LittleArm "Waldo" Training Pendant

A few of you may have seen this video we made several months ago. In it the LittleArm arduino robot is dancing to a Roy Orbison son. It is able to dance because it is being controlled by a device called a Waldo.

A Waldo is basically a motion capture device. We use potentiometers to control the the position of the servos on the LittleArm.

When we posted the video we posted the code and the initial designs for the 3D printed parts of the Waldo on the Downloads page. Today we are posting the the electrical diagram. 

We apologize that it has taken so long. But we have been pretty swamped moving LittleArms out the doors to create much content.

But better late than never. Here is the wiring diagram to build your own motion capture Waldo training pendant for the LittleArm. (Just a Note: We have also created a recording piece of software that needs another button and conects the arm and the Waldo to a computer to record the motion. That post will be coming in a few days.)

This is an update to the first wiring diagram. It allows the powering of the arduino and the servos from the power supply and changes the reference value. This is a better method. But try to disconnect the servos when plugged into the USB. The two power sources can damage each other or the board.

And here is the code that goes with the diagram.

​// training program with gripper button working.

#include <Servo.h>  //arduino library
#include <math.h>   //standard c library

#define PI 3.141

Servo baseServo;  
Servo shoulderServo;  
Servo elbowServo; 
Servo gripperServo;

int command;

struct jointAngle{
  int base;
  int shoulder;
  int elbow;
};

int desiredGrip = 30;

int basePotPin = A0;
int shoulderPotPin = A1;
int elbowPotPin = A2; 

int desiredDelay = 3;

int potValHolder1;
int potValHolder2;
int potValHolder3;

int recordPin = 2;
int gripPin = 3;

bool gripped = 1;

bool holder = 1;

struct jointAngle desiredAngle; //desired angles of the servos

//+++++++++++++++FUNCTION DECLARATIONS+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

int servoParallelControl (int thePos, Servo theServo );
//+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

void setup()
{ 
  Serial.begin(9600);
  baseServo.attach(9);        // attaches the servo on pin 9 to the servo object 
  shoulderServo.attach(10);
  elbowServo.attach(11);
  gripperServo.attach(6);
  
  Serial.setTimeout(50);      //ensures the the arduino does not read serial for too long
  Serial.println("started");
  baseServo.write(90);        //intial positions of servos
  shoulderServo.write(150);
  elbowServo.write(110);


  pinMode(gripPin, INPUT);
  pinMode(recordPin, INPUT);
  
} 

//primary arduino loop
void loop() 
{ 
    potValHolder1 = analogRead(basePotPin);
    if (potValHolder1 < 500){
        desiredAngle.base = map(potValHolder1, 0, 500, 175, 5);
    }
    
    potValHolder2 = analogRead(shoulderPotPin);
    if (potValHolder2 > 500){
       desiredAngle.shoulder = map(potValHolder2, 501, 1023, 175, 5);
    }
    
    potValHolder3 = analogRead(elbowPotPin);
    if (potValHolder3 < 500){
       desiredAngle.elbow = map(potValHolder3, 0, 500, 175, 5);
    }

   // holder = digitalRead(gripPin);


// read the gripper button to define position. 
// when the button is pressed the gripper changes positions
    if ((digitalRead(gripPin) ==HIGH) ){
      gripped = !gripped;    

      if (gripped == 1){
        desiredGrip = 3;
      }
      if (gripped == 0){
        desiredGrip = 75;
      }
      
    }

  int status1 = 0;
  int status2 = 0;
  int status3 = 0;
  int status4 = 0;
  int done = 0 ; 
  
  while( done == 0){  
    //move the servo to the desired position
    status1 = servoParallelControl(desiredAngle.base, baseServo, desiredDelay);
    status2 = servoParallelControl(desiredAngle.shoulder,  shoulderServo, desiredDelay);
    status3 = servoParallelControl(desiredAngle.elbow, elbowServo, desiredDelay);      
    status4 = servoParallelControl(desiredGrip, gripperServo, desiredDelay);  
    
    if (status1 == 1 & status2 == 1 & status3 == 1 & status4 == 1){
      done = 1;
      
    }
        
  }// end of while
}

//++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++FUNCTION DEFITNITIONS++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

int servoParallelControl (int thePos, Servo theServo, int theSpeed ){
  
    int startPos = theServo.read();        //read the current pos
    int newPos = startPos;
    //int theSpeed = speed;
    
    //define where the pos is with respect to the command
    // if the current position is less that the actual move up
    if (startPos < (thePos-5)){
          
       newPos = newPos + 1;
       theServo.write(newPos);
       delay(theSpeed);
       return 0;
           
    }
  
   else if (newPos > (thePos + 5)){
  
      newPos = newPos - 1;
      theServo.write(newPos);
      delay(theSpeed);
      return 0;
          
    }  
    
    else {
        return 1;
    }  
    
}