This week I began attempting to use the software from adham-elarabawy to begin experimenting with control. I was able to implement the static positioning code which was controlled from a keyboard and monitor attached directly to my Raspberry Pi (RPi). I found some difficulties in doing this by the SSH interface with my personal computer into my RPi. The difficulty was with the python package that allows for keyboard control called Pynput. I find it important to find a way around this as I do not have my Bluetooth connector that will allow me to interface with my robot via controller, and, in the meantime, intend to experiment using keyboard inputs. The issue with Pynput is that it requires a display name.
When I looked into the error, I found resources instructing me to change the display to the name of my computers display. Upon doing that I got this error.
It seems as though my computer is denying access to use its display. It seems that I would have to change the permissions of my computer, but I have yet to find an effective way to do so. I'm looking into other python keyboard packages that will not face this issue. In addition, I will work with adapting some of the code packages that deal with movement gaits without input control. I will do this by finding the movement cycles that match an input and briefly run them in isolation if possible to see difficulties with timing. In addition, I'm looking into ways to calibrate my servos in code so I don't have to manually scale the code.
Hardware update:
As I move forward I have found that I will need a battery eliminator circuit that outputs a higher current. My current one outputs 3A which will not be enough to match the draw of 12 servos. I'm am ordering one that outputs 17A with the same 5V. As I mentioned, I am also ordering a Bluetooth interface module so I can operate my robot with a controller. I am also investing a servo set up that contains a force response that will make future iterations of the robot much more responsive and open up the ability for further research.
Personal update:
I have a couple things to note here. The first is that I am moving back to Boston on August 15th. This is exciting because I once more will have access to the resources of the physical robotics lab. That being said, I will still work primarily from my apartment in order to respect the health and safety guidelines with respect to Covid-19. In addition, I am likely going to be dealing with family matters over the next week. I do not know yet how this will impact this next weeks progress, but there is a good chance that my focus could briefly shift.