RoboCup Live Robot Execution
From GT RoboJackets
Contents |
Standalone
To run without using a computer/vision system:
- Connect to the base station:
- Wireless gamepad base station
- Power supply
The robot used needs to be set to be board 0 via the DIP switches
Running Demos of the RoboCup System
Typically, demos consist of showing a simple autonomous play, such as the shooting test (TestBasicAttack), and showing manual control of the system using the gamepad (very good with children). There are two means of starting the system, one for general testing and use (harder) and a quickstart for basic demos. In both cases, prepare a robot using the robot prep directions.
Quickstart for Demos
This will start radio, vision, and soccer. You should have the field lights on and at least one robot with a yellow shell ready.
- Turn on computer
- On the desktop, there is an icon for starting processes, double click it to start the launcher.
- Click on the link for starting all processes, this will start radio (silently), ssl-vision, and soccer. Soccer will be started in the TestBasicAttack play for yellow robots.
- Vision should start the cameras automatically, so you should see a robot on the field in soccer if you put one there.
- To determine status, look in the tree view on the right side of soccer, you are concerned the mode (manual/autonomous) and gamestate (stopped/playing)
- On the gamepad, you can use the 3 and 4 buttons to toggle stopped/running and manual/autonomous.
To run the autonomous demo (kicking at the goal) put a ball on the field, switch the system to autonomous and playing, and then hit the green checkmark in the upper left corner of the GUI. Use the gamepad stopped/playing button to pause the demo.
To use manual mode, set the system to manual and playing. Select a robot to control (0-4) by holding down the 9 button on the gamepad and pressing either a button 1-4 to select robots 1-4, or releasing the 9 button to select robot 0. Gamepad controls should allow driving of the robots (right stick controls translation, left stick controls rotation, and no, you can't kick on manual control).
Shutting Down the System
Because of some strange issues with the camera system, it's important to shut down the system correctly. Close the ssl-vision and soccer windows and then on the watchdog screen (listing all of the processes) stop the radio. The important part is that you DO NOT SHUT DOWN SSL-VISION USING THE STOP PROCESS IN WATCHDOG, as this will screw up the cameras and require a reboot to fix.
General Approach to Running Robots
On the robocup computer, go to ssl-vision, build the vision software, and run. The vision calibration system will be loaded automatically. The software also crashes frequently, so be sure to save so time spent calibrating is not lost.
- Start vision, and start both cameras. Config will be loaded automatically (we should put that in version control).
- Make sure the base station is plugged in to USB (and nothing else).
- Start the radio process. At least one LED on the base station should flicker (indicating TX).
- It's probably a good idea to plug in the joystick before starting soccer so you have manual control. It won't work if you plug it in later.
- Start soccer. If the joystick is present, it will come up in manual control. This is shown in the tree. I think 3 is auto/man and 4 is halt/run.
- Hold 9 and press a player number (nothing for zero, or 1-4) to select a robot for manual control.
To run two teams, do NOT use the joystick (it won't be synchronized between soccers). Start the referee and use it instead of the ref buttons in soccer. You will need to run radio with another option for the opposing team. I don't think it matters which team is given, but you may want to try it both ways. I think in that mode the explicitly listed team will clock the radio, so it must be running and the other team will have slightly higher latency.
Robot Preparation Checklist
Starting a robot:
- Install battery.
- Check that switches match lid patterns. There is a template for reading them on the robocup computer. Some of the numbers on the lids are right, but some are marked-out and wrong. Probably should fix this.
- Verify that wheels are good. They should spin freely with little backlash against the gears. Too much backlash means the set screw is loose. You should feel the resistance of the motor. If you apply a little pressure to the motor you can easily stop the wheel from spinning.
- Turn on the robot.
- Verify that the charging LED (flashing) eventually goes solid, indicating the kicker is charged.
- Verify the ball sensor works. An LED on the back side of the robot will come on when it's blocked - use another ball or something other than your finger for this.
- Verify that all wheels are braking. I guess you could move the earlier wheel check here.
- Put the lid on. Make sure you're using the right top. Make sure no wires are getting caught under the corners, or squished against the shell inside.
Robot Shutdown Checklist
After taking off field:
- Remove the shell
- Kick the robot using the kick button - If you do not know about this button, have someone show you before using the robots.
- Turn the switch off
- Remove battery
