AI-01 Robot Hacker`s Manual
Contents
1. active mnoveations AI 01 Robot Hacker s Manual Rev 1 2 08 2008 DISCLAIMER It is important to say this before we go any further Modifying your robot voids the warranty Active Innovations cannot be held responsible for a user that modifies the robot or remote in any way Most hackers are fully aware that the manufacturer never intended for them to touch the guts Active Innovations takes this a step further We know that some of you are going to touch the guts and turn the AI 01 into a robotic slave to follow your own purposes We made it so that the guts are accessible and usable for those people but issues like ESD sensitivity alone make it so that if you start tinkering you acknowledge that you are no longer using the AI 01 as it is primarily intended The philosophy is one of You bought it and you might break it If you do break it it stays bought Similarly this goes for safety Active Innovations cannot be held responsible for any injury that occurs to someone that diassembles or otherwise uses the robot or remote for other than its intended purpose Introduction Purpose The purpose of this document is to provide technical information to the advanced user of the AI 01 robot By advanced user I mean someone that wants to use the robot as robotics platform This kind of user frequently takes a motorized toy abandoned by a7 year old and turns it into robot project The AI 01 was designed to be used by2. speak in that it controls the action of the robot and the robot only talks back saying roger I heard you say drive forward But the robot has the ability to send packets of data back Changing the robot to do this is an exercise in software only The hardware is ready to go for bi directional communication ROBOT Robot Operation The block diagram of inputs processing and outputs are shown in figure 3 The PIC18F65J10 microcontroller is at the center Inputs are on the left for the most part some pieces like the RF circuit are bi directional and outputs are on the right Potentiometer 1 An LEDs back panel 8 dig LEDs head 3 dig Motor control circuits PWM enable and direction for each 4 Switch 3 pos 1 An Buttons 2 dig PIC18F65J10 microcontroller motors total 8 dig Contact detect 1 dig LEDs IR TX 2 dig IR Rx Module 1 dig RF circuit IC 3 SPI and 3 control total 6 dig EEPROM 2 dig I2C PGM SER port Voice playback IC 3 SPI and 2 control total PGM 3 dig SER 2 dig Battery The robot has one electronics board so all elements of this diagram are on that board The RF circuit s antenna is built into the PCB Broadly the robot has 5 dig Figure 3 Robot Block Diagram Inputs Potentiometer back panel 1 analog input line 3 position switch back panel analog input line 2 buttons back panel 2 digital inputs Contact detector electromechanic
3. this kind of user out of the box Unlike most robot toys that have a ROM d processor that cannot be altered the AI 01 uses a flash based microcontroller that can be reprogrammed a user accessible port that makes it easy to reprogram the micro as well as do serial port communication It has a bi directional link with an easy to use remote for manual control but the remote is also reprogrammable and has a serial port The AI 01 s motors are removable upgradeable and easy to access and be used to drive different actuators than the arms that are built in We at Active Innovations feel you the advanced user will find these features handy in allowing you to create a new robot that does what YOU want But if you want to get in a play or two of robotic football just put back in the default code and you re ready to hike Scope This manual is a hardware and high level user interface specification document It does not address software operation for the robot or remote Audience The reader of this manual is assumed to have at least an intermediate level of electronics and software experience This manual is not intended to be instruction in these fields Further this is not a beginning robotics manual The reader is assumed to understand basic robotics concepts H bridges PWM motor control RF circuit should be terms that cause no confusion References The following documents will be useful to the reader in using the components of the AI
4. top row of 5 pins of the PGM SER port is the Microchip debug interface which can be used with the Microchip ICD2 or equivalent device to reflash the PIC micro The lower 5 pins is the serial interface SER which can be used to interface the robot and remote since it has the same port to a computer s serial port for communication RF circuit is a transceiver circuit based on the Nordic nRF24L01 IC This circuit has a range of about 100 outdoors and 50 indoors Actual ranges can vary Default code provides for 1 Mbit sec data rate max The nRF24L01 Enhanced Shockburst mode is used by default which provides error correction and auto acknowledgement features The SPI interface is used to communicate with the chip An interrupt line is used to inform the micro when data is available or when error has occurred Power is 3 3V The RF circuit operates in 2 frequencies XX XX and XXX Ghz Individual node addressing is used to differentiate robot from robot etc See nRF24L01 data sheet for more information Motor Control Circuits see schematics for more detail are driven by two output lines each from the micro Lines are enable and direction Enable is a PWM signal from 1 of 5 Capture Compare lines CCP on the micro PWM enable line gives speed control of DC motors Frequency of PWM is 2 5 KHz The TIP120 125 transistors which are the work horses of the motor control circuits restrict using a higher frequency Directional control is done wit
5. 01 References Microchip PIC18F65J10 microcontroller Data Sheet www microchip com Microchip 18F2321 microcontroller Data Sheet www microchip com Nordic nRF24L01 transceiver IC data sheet www nordicsemi com Microchip 24L01 EEPROM IC data sheet www microchip com ST TIP120 and TIP125 Transistor data sheet www st com Sharp GP1UE261XK IR receiver module data sheet Summary of technical specifications Feature Specification Power Robot 9 6V flat pack battery min 600 mAH rating required Remote 4 size AAA batteries Dimensions 7 63 x 6 6x 12 5 inches see figure 1 below Weight Without battery 2 pounds 3 oz 1001 grams With battery 2 pounds 8 oz 1151 grams Battery life Robot 45 minutes with 700 mAH battery Remote 50 hours with alkalines Robot locomotion Differential drive by 2 DC motors each mounted with 2 2 diameter wheels Drive DC gear motors no load Speed 152 rpm No load torque 4 5 kgw cm Continuous current draw 220 mA Robot control handheld remote control or autonomous and back panel 2 tact swithes 1 three position switch 1 potentiometer Range of remote to robot 100 feet outdoors 50 feet indoors Robot actuators All motors have outer case size of x x inches Double D type mount compatible with Solarbotics gearbox motors and wheels Throwing arm DC gear motor Speed 280 rpm No load torque 3 9 kgw cm Continuous curre
6. Then remove the inner chest plate by just pulling it away Note that it is not absolutely necessary to remove this part but it may make connection of the PGM SER cable easier Figure 7 Removing inner chest plate Figure 8 is a photo of the PGM SER port as it appears on the robot s front with the orientation of the cable Figure 8 PGM SER port on robot You can drill or otherwise place a hole in the chest plate to facilitate a permanently exposed PGM SER port The area to cutout is already laid out for you in an indentation in the chest plate as shown in figure 9 Just remove the plastic in this area to create a permanent access port Note that if you don t want to do this you can also just leave out the chest plate screws and replace the chest plate It will stay on by friction alone through quite a bit of force Figure 9 Chest cutout area for PGM SER port Figure 10 shows the location of the PGM SER port on the remote control with a cable attached To access the port on the remote you must remove a black rubber dust plug EL Figure 10 Remote control PGM SER port location Operation with ICD2 The Microchip ICD2 is a debug interface device that allows a user to reflash program memory and also to step through code line by line in debug mode S BARES Sr Figure 11 ICD2 connected to Sparkfun USB to AI adapter board The AI 01 robot and remote microcontroller function normally with ICD2 You need a Sparkf
7. XE Example Remote is set for RobotA Play mode then this byte OxA1 Joystick X axis value decimal 0 255 center nominal is 127 Nn Joystick Y axis value decimal 0 255 center nominal is 127 Button states this byte shows the state of all the buttons Each button is represented by a bit where 0 is button released and 1 is pressed Bit Button 7 Reserved Joystick button Up Down Hike Switch Throw Burst OR ND R Ua Throw state and speed byte Bit 4 Throw notThrow Bit 3 0 speed power values ranging over decimal 8 9 10 11 12 or 13 depending on how long the button is held down Note Robot translates these into numbers into PWM settings for the throw motor where 8 is lowest setting at about 60 duty cycle 13 is full duty cycle Reserved always hex FF in default code Reserved always hex FF in default code Table 3 Remote default serial output byte definition For more information about use of the serial bootloader function the user is directed to the AiSerPgmr User Manual Chapter 3 The AUX port Figure 11 is a conceptual drawing of the AI 01 and shows the location of the AUX port on the AI 01 s back panel controls In general the purpose of the AUX port is to give the end user access to the robot s on board battery power supply and 2 I O pins for control of accessory devices _ LED Display Play patterns Mode switch Figure 12 AUX port location on b
8. ack of robot The AUX port is a4 pin 0 1 spacing header located on the AI 01 s back panel Pinout of the port is left to right AUX1 AUX2 Gnd VCC Figure 12 shows the pinout with greater detail to the back panel S SN lt x lt a 5 zs T4 os OO0 O Locking ramp om oa xe LED i aps Windows a Offensive Defensive Button Butt Power switch ee Figure 12 AUX port pinout detail Pin Data Direction Function AUX1 TTL Output Default state during normal operation of robot is logic 0 and 3 3V logic high When remote joystick button is in pressed state AUX1 pin will be low OV When joystick button is released AUX1 pin is high 3 3V AUX2 TTL Output Default state is logic low Pin is logic high when logic 0 and 3 3V remote is in Play mode low when in Huddle mode If no remote signal detected pin goes to logic low 10 mA sink source capability Gnd Ground Ref 0 volt reference pin for connecting accessory reference VCC Power Battery Direct access to battery voltage after protection Voltage diode nominally 8 9VDC Current draw by an AUX device should not exceed 300 mA continuously or robot s other functions may degrade Table 4 Pin function definitions with default robot code AUX1 and 2 are tied to the AI 01 s PIC18F65J10 microcontroller via 150 ohm series r
9. al spring and pin 1 digital input line IR receiver module 1 digital input line Outputs LEDs back panel 6 yellow 1 red 1 green 8 I O lines LEDs head 2 blue 2 yellow 2 red 3 I O lines H bridges ckt Motor 1 2 digital output lines H bridges ckt Motor 2 2 digital output lines H bridges ckt Motor 3 2 digital output lines H bridges ckt Motor 4 2 digital output lines LEDs IR transmit Left and Right 2 digital output lines Bi directional RF circuit 6 I O lines 3 SPI and 3 control bi dir interface Voice circuit 5 digital output lines 3 SPI and 2 control EEPROM external IC to microntroller 2 digital lines I2C interface bi dir PGM SER port 4 digital I O lines bi dir Power e PWR 9 6V rechargeable battery routed straight to H bridge after main power switch AUX power pin is after power switch and protection diode e SV 7805 linear regulator max 1A continuous current From 9 6V battery after switch and protection diode Used in logic for the motor control circuits e 3 3V linear regulator from 5V supply max 500 mA current Main board supply for the micro and all other circuits General operation Robot takes input on the input lines which trigger different states in software The outputs are driven depending on the state of software The PIC micro used on the robot can be configured so that lines can be inputs or outputs Analog in lines can become digital ins outs The reason that this operation stateme
10. esistors for isolation The pins are also protected against ESD damage to the microcontroller using BAV 99 diodes The 18F65J10 microcontroller can be reprogrammed by the user and the pin function of the AUX header reassigned Options for the AUX1 and 2 pins are digital I O or Analog input AUXI is PortA pin3 of the microcontroller AN3 analog channel 3 and AUX2 is PortA pin 5 AN4 analog chanel 4 For more detail on the operation of the pins for user configurability see the data sheet for the Microchip PIC18F65J10 microcontroller
11. h one digital line for each motor control circuit The DIR line routes through logic ICs that restrict an H bridge circuit to being in a safe operation state REMOTE The remote s block diagram is shown in figure 4 Again inputs are on left The remote RF circuit is shown on the right but again note that the RF circuit is bi directional on both robot and remote The circuit is identical on both robot and remote though on the remote it is physically located on a separate board and connected by a right angle header The function is the same though Joystick 2 axis 2 An LEDs 8 dig PIC18F2321 gt RF circuit IC 3 SPI and microcontroller 3 control total 6 dig 7 buttons Hike Burst Throw Switch Arm up Arm down and joystick button 7 dig PGM SER port PGM 3 dig SER 2 dig 3 AAA switch 3 3V batteries Re g Figure 4 Block Diagram for AI 01 Remote Control Remote Inputs Joystick 2 axis so 2 analog inputs also has digital button switch 7 button switches so 7 digital lines Outputs 8 LEDs 6 yellow 1 red 1 green 8 digital output lines Bi directional RF circuit 6 digital lines 3 SPI 3 control Power 4 AAA batteries go into compartment on bottom Battery voltage goes into 3 3V linear regulator with 500 mA max output same as used on robot 3 3V is the only voltage used on the board nRF24L01 has an internally generated 1 7V see data sheet for more detail Operation descript
12. ion The remote is based on the Microchip PIC18F2321 microcontroller The remote s inputs are the joystick and buttons Outputs are LEDs and the RF circuit User operates joystick and buttons Software analyzes these inputs and transmits a packet of data about every 60 ms that contains information about the state of the inputs Joystick is a 2 axis 10Kohm analog potentiometer Output voltage is about 1 65V when in neutral position on X or Y axis Min 100 mV to about 3 26V max Buttons Active low digital inputs Logic high 3 3V on micro pin when button is released logic low OV when pressed The joystick also has a button switch built into it RE circuit identical in operation to that of the robot LEDs 6 yellow 1 red and 1 green Layout matches that of the robot to aid in programming address of the remote Remote uses through hole LEDs though whereas robot uses surface mount LEDs PGM SER port is identical to that of the robot for pinout and physical configuration Serial port is not active by default but can easily be activated in software Note that the PGM interface for the robot multiplexes the PGD and PGC lines with the yellow LED lines So if an active PGM SER device is connected to the remote yellow LEDs 1 and 4 may come on Schematic Diagrams for the robot and remote control are attached as Appendix A to this document for reference Chapter 2 The PGM SER port Figure 5 shows the pinout of the PGM SER port as it appears
13. nt draw 500 startup gt 1 5A Non throwing arm DC gear motor Speed 39 rpm No load torque 5 2 kgw cm Continuous current draw 420 mA Voice playback 20 second capacity minimum with the Winbond ISD17X voice playback IC on main board Output to 8 ohm speaker located in head Table 1 Summary of Technical Features 7 63 with screws 12 5 Figure 1 Dimension drawing of robot Chapter 1 Theory of Operation Figure 2 below shows a basic level block diagram of the AI 01 robot and remote as a system Each are standalone devices that have independent processing But let s first examine briefly how they work together Remote AT NN AI 01 Control gt Robot Figure 2 Basic Block Diagram of Remote and Robot System The AI 01 robot and remote form a bi directional communication system Out of the box the remote control is primarily a transmitter similar to the radio transmitter of an RC car or plane But if you look on the back of the robot just above the back panel you will see that the robot also bears an FCC ID sticker This is because the robot and remote are transceivers using a solution based on the Nordic nRF24L01 IC This IC is used in the AI 01 in Enhanced Shockburst mode which uses a transceiver algorithm The remote sends a packet of data and the robot responds with an acknowledgement So the AI 01 remote out of the box does all the talking so to
14. nt is so general is that it is indeed the way the robot works and says what YOU can do with it It is very open ended Again note this document is not a software specification The reader is directed to the data sheet for the Microchip PIC18F65J10 for detailed information on the micro s hardware capabilities Pot and 3 pos switch Both are analog inputs The pot s output is an analog voltage between roughly 0 1 V and 3 2V DC Center position of pot is approx 1 63V The 3 position switch will have output values of 0 1 65 and 3 3V Contact detect A very simple acceleration detection circuit based on a spring soldered onto a ground pad The spring surrounds a pin which has pull up resistor to 3 3V so by default the output is logic high 3 3V When the robot is hit or accelerated to the left or right or up or down relative to the plane of the front of its body the spring will be deflected to make contact with the pin driving the contact pin at microcontroller to ground Debounce of this signal is done in software duration of logic low pulses is on order of 0 7 5 ms IR circuit is the well known obstacle detection circuit The IR receiver module is the Sharp GP1UE261XK optimized for 38 Khz modulated frequency It is powered by 3 3V supply The IR transmit LEDs are powered by 3 3V and are active low outputs on the micro pins User interface ports AUX and PGM SER are covered in detail in later section of this document Briefly PGM
15. un USB to AI Adapter board as shown available from www sparkfun com SKU DEV 08473 The ICD2 connects to the adapter board as shown Default Output of Serial Port Function of the Serial port is user configurable By default the robot will print out AI 01 Now Online on reset The remote prints out the 10 data bytes that reflect the state of the remote s input controls in hex format String out is to XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX Table 3 explains the content of the 10 data bytes Byte Content Address Contains the robot address possible values 2 4 6 8 10 12 These are the robot s control channel 1 6 multiplied by 2 Operating Frequency Values are decimal 10 or 120 2410 or 2520 MHz Di Data Direction always relative to remote values are OxCO for out and 0x05 for in Always OxCO in default code The Data In definition is reserved for future use Mode and Bot is Mode is upper nybble Bot is lower nybble Shows state of remote with use of the Switch and Hike buttons which are displayed on the red and green LEDs By default remote is in Huddle mode and Bot A red LED is on an steady If Switch button is pressed Bot B Pressing Switch sets Bot back to A Play Huddle mode is toggled by pressing Hike button If in huddle LED is steady play it flashes If Mode Play nybble is OxA If Mode Huddle nybble is 0x5 If Bot A red LED on nybble is Ox1 Bot B Green LED nybble is O
16. when you look at the port on the robot s front after you remove the chest plate This same pinout configuration is seen on the remote when facing the port on the remote s front side that faces user during operation T om EE D Yoreoad Serial QO OOO PEM OOOO0 R gt A AO om Zz O6 O0 m O 0 0 Figure 5 PGM SER port pin out Table 2 Describes the pins functions Pin Function SER Serial port is the top row of pins Rx Serial UART microcontroller s receive pin 3 3 3 3V power Tx Serial UART microcontroller s transmit pin Gnd Ground reference voltage NC Not Connected PGM Program is the bottom row of pins MCLR Microcontrollers MCLR pin Master Clear is the reset pin on PIC microcontrollers Note that on robot this is a full time MCLR pin On the remote however this pin is multifunctioned On remote this pin is MCLR only during programming During operation this pin is joystick button input 3 3 3 3V power same as on SER port pins GND Ground same as on SER port pins PGD PIC program debug mode data pin PGC PIC program debug mode clock pin Table 2 PGM SER port pin function To access the PGM SER port on the robot you must remove the chest plate Start by removing the 4 screws in the chest plate then gently pull the chest plate away as shown in figure 6 below Figure 6 Removing the chest plate on robot to access the PGM SER port
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search