Pioneer 2 / PeopleBot - Manual (Page 23)

ActivMedia Robotics
The MOTORS button and its associated green LED are under software control. Normally,
your ActivMedia robot's motors are disabled when not connected with a client, such as
Navigator or Saphira. When first connected with a client, 9 the motors remain disabled
(LED flashes) until you press and release the MOTORS button. Pressing and releasing the
white MOTORS button then enables/disables the motors as long as the robot remains
connected with a client.
10 The green LED should light continuously when the motors are
enabled and blink ON and OFF when disengaged.
When not connected with a client, pressing and releasing the MOTORS button puts your
robot into joystick-drive mode. A subsequent press and release of the MOTORS button
puts the robot into Self-Test Mode that exercises the robot's drive, controller, and I/O
systems. See Chapter 5, Joydrive and Self-Test Modes, for details.
Press and hold the MOTORS button in combination with the RESET button to put the
microcontroller into a special system-download mode for reprogramming the onboard
FLASH ROM. See Pioneer 2 Operating System and Updating & Reconfiguring P2OS,
Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.
SERIAL
Your ActivMedia robot's microcontroller has two serial ports and three connectors. One
connector, labeled SERIAL, is a standard 9-pin D-SUB receptacle located on the
Console and is for direct RS232-compatible serial data communication between the
microcontroller and a client computer. This “Host” serial port shares its three-line
transmit, receive, and ground connections with one of the two serial connectors that is
inside the robot. See Appendix A for pinouts and cabling connections.
Amber LEDs on each side of the Host serial port light during data-exchange activity
transmitted from or received by the microcontroller.
Remove any tether or laptop connection from the Console SERIAL port
when using the optional radio modems.
RADIO
The RADIO slide switch on your robot’s Console controls power to the optional radio
modem or Ethernet radio. It does not affect the SERIAL port functions directly, but you
must switch the radio modem’s power OFF if you use the Console SERIAL port to
connect a piggyback laptop or another external computer to the robot.
The radio modem gets power as well as signals through the internal, shared Host serial
port and can interfere with Console SERIAL communications. In some cases, you may
have to physically remove the radio serial connection from the microcontroller to
eliminate that interference.
FLASH
A slide switch labeled FLASH is recessed into the Console. It write-protects the FLASH
ROM-stored P2OS software and your robot's operating parameters (see Updating and
Reconfiguring P2OS, Chapter 7). When switched forward, FLASH is enabled for writing.
ActivMedia’s P2OS maintenance utilities warn you if FLASH is disabled.
9 See the Quick Start chapter for client connection details.
10 A P2OS command also lets you toggle the motors under client control.
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