The major changes in 2.0 are fixed point calculations to lower the cycle time.

Separate files to easy change remotes or hexapod settings. This will allow the user to simply add the correct remote file and hexapod file to adapt the code for different hardware without having to hack in to the core.

Single leg control to directly control one of the legs. This can be used with or withouth balance mode.

GP Player support. This allows the user to play sequences that are stored inside the SSC. This will need the current GP firmware for the SSC and a bi-directional connection between the BAP and SSC.

Here’s a full list of the new features:

;NEW IN V2.0
; - Moved to fixed point calculations
; - Inverted BodyRotX and BodyRotZ direction
; - Added deadzone for switching gaits
; - Added GP Player
; - SSC version check to enable/disable GP player
; - Controls changed, Check contol file for more information
; - Added separate files for control and configuration functions
; - Solved bug at turn-off sequence
; - Solved bug about legs beeing lift at small travelvalues in 4 steps tripod gait
; - Solved bug about body translate results in rotate when balance is on (Kåre)
; - Sequence for wave gait changed (Kåre)
; - Improved ATan2 function for IK (Kåre)
; - Added option to turn on/off eyes (leds)
; - Moving legs to init position improved
; - Using Indexed values for legs
; - Added single leg control

The software will be uploaded to my Project page.

Lynxmotion will also update the phoenix tutorial. This will include a link to the software as well. I’m sure they will notify us when the work is done.

Xan

And here’s a rather lengthy video demonstrating the new Phoenix code in action!

The Bioloid USB Bus Board provides a transparent and simple connection to the AX-12+ Bioloid Bus. This board allows your PC to communicate with Bioloid bus devices (AX-12, AX-S1, IMU, etc) using a USB cable (not included) at speeds of up to 1.0 Mbps.

This Bioloid I/O board gives your Bioloid robot the ability to connect to almost any analog (0-5 volt) sensor. It includes 6 analog inputs (10 bit resolution on each). It also includes four general digital I/O pins, and can drive one or two DC motors using either locked anti-phase or sign magnitude PWM.

This Bioloid Foot Pressure Sensor includes one board, four .2″ FSR pressure sensors designed to be attached to the Bioloid foot, and the wiring necessary to connect the sensors to the board.

Pressure sensors on the bottom of your biped’s feet will allow the robot to sense whether or not it is in balance if it is on a smooth flat surface.

Here is forum member Sthmck’s quadrapod robot progress so far, which showcases a robot built using the Bioloid system and autonomously reacting to input from some Sharp IR sensors.

lnxfergy’s new lizard-inspired quadrapod, Sally:

And finally, lnxfergy’s fully autonomous Firefighting robot, Issy:

Some great progress so far and we can’t wait to see more!

On a side note: We’ve been a bit quiet lately because we’re in the process of moving to a much larger facility where we can build bigger, better robots! We’ll get caught up soon.

Easy Robot Control using .NET or Robotics Studio:

The Serializer WL Robot Controller provides a ready-to-use solution to interface the Microsoft™ .NET framework or Microsoft™ Robotics Studio to common robotic hardware.

Never before has it been this easy to interface DC motors, servos, analog sensors, I2C devices, single and quadrature encoders, switches/relays, and other devices to the .NET framework and/or Robotics Studio.

Be sure to check out our Xbee section for add-ons for this awesome controller!

The arbotiX Robocontroller, an advanced 3rd party Bioloid controller, is now in stock and ready to be sold! It incorporates a powerful AVR microcontroller, XBEE wireless radio, dual motor drivers, and 3-pin servo-style headers for IO.

The arbotiX robocontroller is specifically designed to control robots built using the Bioloid System and AX-12+ servos, although it is also a very high-end solution for powerful rovers. It is not intended to be a drop-in replacement for a CM-5, rather it is intended as a high level development tool for building more sophisticated robots.

For full information and product manual, check the manufacturer’s page.

arbotiX Robocontroller Specifications

• 16MHz AVR microcontroller (ATMEGA644p).
• 2 serial ports, 1 dedicated to Bioloid servo controller, the other to the XBEE radio
• 3 Bioloid AX-12+ style ports onboard, plug your AX-12+ Servos directly in!
• 32 I/O, 8 of which can function as analog inputs
• Servo style 3-pin headers (gnd, vcc, signal) on all 8 analog inputs, and 8 of the digital IO

We have also put together the arbotiX Robocontroller Starter Kit that includes everything you need to get started, including a pair of Xbee radios, an Xbee USB Explorer, and a USB AVR Programmer!

The arbotiX Robocontroller, an advanced 3rd party Bioloid controller, is now in stock and ready to be sold! We still have some additional information to add to the page, as well as a new ISP programmer we picked up… but for those of you wanting to get the ball rolling, check it out and pick one up while supplies last! Our initial stock of these is limited, so get em while they’re hot!