I’m interested in hooking up my maestro directly through USB to a computer running Linux. I’ve looked through the documentation and sample PC control programs but I am unsure how I can directly control the maestro with a program running on the computer (not by uploading scripts to the maestro). Is there a driver available or would I need to write one? If I need to write one, is there documentation about the maestro’s interface?
More specifically, I am interested in using a Rasberry Pi to directly control the maestro. What’s the correct way to go about doing this if possible? Thanks.
See the “linux” section of the user’s guide. pololu.com/docs/0J40
Due to the different processor used in the Raspberry Pi, the software would at the very least need to be recompiled.
Hi Jim, I should have been more specific. I had previously skimmed over the Linux section of the documentation but I was hoping to avoid using mono-runtime completely.
In any case, I ported the code for Usc Command control to C++ and it should be a good starting point for what I want to accomplish.
Another question: I previously had 3 maestros daisy-chained and connected to an Oragutan SVP-1284 through the UART interface. I believe that I do not need to daisy chain them anymore (I don’t think I could even use the daisy-chain through USB) now that I will let Linux handle the multiple USB connections. I also believe I need to keep track of which maestro does what based on the serial number. Is that correct?
Regarding the comment you made in parentheses, you can have the Maestros daisy-chained together using USB. You would basically take the setup you had before, change the Serial Mode of one of the Maestros to “USB Chained”, connect that Maestro to the Raspberry Pi via USB, and modify the wiring as shown in the “Daisy Chaining” section of the Maestro User’s Guide.
If you do the daisy chaining described above, you will need to keep track of the Device Number that you assign to each Maestro. If you use the Maestro’s native USB interface you can read the Maestro’s serial numbers but you also have the option to read any configuration option from the Maestro, including its Device Number; you could use either the serial number or the Device Number to identify the Maestros.
