Humanoid Robot Control Question

Joe wrote in asking about possible robot remote control strategies and wanted to know what most of the builders here use. Unfortunately there doesn’t appear to be any ‘universal’ solution, no “one-size-fits-all”. All of the humanoid robot manufacturers seems to have their own unique controller and communication approach. Some of them, who will remain nameless, use antiquated and expensive RC technology designed for a totally different environment.

That being said, the PS2 game controller (or a clone) appears to be the choice of most builders that aren’t satisfied with the original manufacturer’s optional equipment. For example, the Logitec Wireless PS2 Controller is readily available and costs a fraction of the price.

The challenge is to interface it to your particular robot controller. This is typically done using a small dedicated PIC board. PIC boards are small enough to be mounted on the back of the PS2 controller receiver and add minimal weight to the robot. The board can be programmed handle the communications and perform the protocol/command translation between the codes sent from the PS2 controller and the commands your robot wants to see. There are lots of online resources, like The Curious Inventor PS2 Guide, documenting the PS2 controller protocol and sample code. It isn’t a trivial project, but if you have some PIC experience, and can find out your robots command structure, then it’s well worth the effort.

You might also enjoy:

1. American Humanoid Robot Spotted in Japan
2. RB1000 Humanoid Robot On Steroids (Video)
3. Major Robot Events in Question?
4. Kondo Discloses RCB-3 Robot Controller Command Formats
5. News Flash: Kondo Enhances The KHR-series Humanoid Robot Product Line

Posted by Lem on Jun 29, 2009 in Design, Hacks, Hardware, Software | 2 comments