gait is modified to allow extra vertical movement and GaitSpeed is limited to 8-4 range. Also, you’ll have to move the body higher (by setting Height to -15 or -20 for example). If LegUpShift is close to 70 it’s recommended to use a 8-5 range for GaitSpeed. (If GaitSpeed is too fast, there won’t be time for the extra vertical movement.)
To use it like a car, decrease XSpeed (from 0 to -120) to go forward, then use the steering variable to turn, this way, the “head” will always look straight in the direction it walks. To use crab walk use only XSpeed and YSpeed. The Head will always look in the same direction when controlled this way.
