15-494/694 Cognitive Robotics: Lab 1

Learning Goal: This lab will familiarize you with the Tekkotsu user interface, called the ControllerGUI, and the Calliope2SP robot hardware.

Part I: Account Setup

You will only have to do this once.
  1. Log in to a lab workstation using your Andrew userid and password.

  2. Open a gnome-terminal by typing alt-control-T.

  3. Run the setup script by typing this command in your terminal window:
    $ ~/Class/utils/setup-account
  4. In your gnome-terminal, select Edit and then Profile Preferences. Click on Scrolling and select unlimited scrollback. Then click the Close button to save your change. Then edit Keyboard Shortcuts and turn off the top checkbox (for menu access keys), so that you can use Emacs-style commands (like alt-F) in the shell.

Part II: The ControllerGUI and the Mirage Simulator

  1. Start the Mirage simulator, the ControllerGUI, and Tekkotsu by following the steps on the Running Mirage page on the wiki, with one change. Instead of running tekkotsu-CALLIOPE in the first tab, you should run tekkotsu-CALLIOPE2SP.

  2. Explore the robot's user interface by following the steps in the Teleoperation Lab on the wiki. Skip the Preliminaries section and jump straight to Teleoperation. Don't do the Sensor Observer part; save that for running on the real robot.

Part III: Calliope2SP Assembly and Power-Up

Do this part in teams of 2 people.
  1. Read the web page on Create Controls and Indicators

  2. Follow the Calliope2SP Assembly Instructions on the wiki to put together your Calliope2SP robot.

  3. On the netbook, follow the Ubuntu install instructions starting at step 5 (steps 1-4 have already been done for you.) and proceeding only through step 8. Note: the easiest way to do this is to visit the wiki page using a browser on the netbook, and then cut and paste the commands into a terminal window.

  4. Follow the Tekkotsu install instructions on the wiki. Skip the optional software section, except for dynamixel_util, which you'll want.

  5. Follow the Linux Udev Rules instructions on the wiki.

Part IV: Testing the Robot and Running the Sensor Observer

  1. Make sure the netbook is powered up. If not, turn it on and it will boot in about a minute.

  2. Unplug the charger from the Create. Tekkotsu will not be able to control the robot if the charger is plugged in. Then press the power button on the Create to power it up. The power LED will flash several times and the Create will make a short beep to indicate that it has powered up successfully.

  3. Turn the slide switch on the servo controller board to the "on" position; you'll hear a beep, and the white LED on the robot's head will illuminate.

  4. Run Tekkotsu on the robot and use the ControllerGUI on the robot to drive the robot around.

  5. Later we'll set things up so that you can control the robot from the workstation.

  6. Read the Create sensors page at the Tekkotsu wiki.

  7. Do the Sensor Observer exercise in the Teleoperation Lab on the Tekkotsu wiki.

Part V: Powering Down

  1. Stop Tekkotsu by typing control-D or "quit" in the terminal window.

  2. Press the power button on the Create and the LEDs should all go out.

  3. Move the slide switch on the servo controller board back to the neutral position, shutting off servo power and extinguishing the system power light. (This is because we don't want to energize the robot's servos while it's on the charger.)

  4. You can leave the netbook powered up; make sure it is plugged in to its charger, then close the lid.

  5. Plug in the Create's charger cable.

Part VI: Troubleshooting