In Circuit Cellar’s October issue, columnist Jeff Bachiochi introduces readers to RobotBasic, a free robot control programming language that you can use to control real or simulated robots, and provides a detailed explanation on how to use it.
Photo 1: This army of robots all use the RobotBASIC Robot Operating System (RROS). Note the large robot has an arm located just above the wheels that is controlled by a second RROS. It uses an on-board laptop running a RobotBASIC (RB) application. The small robots are all controlled via a Bluetooth link from an external PC running an RB application.
“About five years ago, John Blankenship and Samuel Mishal coauthored Robot Programmer’s Bonanza, a book explaining the freely available RobotBASIC IDE they offer. RobotBASIC (RB) is a powerful language that enables you to use standard BASIC syntax (or a modified C-style syntax ( i.e., ++, +=, !=, and &&) to quickly write a program to control and simulate a robot with many types of sensors,” Bachiochi says. “This is a great tool to teach programming.”
RB, with more than 800 commands and functions, can also be a tool for non-robotic applications such as tackling tough engineering problems or creating animated simulations, Bachiochi says.
It’s likely that anyone who starts out simulating with RobotBasic will eventually want to control real robot hardware.
“There is no need to worry,” Bachiochi says. “RB was written to make use of a PC’s I/O. The parallel port is a good source for digital I/O and the serial port is well suited for external communication. The same commands used for robot movement in the simulator can alternatively be sent to a serial port establishing a sort of serial robot command protocol. But, tethered robots aren’t so cool, and many robots are too small to tote around a PC as their “great and powerful Oz.”
“Luckily, much has changed since RB’s original concepts were put into practice,” he adds. “We all know what has happened to these PC ports. They’ve fallen under the USB’s mighty power. RB doesn’t care whether it is talking with a serial port or a USB virtual serial port. USB offers inexpensive Bluetooth dongles and can create wireless serial communication to external devices.”
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Bachiochi also discusses the RobotBASIC Robot Operating System (RROS), created to support RB’s serial robot command protocol. The module is available from RB’s website.
“The RROS is a preprogrammed module that can receive communication from RB, interpret commands, and directly interface to hardware,” Bachiochi says. “The module is a Pololu Baby Orangutan robot controller, consisting of an Atmel ATmega328P microcontroller and a Pololu TB6612 dual motor driver carrier in a DIP24 form factor. You can use the module (which comes preprogrammed with the RROS) to build robots like those shown in Photo 1.”
Bachiochi’s look at RB and RROS is a two-part series. In Part 2, appearing in Circuit Cellar’s November issue, Bachiochi will explain how to translate between RROS and the iRobot Create Open Interface.
So, if you want explore a programming language that can take you from simulated to real-world robotics control, check out the October and November issues.
Circuit Cellar's editorial team comprises professional engineers, technical editors, and digital media specialists. You can reach the Editorial Department at editorial@circuitcellar.com, @circuitcellar, and facebook.com/circuitcellar
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