Robitic Arm Configuration and Usage Tutorial

MCU Board

The upper-layer SOC communicates with the lower-layer MCU via CANBUS. This method calculates the set_tilt value on the upper layer and sends it to the lower layer through CANBUS to achieve chassis stability control. arm1

AIRBOT（Qiuzhi）

Configuration

Airbot natively supports Ubuntu 20.04 and provides ROS1 compatibility. Install Docker on the NX using the tutorial: Docker Installation on ARM, If the system comes with Docker pre-installed, skip this step.

Docker image

  • pull docker image

docker pull registry.cn-guangzhou.aliyuncs.com/ddt_robot/airbot_on_tita:v1.0

  • This image includes ros-noetic and ros2-humble. Enter Docker using

docker run -it --rm --name airbot --privileged --cap-add=SYS_PTRACE -v $HOME/.ssh:/root/.ssh --network=host -v ~/manipulator:/workspace --workdir /workspace registry.cn-guangzhou.aliyuncs.com/ddt_robot/airbot_on_tita:v1.0 /bin/bash

Note

  • ROS environment variables (ros2-humble and ros1-bridge) are pre-configured in Docker - no additional setup needed.

Launch

Modify the ROS_DOMAIN_ID variable in Docker: sudo vim ~/.bashrc

export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=69 # Match your TITA's actual domain_id

After configuring Docker, save the modified image:

# in tita host
docker commit airbot modify_airbot

Launch

Hardware Configuration

TITA Robot x1 Power Board x1 TypeC Cable x1 Airbot x1 Gripper x1 Gripper Cable x1

Connect hardware as shown: arm2

Software Configuration

  • SSH into TITA robot

ssh robot@192.168.42.1 # wire connected to host, if use wifi, check your tita ip address

  • Create workspace, pull code, and launch:

cd 
mkdir manipulator && cd manipulator
git clone https://github.com/DDTRobot/airbot_on_tita
cd airbot_on_tita
bash docker_run.bash
# in docker container
source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash
catkin_make
bash can_up.bash # success if print "can1 up success"
bash ros_run.bash # launch ros_interface of airbot
# if in terminal print such as : 
# terminate called after throwing an instance of 'std::runtime_error'
# what():  AIRBOT Play needs to be calibrated. Please run airbot_auto_set_zero or airbot_set_zero
# please kill with `Ctrl+C` and run with `airbot_set_zero -m can1` to set arm to zero position
# more information of airbot please refer to https://discover-robotics.github.io/docs/latest/AIRBOT-Play/tutorials/env/

Note

A “click” sound indicates successful startup. After compilation, use bash one_start.bash on the host.

  • Control manipulator via remote (Optional):

Note

Remote cannot control robot while operating manipulator.

New terminal → SSH into TITA:

mkdir -p airbot_joy/src && cd airbot_joy/src
git clone https://github.com/DDTRobot/airbot_joy
cd ..
colcon build 
source install/setup.bash
ros2 launch airbot_joy airbot_joy.launch.py

  • Remote control mode setup:

  1. Press right button above remote screen to enter menu

  2. Select second mode (user-sdk mode, marked with “*”)

  3. Left joystick: XY-axis control | Right joystick: Z-axis | Bottom-right button: Reset arm

  4. Chassis/arm control are decoupled: Non-SDK mode controls chassis, SDK mode controls manipulator only

Shutdown Procedure

  1. Connect robot to computer, open terminal

  2. SSH into robot

  3. Stop manipulator:docker exec airbot pkill -SIGINT -f "roslaunch ros_interface airbot_arm.launch"

  4. Stop docker : docker stop airbot

Note

Restart manipulator by rerunning one_start.

常见问题：

  • CANBUS failure due to can0/can1 device assignment Solution:

  1. Power on robot and wait for full boot

  2. Connect Type-C cable afterward