Example code for Daisy (HEBI Hexapod)

Dependencies

Ubuntu 18.04 computer with:

• CMake
• Qt 5.9

Other:

• iOS or Android device with HEBI Mobile I/O

To install the dependencies on Ubuntu 18.04:

sudo apt install build-essential qt5-default qt3d5-dev cmake

Building

This code contains its own CMake project. It has only been tested in Ubuntu so far. To compile, from this directory (kits/daisy) run the following commands:

mkdir build;
cd build;
cmake ..
make

This will build several different programs and utilities that allow you to configure and run the hexapod.

Configuration

There are several utility programs included to help set the parameters that control the robot, as well as test the input device is working as expected.

Parameter GUI

For the parameter GUI, there is a 2D "line art" version and a 3D "spheres and cylinders" version (parameter_gui_22 and parameter_gui, respectively).

To run these, run ./parameter_gui_2d or ./parameter_gui from the build folder. These will allow you to load and save the hex_config.xml file and change a couple of the basic values in this file, as well as visualize their effects. You can also modify the file directly by hand.

Note that due to issues installing the Qt53dRender package on Ubuntu 18.04, the 3D rendered parameter GUI has temporarily been disabled and removed from the CMakeLists scripts. The 2D GUI has the same functionality and should be used instead.

Note that the parameter file changed is the one in the build directory. You may want to consider backing up this file if you plan to rebuild. At build time, CMake copies the file over from the resources directory, but whether this happens each build or just on a brand new build is not specified/guaranteed at this time.

Input Test

The input test simply prints out data from the connected input device; this is currently set to be a HEBI "Mobile I/O" app (available for Android and iOS), but using the interface in the src/input directory, one can define a custom input device as well.

In either case, this program will allow you to verify the basic functionality of the device before connecting to the full hexapod robot.

Running

To run the control program and drive the robot, run ./hexapod_control. Note that there are several command line arguments as well, and a short help message is displayed if you run ./hexapod_control -h.

The current command line argument options are:

 -d
     Dummy hexapod; no modules are connected to.  Incompatible with "-p".

 -p <list of integer leg indices>
     Creates a partial dummy hexapod; only the legs with the specified indices
     are connected to.

 -v
     Visualize -- show a simple rendering of the robot.

 -q
     Quiet mode (no dialog messages; waits and tries to continue on failure such as no modules on the network).

 -h
     Print help and return.

Note that using -q is useful when auto-starting the script on a computer. The flag causes the program to not quit when it cannot find the robot or joystick, (or the robot is M-Stopped), but continually try again. It uses a simple set of LED codes:

When it can find the robot, but one of the legs is out of a safe range (+/- 90 degrees from straight out), it sets the LEDs on that leg red.

When if can find the robot, and all of the legs are within range, but it cannot find the joystick (mobile IO app with family "HEBI" and name "Mobile IO", it sets the LEDs on all modules to blue.

Driving

After starting the program, the robot will take a few seconds to move the legs into a starting stance and then raise its body.

When driving the robot, there are two basic modes - "stance" and "step". Pressing "B7" on the Mobile IO app will toggle between these modes.

Step

By default, the robot is in the "step" mode; it will take a step to keep balanced as its body/center of mass is moved (either when manually moved or when driven with the app).

The left joystick can be used to rotate in place, and the right joystick can be used to move forward/back or sidestep.

Stance

In stance mode, the legs stay on the ground, and the body can move relative to this stance position. The left joystick is used for tilting and rotating the body, and the right joystick is used for shifting the body forward/back and left/right.

Other Controls

In both modes, the slider A3 can be used to move the body up and down. The slider controls the velocity of the motion; the middle 50% is a "dead zone" that does not command a height change.

As noted above, "B7" switches between Step and Stance modes.

The button "B8" will quit the app.

Automatic startup instructions for Linux

This process was tested using Ubuntu 16.04.

The folder also contains scripts designed to automatically launch the demo. daisyStart.sh is used to launch the demo with the correct path. The install.sh script will create a symbolic link to daisyStart.sh so that the user can simply type daisyStart into a terminal window and program will run.

To install:

• Open a command prompt and navigate to the top level daisy kit directory
• Make sure that the install.sh script has execute permissions: chmod +x install.sh
• Run install.sh: ./install.sh

If you would like to have the script start on boot, add the daisyStart command under Startup Applications if using Ubuntu or use another standard method for automatically launching the program.

Note that if you move the location of daisyStart.sh you will have to delete the symbolic link from /usr/bin and run install.sh again.