Are there any software routines (not .exe files!) for all the calibration and inverse kinematics and acceleration control and other stuff that is needed for serious applications?
It looks a bit odd if everyone is supposed to develop this from scratch…
Maybe you could give a more detailed explanation of what you mean by “software routines”.
It seems to me that anyone who wants to write a real program (e.g. C++, Java, Matlab…) and not settle with the"play" module in Rios, has to redo all the configuration stuff that RIOS so nicelly takes care of (like Geometry and Gravity compensation).
The ideal solutuion would be to have functions (callable from e.g. C++) that read the configuration files created by RIOS and perform everyhing that is shown in the manual on page 7/20 e.g: positioning by XYZ or angles, Lock Tip, Speed…
Are there any such routines around?
If I undertand it correctly, the configuration of SSC-32 described on page 4-5 are uploaded to the SSC-card, and are in effect even if I use low-level servo commands to control the arm.
Am I totally wrong in this?
I think that anyone capable of writing a “real program (e.g. C++, Java, Matlab…) and not settle with the"play” module in Rios" should do so (if there is any sufficient demand) and sell it to those that are willing to pay for it. You might contact the developer of the Rios software to see if he can help you out. Otherwise the hardware/electronics perform the way they are constructed/wired and are fairly simple and straight foward. Beyond that it is up to the programmer to develop a program that will generate the desired result from the hardware/electronics.
In such case its a bit sad, coz many ppl will rewrite the same things.
I think it would be a great product for Lynx to supply or even sell separately.
Arr there any Lynx ppl reading this?
It only takes one person to write something and make it available for others to use. 
It sounds like what you are asking for is a library of routines that perform specific functions that can be linked in and called from C/C++ (and other languages also).
Is this correct?
8-Dale
Oh yes, exactly that. The functionality in the Rios pgm could be packaged as subroutines (the code is probably already there). Rios would still be used to calibrate the arm and maybe set other parameters. The subroutines could read the configuration file generated by Rios (?) and perform high level commands for positioning (XYZ and angles), speed, etc.
This would make the robot arm much easier to use for a broad audience.
I have no experience with RIOS at present. If I were going to create such a library, I would want it to be usable under operating systems other than Windows, in addition to Windows.
I wish there were more tools for robotics available for Linux and FreeBSD, and I would love to help create some, in addition to new tools for Windows (which already has a lot of tools).
I doubt we would see the tight integration between such a library and RIOS as you appear to desire though.
I have been tinkering a bit with the SSC-32 using Python, which is also available for Windows, under Linux. I have gotten Python to communicate with, control, and read responses from the SSC-32.
I would want to use tools and such that are readily available under many different operating systems.
Yes, indeed it would. I have been playing with the idea of building some new robotics tools for Linux and such, but have not really thought it through enough to start in yet. I do have an idea of what tools I would want to use for the user interface, byt that is about all so far.
I’d like to build an Open Source (or at least other OS friendly) type of SEQ software for the SSC-32 to start with. I have done user interface stuff professionally in the past in C and BASIC. Right now I can’t even program my own robot because the tools I need for that are Windows based and proprietary. 
8-Dale