Specifications and Controls
below safe operating level of ~11 VDC.10,11 Genpowerd running on the onboard Linux system or ups.exe running under Windows, detects the change of state and initiates OS shutdown after a short wait, during which the shutdown may be canceled by raising the battery voltage, such as by attaching a charger.
Genpowerd monitors the HOST serial RI port on /dev/ttyS0. Windows’ ups.exe requires a dedicated serial
SAFETY AROS WATCHDOGS
AROS contains a communications watchdog that will halt the robot’s motion if communications between a PC client and the robot server are disrupted for a set time interval, nominally two seconds (watchdog parameter). The robot will automatically resume activity, including motion, as soon as communications are restored.
AROS also contains a stall monitor. If the drive exerts a PWM pulse that equals or exceeds a configurable level and the wheels fail to turn (stallval), motor power is cut off for a configurable amount of time (stallwait). The server software also notifies the client which motor is stalled. When the stallwait time elapses, motor power automatically switches back on and motion continues under server control.
There also is the LowBattery FLASH parameter that sets off an audible warning when the batteries fall below a safe charge level. To avoid systems corruptions, the AROS servers force a soft system shutdown, possibly including the onboard PC (Linux genpowerd or Windows’ ups.exe), when the batteries fall below approximately 11 volts.
All these “failsafe” mechanisms help ensure that your robot will not cause damage or be damaged during operation. You may reconfigure the various
10RI and DSR on the HOST serial port are RS232 low during reset or when the controller is in Maintenance Mode.
11AROS versions 1.5 and earlier raised the HOST serial port's DSR and RI to
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