Pioneer 2TM - Manual (Page 20)

Specifications and Controls
To engage AROS maintenance mode, press and hold the white MOTORS button, press
and release the red RESET button, then release MOTORS. In the future, the white
MOTORS button may engage other modes, such as when in AROS standalone mode.
Body, Nose, and Accessory Panels
Your ActivMedia robot’s sturdy, but lightweight aluminum body houses the batteries,
drive motors, electronics, and other common components, including the front and rear
sonar arrays. The body also has sufficient room, with power and signal connectors, to
support a variety of robotics accessories inside, including an A/V wireless surveillance
system, radio modems or radio Ethernet, onboard computer, laser range finder, and
more.
On all models except the Pioneer 2-CE, a hinged rear door gives you easy access to the
batteries, which you may quickly hot-swap to refresh any of up to three batteries.
The nose is where we put the onboard PC. The nose is readily removable for access:
Simply remove two screws from underneath the front sonar array. A third screw holds the
nose to the bottom of the AT’s body. The DX nose is hinged at the bottom.
Once the mounting screws are removed, simply pull the nose away from the body. 7 This
provides a quick and easy way to get to the accessory boards and disk drive of the
onboard PC, as well as to the sonar gain adjustment for the front sonar array. The nose
also is an ideal place for you to attach your own custom accessories and sensors.
All DX’s come with a removable right-side panel through which you may install accessory
connectors and controls. A special side panel comes with the onboard PC option, for
example, which gives users monitor, keyboard, mouse, and 10Base-T Ethernet access, as
well as the means to reset and switch power for the onboard computer.
AT’s come with a single access panel in the deck. Fastened down with finger-tight
screws, the User Control Panel and onboard computer controls are accessible beneath
the hinged door.
All models come with an access port
near the center of the deck through
which to run cables to the internal
components.
Figure 12. Pioneer 3 sonar array
Sonar Arrays with Gain Adjustment
Natively, H8S/AROS-based ActivMedia
robots support up to four sonar arrays,
each with eight transducers that
provide object detection and range
information for collision avoidance,
features recognition, localization, and
navigation. The sonar positions in all
Pioneer 2 and 3 arrays are fixed: one
on each side, and six facing outward
at 20-degree intervals. Together, fore
and aft sonar arrays provide 360
degrees of nearly seamless sensing for
the platform.
7 With older Pioneer 2 models, you also needed to remove the Gripper before removing the Nose.
With the DXE, and newer DXs and ATs, the Nose and Gripper come off together, so you only
need to remove the Nose’s mounting screws.
14