NXT-0.2.3: A Haskell interface to Lego Mindstorms NXT

Safe HaskellNone

Robotics.NXT.Remote

Contents

Description

A simple message-based control of the NXT brick via remotely executed program. The main goal of this approach is to reduce latency otherwise encountered when using NXT Bluetooth communication. Namely, changing the direction of communication takes around 30 ms. This means that one cycle of requesting motor status, receiving data and then sending motor control update takes at least 60 ms (it takes two changes of communication direction). And this is especially a problem if you want to control multiple motors at the same time (and built-in synchronize mechanism is not good enough for you).

One solution to this problem is that Bluetooth is used only for communication in one direction and an additional program on the NXT brick is checking motor status and correcting possible errors. Of course this also means that information about motor position have to be obtained in some other way: by predicting from sent commands, or measuring/probing with regular NXT commands when there is time for that (and latency at that time is not a problem), or by using some external sensors attached to the controlling computer and not to the NXT brick (camera tracking system for example).

Use NBC (http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/) to compile basic NXC code (remote.nxc) included with this module into remote.rxe NXT program (or use already compiled version) and then upload it with nxt-upload program. This module will then run that program and sends it messages to control the NXT brick. Because commands will be executed and controlled directly on the NXT brick less latency and more powerful control is possible.

Check Robotics.NXT.MotorControl for another (more precise but more complex) approach to message-based control. It would be great to one day combine MotorControl's precision with API (especially interruptability) of remote.nxc.

Synopsis

Initialization

startRemoteProgram :: NXT ()Source

Starts remote.rxe program on the NXT brick. Program has to be uploaded/available on the NXT brick.

stopRemoteProgram :: NXT ()Source

Stops current running program on the NXT brick. Probably this means remote.rxe program on the NXT brick.

Control

sendRemoteCommand :: RemoteCommand -> NXT ()Source

Sends a command to the remote.rxe program. Commands can be interrupted (or supplemented, for other motors) immediately by a next command.

data RemoteCommand Source

Constructors

RemoteCommand [OutputPort] RemoteCommandType

Data type of remote command for specified output port(s).

Instances

data RemoteCommandType Source

Constructors

MoveFor OutputPower TachoLimit

Move specified motors for a given number of degrees at a given speed.

SetTo OutputPower TachoCount

Set specified motors' position to a given offset in degrees from a zero position (it is assumed that motors are at zero position at remote.rxe program start, you can use resetMotorPosition to assure that, but probably not needed as the NXT brick resets things at program start) at a given speed. Probably not a good idea to mix SetTo and MoveFor on the same motor as MoveFor resets position.

Instances