MobileRobots Pioneer Arm, Manual

MobileRobots Inc. 

around values 25-235.  Our robot servers let you set realistic position boundaries (

MIN

 and 

MAX

) and 

CENTER

 offsets, so that your client-side code is portable from arm to arm.   See following sections for 

details. 

Table 1.  Pioneer Arm generic commands 

C

ONTROL 

M

ODE

C

OMMAND 

B

YTES

D

ESCRIPTION 

B

OARD 

R

ESPONSE

255, 12, 1 

Servo Power ON 

None 

255, 12, 0 

Servo Power OFF 

None 

255, 128 

Request version 
number 

ASCII-encoded version number, 
followed by CR, LF9 

255, 133 

Read digital port 
states 

0-7 corresponding to ports 0, 
1 and 2, followed by CR, LF 

255, s, p 

Set servo joint s=0-7 
to position p=0-255 

None 

For example, using the generic command to turn the Pioneer Arm fully clockwise around its base 

(servo #1), you may send the generic command byte sequence: 

255, 1, 255 

Similarly, use a three byte command to power the Pioneer Arm servos:  The header (255; 0xFF), 

command byte 12 (0x0C), followed by a byte value of one to enable, or zero to disable servo power. 

Generic Command Communications 

The Pioneer Arm’s controller is attached to the 

AUX

 serial port on your C166, to either the 

AUX1

 or 

AUX2

 serial port on your H8S-, or to either the 

AUX1,

AUX2, 

or

 AUX3

 serial port on your SH2-based 

Pioneer controller.

10

   Use the client 

TTY2

 command #42 to send generic commands from your client 

software to the Pioneer Arm controller through 

AUX1

; command #66 (

TTY3)

 for 

AUX2

; or command 

#60 (

TTY4

) for 

AUX3

.  Include the Pioneer Arm’s generic command as the integer or string argument. 

To retrieve responses from the Pioneer Arm controller using generic commands, use the respective 

GETAUX

 commands (#43, #67, #61 for 

AUX1-3

) and corresponding 

SERAUXpac

 (types 176, 184, and 

200, respectively) server information packet.  

Command and packet details are in your robot’s 

Operations Manual

. MobileRobots’ ARIA client-

development environment supports these functions, too. 

Pioneer Controller Arm Servers 

Your robot’s controller has software with advanced control functions for safe and convenient operation 

of the Pioneer Arm.  These include commands to enable and disable power to the arm’s servos, to 

move the arm to a new position—joint-by-joint and each at a controllable speed—and to query for 

current arm positions and status.   The servers also include safety watchdogs and which act to 

minimize power consumption as well as help protect your Pioneer Arm and surroundings from 

damage. 

Client Commands 

P2OS, AROS, and ARCOS all support identical servers for control of the Pioneer Arm.  Commands 

originate in your client software and thereby require that you establish a client-server connection 

between your PC and the robot’s controller.  After connecting, your client software must tell the servers 

to power the Pioneer Arm’s servos before you can send position commands.  Note that the arm always 
starts a client-server connection in its 

HOME

 position and automatically returns to that position when 

servo power is set to OFF, including at the termination (

CLOSE

) of a client-server connection session. 

9

 Carriage return (13; 0x0D) and line-feed (10; 0x0A) characters. 

11

10

 Depends on physical attachment and ArmPort setting in FLASH.  See following chapters for details.