Servotronix Motion Coordinator
Posted inElectrical & Electronics Software & Algorithms Systems & Sensors

Motion Coordinator Gateways: Make interfacing to motor controllers easier

Often we need to communicate with motor controllers from different vendors. Writing software drivers for each one can be a pain and time consuming. Other times we need to use motor controllers utilizing EtherCAT or CANopen, but talking to those drives from our computers is difficult to implement. One solution is using a motion coordinator as a gateway. Sample layout…
drive kinematics
Posted inSoftware & Algorithms

Drive Kinematics: Skid Steer & Mecanum (ROS Twist included)

Hi all I am often in need of the basic kinematic motion equations for skid steer vehicles. I have also recently been working with mecanum wheeled vehicles. The skid steer equations are fairly simple and easy to find, however I will include it in different versions and include a ROS approach. The mecanum wheel equations are harder to find and…
Adaptive RRT
Posted inSoftware & Algorithms

Adaptive RRT – ARRT (with code)

Hi all Back in 2010 I was taking an AI class where we learned about Rapidly Exploring Random Trees for motion planning. For my final project I developed an adaptive version of the RRT that I named ARRT. I decided to post it here to share with others. The post below is based from the final presentation that I gave…
motion planning example
Posted inSoftware & Algorithms

Robot Path (Motion) Planning Overview

This post is going to be a summary of the different path planning (ie. route finding) algorithms that are commonly used. I am not going to detail any of the particular algorithms, but rather give you a launchpad for finding a suitable algorithm for your application. You should remember that often you will mix and match different ideas as you…
Copley controller
Posted inElectrical & Electronics

Copley Motor Controller Review

Update: Click here to learn how to configure Copley motor drivers Hi allThis is a post about the Copley Controls motor controllers. For this review I will be using a ACJ-055-09 (55Vmax and 9Apeak) motor controller (I love when product names mean something useful) with a 3 phase DC brushless motor. This is a good controller for distributed motion control.Copley…
robot builders bonanza
Posted inMisc

Robot Books: The basics, the middle, and a lot of math.

Hi all Here are my recommended robotics books. I hope you enjoy. Please put your favorite robotics books in the comment section below. This first book Robot Builders Bonanza is a hobbyist level book but I still recommend it. This book introduces the basics of mechanical, electrical, microprocessors, and sensors that are used in modern robots. It is some good…
e-stop
Posted inElectrical & Electronics

E-stop and M-stops

Hi all Just a quick note on e-stops (emergency stops) and m-stops (mobility stops). There are various levels of e-stops. In an ideal world an e-stop would kill power to ALL power, however in complex systems we often settle for less. Some reasons for a weaker e-stop is to keep the computers and other sensors from turning off. In many…