User manual IROBOT CREATE

[. . . ] iRobot Create ® Owner's guide SAVE 15% on accessories. See back for details. www. irobot. com Important Safety Instructions generAL sAFeTY insTruCTiOns · · · · · Read all safety and operating instructions before operating iRobot Create. Retain the safety and operating instructions for future reference. Heed all warnings on iRobot Create, battery, charger and in owner's manual. Follow all operating and use instructions. [. . . ] It is green when the batteries are fully charged or new, and gradually turns red as the batteries discharge. wArning: do not use rechargeable AA batteries in irobot Create. use Alkaline batteries or irobot rechargeable Batteries only. Color of Power Light Slow Pulsing Orange Fast Pulsing Orange Green Amber Red Flashing Red Battery status Charging (iRobot rechargeable battery only) Reconditioning Charge (iRobot rechargeable battery only) Fully Charged Partially Discharged Almost Fully Discharged Fully Discharged iRobot Create Owner's Guide Alkaline Battery Pack The included alkaline battery pack requires 12 non-rechargeable "AA" batteries to power iRobot Create. iRobot Create's low-voltage shutoff is designed for alkaline batteries only; rechargeable batteries can be deeply discharged and damaged if they are used in the alkaline battery pack. iRobot Create does not attempt to charge batteries in the alkaline battery pack. Alkaline batteries will power the robot (on a hard floor with no payloads or attachments) for up to 1. 5 hours if the robot is constantly moving. If you plan to have your robot moving continuously, iRobot recommends that you purchase a rechargeable battery pack at www. irobot. com. using the Alkaline Battery Pack Use a Phillips head screwdriver to loosen the four screws on the underside of the green Alkaline Battery Pack. The screws will not come all the way out of the doors. Slide the doors up and out of the batter y case. Inser t six non-rechargeable alkaline "AA" batteries into each side of the battery case and then slide the doors back on. Insert the battery case into iRobot Create's Battery Well, pushing until it clicks into place. note: The Alkaline Battery Pack is not recommended for use in iRobot Roomba®. www. irobot. com Cargo Bay Connector The cargo bay connector, located in the front middle of the cargo bay contains 25 labeled pins that you can use to attach electronics and other peripheral devices such as additional sensors, lights, or motors to iRobot Create. The cargo bay connector provides four digital inputs, an analog input, three digital outputs, three low-side driver outputs (useful for driving motors), a charging indicator, a power toggle, serial Tx and Rx, a 5V reference, battery ground and battery voltage. Cargo Bay Connector Pin descriptions Pin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 name RXD TXD Power control toggle Analog input Digital input 1 Digital input 3 Digital output 1 Switched 5V Vpwr Switched Vpwr Switched Vpwr Switched Vpwr Robot charging GND BRC GND Digital input 0 Digital input 2 Digital output 0 Digital output 2 GND Low side driver 0 Low side driver 1 Low side driver 2 GND description 0 ­ 5V Serial input to iRobot Create 0 ­ 5V Serial output from iRobot Create Turns iRobot Create on or off on a low-to-high transition 0 - 5V analog input to iRobot Create 0 - 5V digital input to iRobot Create 0 - 5V digital input to iRobot Create 0 - 5V, 20 mA digital output from iRobot Create Provides a regulated 5V 100 mA supply and analog reference voltage when iRobot Create is switched on iRobot Create battery voltage (unregulated), 0. 5A Provides battery power @ 1. 5 A when iRobot Create is powered on. Provides battery power @ 1. 5 A when iRobot Create is powered on. Send these two command sets separately: 128 131 137 0 100 128 0 You can also write scripts of commands, freeing your robot from the serial cable tether. A script is a sequence of commands including commands that wait for events. With a script you can make the robot perform a "song-anddance" routine that you create. For more information on scripts, see the section Creating a Script for iRobot Create found on page 13. To make the robot perform more complex behaviors, you can write software that runs on the PC and sends commands to the robot while reading its sensor data. Your software can communicate with iRobot Create over the included serial cable or a wireless serial accessory (not included). For more information on the Open Interface commands, see the iRobot® Create Open Interface (OI) Specification at www. irobot. com/create. sending Oi Commands from a Microprocessor With a microprocessor like iRobot's Command Module attached to your robot, you can make it perform complex behaviors without a serial tether or wireless connection to a PC. See page 16 for details on the iRobot Command Module. With the iRobot Command Module, which plugs into iRobot Create's Cargo Bay Connector, you can write your own programs in C or C++, that send OI commands to iRobot Create and read its sensor data. [. . . ] · The power light pulses orange while the robot is charging and turns solid green to indicate a full charge. · For best battery performance, keep iRobot Create powered off, plugged in, or charging on the Home Base when not in use. 1 iRobot Create Owner's Guide · The iRobot Create robot (without a payload or other attachments) will run for up to 3. 5 hours with a fully charged APS battery. · When you charge an iRobot rechargeable battery for the first time, or if iRobot Create has been left on and not charging, the robot initiates a special 16-hour reconditioning charge cycle. During this type of charge cycle, the power light pulses quickly. Troubleshooting During the built-in demos, iRobot Create will tell you when something is wrong by blinking its Play and Advance lights rapidly and playing a two-tone "uh-oh" sound followed by beeping. [. . . ]