First Steps

Before using your Qwerk for the first time, you will need to do the following four steps:

Verify Your Qwerk's Basic Hardware Operation

1. Verifying Power

In order to power your Qwerk you will need 1) a power cable and 2) a battery or AC adapter. The Qwerkbot recipe lists one type of battery that you may use with the Qwerk. The AC Adapter recipe describes how to make a power cable and an AC Adapter.

Before powering on the Qwerk board, make sure you have securely connected all the desired devices - motors, servos, camera, wireless adapter, etc. To avoid damage to your servos, make sure they are plugged in observing the correct polarity. On a standard servo the black wire is ground (-), the red wire is power (+), and the remaining wire (white, yellow, or orange) is signal (S).

Power the Qwerk board by sliding the power switch (located on the side of the board) in the direction indicated by the arrow. The LED labeled POWER should light up. If it doesn't, there is a problem with the power. Most likely your battery is dead or you have not connected the power cord observing the correct polarity.

2. Accessing the Diagnostics Tool

The Qwerk Diagnostic Tool is a small program on the Qwerk board that allows you to quickly check and configure the basic functionality of the Qwerk without needing to connect it to a network or a computer.

To access the Diagnostic Tool, first power off the Qwerk board. Then press and hold down the CFG button on the back of the Qwerk (to the right of the USB ports). Power on the Qwerk, but keep holding down the CFG button until you see all the LEDs begin to flash rapidly. As soon as they begin flashing, release the CFG button. You have now entered the Diagnostic Tool.

3. Using the Diagnostics tool

When the Diagnostic Tool program launches, it enters a menu mode. The menu allows you to select and run any of several subroutines. Selecting a routine is done by quickly tapping the CFG button a number of times. The routine selected will be displayed on the LEDs. Once the routine finishes, the Diagnostic Tool returns to menu mode again, which is visualized by all LEDs blinking rapidly for a second.

For example, if you want to select routine 4, tap CFG four times. The LEDs LED0, LED1, LED2, and LED3 will light up. Then, the four of them will blink rapidly for a moment, indicating that routine 4 has just been selected.

These instructions will guide you through testing the motors and servos. Details on the other Diagnostic Tool modes can be found in the Diagnostic Tool Manual.

4. Test Motor and Servo Operation

To avoid damage to the hardware, make sure your motors are rated for the voltage of the battery or DC adapter that you are using. To avoid damage to your servos, make sure they are plugged in observing the correct polarity. On a standard servo the black wire is ground (-), the red wire is power (+), and the remaining wire (white, yellow, or orange) is signal (S).

Once you are sure that you are using the correct voltage for your motors and that your servos are plugged in correctly, test the motors and servos by selecting the appropriate routine(s) from the Diagnostic Tool.

For detailed instructions on how to test the motors and servos, please refer to the instructions in the Diagnostic Tool Manual.

Obtain Your Qwerk's ID

Now that you have verified the basic hardware operation of your board, you are ready to obtain the Qwerk's ID number. You will need the ID number to register your board in a later step. Have a paper and pencil on hand so that you can write down the number as it is displayed on the Qwerk's LEDs.

In the Diagnostic Tool main menu, tap the Config button once to display the Qwerk's unique 28-digit ID number. Each digit of the number will be displayed once by turning on the corresponding LED for a second, then turning it off. For example, the sequence beginning with LED0, LED0, LED5, LED7 would mean your unique ID begins with 0057.

After the qwerk has finished displaying its ID number, the Diagnostic program will blink the LEDs rapidly and return to menu mode. You can now exit the Diagnostic Tool by pressing the Config button eight times or by powering off the Qwerk.

Create a Login for Yourself

You will need a personal login to manage and connect to your robot (when it is in relay mode). To create a login, do the following:

• Go to the TeRK web site: http://www.terk.ri.cmu.edu/
• Click the "Become a member" link in the top-right corner of the page.
• Read the instructions and privacy policy, and then fill out and submit the form. Once you've submitted the form, the TeRK web site will send email to the email address you entered in the form.
• Open your email program, and look for the email from the TeRK web site with the subject "TeRK Registration Confirmation".
• Go to the URL referenced in the email and complete your registration by filling out and submitting the form.

Congratulations! You now have a TeRK login. You will use this login for the TeRK web site and for the TeRK software applications when controlling your Qwerk via the relay.

Register Your Qwerk

Using the Qwerk's 28-digit ID number which you recorded above, you can register your Qwerk via the TeRK web site. This is required for communicating with your qwerk via the relay server connection model. Take the following steps:

• Go to the TeRK web site: http://www.terk.ri.cmu.edu/
• If you're not already logged in, use the login you created in the previous step to login to the web site.
• Click the "Manage Your Robots" link under the "YOUR MEMBER PROFILE" section near the top-right corner of the home page.
• On the "Manage Your Robots" page, find the "Register New Qwerk" section. You will use this form to register your Qwerk.
  • First enter a name for your Qwerk. This name can be anything you want, and you can change it at any time.
  • Now enter the Qwerk's 28-digit ID you obtained above.
  • Submit the form to register your Qwerk.
• Once the Qwerk is successfully registered, you should see it listed under a section titled "Your Robots".

Congratulations! You've now registered your Qwerk and are ready to connect to it using one of the TeRK software applications!