Re: What sort of joystick/controller to use to remotely control/pilot walking robot?

Use two sticks, like Battlezone! - even DPDT Center Off toggles would work.

Both forward = forward
Left forward / Right back = rotate right (on axis)
Left forward / Right Center = turn right (arc)
Both back = reverse

There's more combo's but I have Adult ADHD.

-Will


"D Herring" <dherring@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:a_qdnRO8J-65G3LYnZ2dnUVZ_oernZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mike wrote:
Hi - I am trying to decide what sort of controller I want to use to
remotely pilot my 6 legged robot.

Right now I'm using an XBox 360 controller. I like some things about
it - but the centering on it is absolutely awful. So I'm thinking
about switching over to something like a 3 axis joystick, probably the
Saitek Cyborg wireless.

Also - I can't decide about which control should do what. I figure the
primary control (X/Y) on the joystick should control X/Y on the
robot's movement. But what about rotating in place? That's what I'm
thinking I'll use the third axis on the Saitek for. But - what if I
want to walk, say, in a circle? How would I do that? I thought about
trying to mix the third axis of the joystick with the X and Y axes, so
that the harder you twist the joystick the tighter of a circle it
would walk in, until at the max twist the robot would be turning in
place. The X and Y would control the direction of the circle it was
walking in, and once the joystick was turned all the way (so that the
robot was rotating in place) - the magnitude of the combination of X
and Y would control the speed of rotation.

Sounds like a fun project. In first-person shooters, a common standard
is for the WASD keys to control translation, while the mouse controls
where the player is facing.

A similar scheme would apply to your robot. It should walk in the
direction the joystick is pointing (step forward, backward, left, or
right), and it should turn at a rate proportional to the joystick twist.

To turn a circle, press the stick in any direction and apply the desired
twist. Figuring out how to make the legs do all this might be the hard
part.

- Daniel
Who's stuck in simulation land.


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