Hi everyone,
I am currently building the AL5D robotic arm and have the Flowstone enterprise software to go with it. I would like to be able to have my arm operate autonomously using some type of motion detection. I want it to act as a sort of guard for my computers. This is my first time venturing into robotics and would appreciate any help that I could get about how to begin automating my arm. What products would I need and what is the best way to get started. I would like if the robot moved in a preset way upon detecting motion. Just a few pointers would be great.
P.S. Has anyone else set up their arms in this way?
Thanks. Will I have to make any modifications to my arm kit such as changing anything with the SSC-32? Or is it plug and play? Also do you know of any diagrams or photos showing the best way to use and mount such a device.
Some PIRs interface with SPI, others, I think are analog. The SSC-32 can read an analog device, or a TTL (digital) device. For an SPI device, you’ll have to use something like the Bot Board II, or a PC-to-SPI interface to read it.
Cool! Thanks a lot! I am going to order it right now. So I should have no problems using the PIR sensor from Parallax with the components I already have, right? I will let you know how it works out.
You can use our free Lynx Dual Arm Controller for your project as long as the motion detector has a TTL output. Because you have Flowstone you can even edit the program to your specific needs if required.
Have everything set up and now am trying to figure out how to get the arm to go through my pre-programmed sequences upon detecting motion with the sensor. The sensor is lighting up upon detecting motion and I have it plugged into channel 7 on my SSC 32. How do I get the arm to play the sequence upon the sensor being tripped? Thanks again.
Channel 7 is a servo or TTL output. Sensors need to be connected to one of the SSC-32’s inputs. This thread should be in the FlowStone section to get Devon’s attention.
The sensor is TTL. Does it still need to be connected to a different connector? Also, for the time being, I am using the dual arm controller form your site instead of the Flowstone software.
Right, it’s made with FlowStone and help with using it maybe better over in that section.
In the simplest terms, a sensor provides an output which is used by a piece of hardware. This sensor output, (TTL or analog) needs to go to an input so the software can do something with it. The SSC-32 has 32 outputs, and 4 inputs. So your sensor needs to be connected to the input on the SSC-32.
Which connectors on the ssc 32 are considered input slots? Do you guys have any diagrams aside from the ones listed on your site? I ask because I was not able to find the info that I was looking for in those diagrams. Thanks.
P.S. If you think that this should be moved to another section to get more specific answers, then if it isn’t any trouble could you move it? Thanks again.
My sensor has three pins and those input slots are only two pin. How exactly do I correctly connect it to the board? I am using the parralax PIR sensor. It is TTL as well.
Does anyone know how to properly connect a Parralax pir sensor to an ssc32 board? It is TTL. The problem is that the sensor has three pins and the inputs on the ssc32 have only 2. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Or should I post this question elsewhere to get a response.
The SSC-32 has the required pins for the sensor. The inputs are marked ABCD, there are also 2 power and two grounds. The 5vdc power pins are labeled + and the two ground pins are labeled -. You may have to remove the wires from the black housing, cover them with heat shrink, then plug them into the board.
