Chapter 2: BeeSoft™ Quick Startup Guide
In This Chapter....
You’ll learn how to power up, test, operate and shut down your RWI Inc., B21 or B14 robot. You’ll learn about BeeSoft™, the software that makes it easy for you to put your RWI robot to work. After a quick tour of BeeSoft architecture and the pre-installed BeeSoft directories, you’ll get your robot up and running quickly.....You’ll perform some informative and entertaining sensor test sequences to make sure your robot’s tactile, sonar and infrared sensory systems are operating properly, and to discover their various capabilities.
.....You’ll run a simple BeeSoft-supplied robot demonstration program called wander.
.....You’ll get a hands-on feel for directing your robot’s movements in collision avoidance mode by controlling it with a simple command line interface.
.....You’ll learn how to control your robot with the supplied joystick.
.....You’ll write your very first robot program, based on a simple supplied templatethat you can extend and modify.
.....You’ll learn how to use the graphical BeeSoft Commander™ to teleoperate your robot, setting it to work exploring its environment.
.....You’ll learn how to use the graphical BeeSoft Simulator™ to carry out robotic research and development with a "virtual," simulated robot that behaves much like a real robot.
.....You’ll learn how to use BeeSoft’s built-in navigational package, including the BeeSoft Mapper™ and the BeeSoft Planner™ to dispatch your robot to autonomously explore its environment while planning optimal routes to goal points you select, or the to nearest unexplored areas.
When you complete the exercises and experiments in this chapter, you’ll be all ready to put your robot to work on your own projects!
OK. You’ve unpacked your new robot and know where almost everything is. Just as a reminder, though, look over the figures depicting important landmarks on your robot, in the previous section. On the next two pages, you’ll find step-by-step procedures for powering onand shutting down your new robot. Go ahead and practice these a few times, just to familiarize yourself with the locations of the important switches and controls. Then, go on to the next section to log into the system and see what your robot can do.
How to Power Up Your B14 Robot...
On the top the robot, you’ll find a row of four toggle switches. Flip them all to the on position (towards the robot’s center axis.) From left to right, these switches control:
Switch 1: Sonar, Infrared and Tactile sensors on the robot’s enclosure
Switch 2: Master switch; controls the CPU, sensors and auxiliary equipment. Turning on this switch automatically turns on all sensors in the enclosure and all auxiliary equipment.
Switch 3: B14 base. This springs back to the center position automatically.
Switch 4: Auxiliary equipment (camera, pan/tilt head, radio RS-232.)
You’ll hear a beep (it may be rather faint) before the BIOS starts to load the operating system. 30 to 60 seconds, or more, later, you’ll hear two beeps in sequence (low, high), indicating that the system is booted and ready for login.
Note: Upon boot up, the access bus LED on your robot should light up momentarily, then start flickering steadily. If it doesn’t start flickering, you’ll need to switch off the MSPs and then switch them back on again. On the B14 robot: the "flickering" LED is the one just to the left of the MSP toggle. The MSP toggle is the left toggle switch, the one nearest the square red button, on the row of four toggles on top of the robot.
How to Shut Down Your B14 Robot ("soft shutdown")...
The B14's soft shutdown button is located on the top of the robot, to the left of the row of four toggle switches. (See Figure 1-4B.) Hold the button down for five or six seconds, until you hear a single beep. The CPU will shut down cleanly. When you hear a two tone beep, (high, low), it’s safe to power down the robot. To bring your B14 robot back up after the "soft shutdown" described above, open the robot’s lid and press the red "reset" button on the CPU.
How to Power Up Your B21 Robot...
1. On the robot’s base, find the door with a recessed red dot on top. Behind that door are two white breaker switches. Turn them both on.(The breaker closest to the red charge socket powers the robot’s base; the other powers the enclosure.)
2. Flip the toggle switch on the base control panel (set into the door on the base with theyellow dot on top) to the middle position. (This switch has three positions: in the top position, the power is on; in the bottom position, the power is off. In the middle position, the power status is slaved to the robot’s enclosure; that is, power status depends upon whether or not you have pressed the square white power switch on the strut on the top of your B21.)
3. On the front of the right strut on the top of the robot, you’ll find the B21 robot enable button (sometimes referred to as the main power switch) a rectangular white switch with a protective plastic flip-up cover. Flip up the cover and press this button. It will light up. Be sure to flip the protective cover back down.
4. Turn on the access bus switch, the left middle toggle on the control panel behind the right rear enclosure door. (See Figures 1-3D and 1-3E.)
For each CPU in your B21 robot, you’ll hear a beep (it may be rather faint) before the BIOS starts to load the operating system. 30 to 60 seconds, or more, later, you’ll hear two beeps in sequence (low, high), indicating that the system is booted and ready for login.
Note: Upon boot up, the access bus LED on your robot should light up momentarily, then start flickering steadily. If it doesn’t start flickering, switch off the MSPs and then switch them back on again. On the B21 robot, the Access bus LED is the second from the bottom one on the left row of LED’s on the left strut on the robot’s console. The reset switch for the B21 robot is located on the base control panel, set into the door with the yellow dot on the base.
How to Shut Down Your B21 Robot ("soft shutdown")...
Your robot is equipped with a soft shutdown button for each CPU. These buttons are located on the panel on the B21's console, between the struts. (See Figure 1-3C.) To shut down the left CPU, hold down the left shutdown button for about 5 or 6 seconds, until you hear a single beep. The CPU will shut down cleanly. Shut down the right CPU in the same way, using the right soft shutdown button. When you hear a two tone beep, (high, low), it’s safe to power down the robot.
To bring your B21 robot back up after the "soft shutdown" described above, press the red "reset" button on each CPU on board your robot. The CPU’s are located behind the robot’s left and right enclosure doors. Remember, you must press the reset button on each CPU.
