Software for Controlling Your TeRK Robot

We’ve added some more support for Microsoft Robotics Studio (MSRS). This release adds support for most of the functions on the Qwerk except Audio and Video. It also includes some sample Visual Programming Language (VPL) software to drive around a Qwerkbot using a GUI Joystick.

The Prototyping Playground software is an easy-to-use framework for intermediate to advanced Java programmers interested in getting started with writing Java programs to control Qwerks.

Designed specifically for students in the first Computer Science course, MyFirstRobot provides novice programmers with a framework for quickly writing short programs to control their qwerk. A number of examples and project files for popular IDEs are included.

The Fake Qwerk program can be used in place of a real Qwerk board. Fake Qwerk is a useful tool for testing software applications meant to control a Qwerk. When Fake Qwerk recieves commands from a control program, it prints the commands to the screen. This allows one to see exactly what commands are being sent to the Qwerk, which can be useful for testing and debugging.

The Serial Dashboard client enables you to send/receive data to/from the Qwerk’s serial ports.

The Property Inspector client enables you to read/write the properties associated with each of the Qwerk’s various services (e.g. motors, servos, video, audio, LEDs, analog inputs, digital IO, etc.). Each service that the qwerk supports has a set of properties associated with it. Some properties, such as the Qwerk’s firmware version number or the number of LEDs supported, are read-only. Others are writeable, and you are free to use them in whatever way you wish.

You can use the Flower Power software to program your Flower robot via a simple, graphic, scripting language. No coding required! Flower Power is very similar in function to Express-O-Matic but includes a visualization of the Flower robot and a different set of pre-defined conditions.

You can use the Express-O-Matic software to program your TeRK robot via a simple, graphic, scripting language. No coding required! Express-O-Matic is very similar in function to Flower Power but it includes a different set of pre-defined conditions and is designed to be generic enough for any TeRK robot.

The Qwerk Audio Player software allows you to play tones and sound files on your Qwerk.

The Robot Dance Studio software allows you to record a “dance” for your robot. You create the dance by physically moving the robot. The Dance Studio software records the motor motions and allows you to play them back. You can also try out different effects such as playing the dance in reverse, mirrored, or at a different speed.

The Robot Universal Remote (RUR) can be used to test a Qwerk’s input and output devices. Use it to verify that motors and servos are working and wired correctly, view analog and digital inputs, test LEDs, etc.

The Teleop Interface allows you to teleoperate your robot using the onscreen controls or your keyboard. You can view video from the robot’s camera and drive the robot. If you make a Qwerkbot+, you can also control the pan and tilt of the camera with this interface.

The source code for all the applications presented on the Software page is available for download under the terms of the GNU General Public License v2. You may modify it to create your own software for the TeRK architecture.