What sort of joystick/controller to use to remotely control/pilot walking robot?

Question

Hi - I am trying to decide what sort of controller I want to use to remotely pilot my 6 legged robot.

Right now I'm using an XBox 360 controller. I like some things about it - but the centering on it is absolutely awful. So I'm thinking about switching over to something like a 3 axis joystick, probably the Saitek Cyborg wireless.

Also - I can't decide about which control should do what. I figure the primary control (X/Y) on the joystick should control X/Y on the robot's movement. But what about rotating in place? That's what I'm thinking I'll use the third axis on the Saitek for. But - what if I want to walk, say, in a circle? How would I do that? I thought about trying to mix the third axis of the joystick with the X and Y axes, so that the harder you twist the joystick the tighter of a circle it would walk in, until at the max twist the robot would be turning in place. The X and Y would control the direction of the circle it was walking in, and once the joystick was turned all the way (so that the robot was rotating in place) - the magnitude of the combination of X and Y would control the speed of rotation.

But that seems a little, well, weird. Have any of you all found a good way to control your walking robots?

Thanks,

-Mike

D Herring · Accepted Answer

Sounds like a fun project. In first-person shooters, a common standard is for the WASD keys to control translation, while the mouse controls where the player is facing.

A similar scheme would apply to your robot. It should walk in the direction the joystick is pointing (step forward, backward, left, or right), and it should turn at a rate proportional to the joystick twist.

To turn a circle, press the stick in any direction and apply the desired twist. Figuring out how to make the legs do all this might be the hard part.

- Daniel Who's stuck in simulation land.

will.lynelle · Answer

Use two sticks, like Battlezone! - even DPDT Center Off toggles would work.

Both forward = forward Left forward / Right back = rotate right (on axis) Left forward / Right Center = turn right (arc) Both back = reverse

There's more combo's but I have Adult ADHD.

-Will

Mike · Answer

I thought about using two joysticks - but that would just be too muchfor me. I really like to have at least one hand free. It wouldcertainly simplify the control scheme, though.

Si Ballenger · Answer

You might try a multi button joy stick. I made a simple program to control two servo based pan/tilt web cams. When one button on the stick was pressed, it controlled cam A pan/tilt. When the other button was pressed, cam B was controlled. With no button pushed, the stick was deactivated allowing the stick to return to neutral with out the cam following it.

Robert Davidson · Answer

Ever consideredthe PS2 Controler.  There's a way to control your robot  directly with a wireless "PS2 Controler" unit. Click below for details on entire kit:  Good Luck Mike...

Robert Davidson · Answer

You can also try these:?productID=537&CategoryID=?productID=556&CategoryID= Luck Mike...

What sort of joystick/controller to use to remotely control/pilot walking robot?

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