Hello I am new to this forum, robotics and writing code. I am looking to buy a Mini Maestro 12 servo controller, and I am wanting to know what languages this controller will accept. I read that it has a native language via usb. Is this the only way to program this controller without using a microcontroller like the Arduino uno? Or are there other ways to program, and languages that this board (stand alone) will accept? One more thing… What is the best coding language to use if you are a complete n00b like me? Thanks.
Hello, Skumdog.
If you want to write a program that runs on the Maestro itself, enabling stand-alone operation, then you will need to write it in the Maestro Scripting Language which is documented in the user’s guide. If you just want to do simple sequences of servo movements, you could use the Sequence tab in the Maestro Control Center, which has a feature to export the sequences to a Maestro script.
If you wanted to control the Maestro from a microcontroller you could use many different languages. If you wanted to control it from a PC you could use almost any language.
That depends what you want to do. My first programming language was Basic, which you can use if you get a Basic Stamp. But if you just want to make some servos move in a relatively simple way and you can teach yourself what a stack is then you should be able to understand the Maestro scripting language. The Maestro Control Center will let you step through your code line by line to help you understand what it is doing and debug it. An advantage of using the Maestro instead of an external microcontroller is that we already have working example code that will move servos and you don’t have to worry about making the right serial connections between the boards.
–David
Awesome thanks for all the help, and what a wicked fast response. I am also looking at the Orangutan SVP-1284, looks like an awesome controller. My ultimate goal is to build a full huminoid biped that will stand approximately 1- 1 1/2 feet tall. But I am going to start with just an arm to get a feel for programming and building this type of robot. I have been fascinated with robots my entire life. Now I am 31 years old, I think I should try it out. Instead of just looking and watching robots. So do you think the Orangutan SVP-1284, would suit my “ultimate” needs better? Or should I just stick with the Mini Maestro, till I learn a bit? Any thoughts would be great.
Hey guys…
I’m pretty new to this whole thing, too, and am wondering if you can help me with using this Maestro software…
I’m currently trying to produce a pan/tilt mounted antenna which responds to coordinates entered by a user (ie, enter a position in the sky, and servos move the antenna to point in that direction).
What I would love to know is, is there a way of editing scripts such as
begin
9216 0 servo
500 delay
2048 0 servo
500 delay
repeat
etc, in a linux command terminal using ./UscCmd, rather than using the graphical user interface from ./MaestroControlCenter?
Can I write scripts in a separate file and load them? What language do these need to be in? And will they automatically compile, etc, or do I need to do that, too?
Any help would be super appreciated!!
Cheers
PS when editing scripts in the Control Center… Where do they save to?? All I can seem to find are the temp files for the compiled code…
Hello.
You can use UscCmd --getconf settings.txt to get the settings file for your Maestro. Then you can edit the script inside with a text editor and write the script to the Maestro using UscCmd --configure settings.txt. These options are documented in the help screen of UscCmd which gets printed when you just run UscCmd with no arguments.
When you click “Apply Settings” in the Maestro Control Center, the compiled version of the script is saved to the flash on the Maestro itself, and the source code is saved in the Windows registry, or if you’re on Linux they are saved in Mono’s imitation of the Windows registry and I’m not sure where exactly that is.
–David
Great! Thanks so much for that!
Another somewhat related question…
Within that text file then, does the controller have the capability to support user interaction, eg - running the script prompts a user input, and then converts that input mathematically (by a formula that I have) and executes commands to the servo after the computation?
Does that make sense…? :S
Cheers
Yes, the Maestro has this capability, but you will need to write your own software on the PC side to handle the user interaction, calculate the servo targets, and send the correct commands to the Maestro. In this case, I recommend keeping things simple and NOT using the Maestro’s internal scripting as I described in my last post.
For more information, see the section entitled “Writing PC Software to Control the Maestro” in the Maestro User’s Guide.
–David