Robot Arm Controller

The Robot Arm Controller consists of two parts. The user interface is written as a webpage frontend and a small websocket to serial backend.

Usage

Running the Robot Arm Controller is usually done by starting the backend and then connecting to the backend from a browser using the frontend.

Backend

Start the backend by running the Python 3 script called __main__.py. The script has some dependencies on other modules, and they can be installed using the supplied requirements.txt file. It is recommended that the user creates a virtual environment before installing the dependencies.

Installing dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the backend:

python3 . COM_PORT SOCKET_PORT

Frontend

Open index.htm in Firefox (could work in other browsers). Press Connect in the GUI.

Hardware

An Arduino, should be connected to the computer using the USB cable. SERVOS amount of servos should be connected starting at pin SERVO_START_PIN.

Example Setup

1. Upload Arduino software to Romeo board:
   1. Connect Romeo to computer using the USB cable.
   2. Open Arduino sketch arduino/robotArmController.ino using Arduino IDE.
   3. Make sure the correct COM port is selected under Tools->Port.
   4. Make sure the correct Board is selected under Tools->Board->Arduino Uno.
   5. Upload sketch to Romeo using Sketch->Upload.
2. Create a virtual environment for Python3:
   • Windows: python.exe -m venv venv.
   • Linux: python -m venv venv.
3. Activate the virtual environment:
   • Windows: venv/Scripts/activate.bat.
   • Linux: . venv/bin/activate.
4. Install required Python modules using pip install -r requirements.txt.
5. Start Python program with the COM port where the Arduino is connected:
   • Windows: python.exe . COM1 8765. (Substitute COM1 with correct COM port)
   • Linux: python . /dev/ttyACM0 8765. (Substitute ttyACM0 with correct COM port)