Introduction to Motion Studio

BasicMicro Motion Studio is the Windows application used to configure, test and tune RoboClaw and MCP series motor controllers. This introduction, the first in a series covering Motion Studio, tours the application’s layout and walks through its most common operations, from connecting a controller to updating firmware and writing settings.

Motion Studio Layout

The Device Status screen is the first screen displayed when Motion Studio starts. The left-hand side of the window is persistent across every screen in the application: the “Attached Devices” window (1) lists any detected RoboClaws, and the button below it (2) reads “Connect Selected Unit” or “Disconnect Selected Unit”, depending on whether a RoboClaw is currently connected. Directly below these is the menu of screens available within the application, outlined in Figure 1. Device Status itself contains a sub-section for updating the connected RoboClaw’s firmware, along with indicators for its warning and error states.

Status Bars

Motion Studio has two status bars, both visible regardless of the sub-section of the application being used. The status bar across the top of the window reports aspects of the currently connected RoboClaw: board temperature, motor channel current, encoder counts, motor speed, main battery voltage, logic battery voltage, and firmware and hardware version information. The status bar at the bottom of the application displays warnings and error conditions for the connected RoboClaw. A full listing of these states can be seen in the “Device Status” section of the application.

General Settings

The General Settings section of Motion Studio is where the majority of the RoboClaw’s configuration options are found, organized into seven sub-sections. “General” (1) holds the main setup options, including the control mode selection and options related to multi-unit operation. “Serial” (2) configures serial communications: the packet serial address, baudrate and communication timeout. “Battery” (3) sets the voltage limits for the main and logic batteries, including cutoff presets for common LiPo cell counts. “Encoders” (4) sets the encoder type and direction for each motor channel. “RC/Analog Options” (5) contains options specific to the RC and Analog control modes. Here mixing can be enabled for differential drive robots and exponential can be applied to allow for easier low speed control. “Motors” (6) sets the maximum current for each motor channel along with default acceleration and deceleration values. Finally, “I/O” (7) assigns alternate functions such as e-stop, limit switches and home switches to pins S3 through S5.

PWM Settings

Clicking “PWM Settings” (2) on the left-hand side of the application opens the PWM Settings screen, used to operate the RoboClaw manually for testing. The “Controls” section (4) provides sliders to run each motor channel forward and reverse by duty cycle, along with options to sync the two sliders and to send commands only when a slider is released. The “PWM/Torque Settings” section (3) holds the motor inductance and resistance values used by MCP series controllers. The graph (1) plots values such as motor speed, current and battery voltage over time, which is useful for testing motors, verifying encoders and determining a motor’s maximum speed (QPPS).

Velocity Settings

The Velocity Settings screen is opened by clicking “Velocity Settings” (2) on the left-hand side of the application and is used to set the encoder and PID settings for speed control. The “Velocity Settings” section (3) holds the velocity PID values, the QPPS (the motor’s maximum speed in encoder counts per second) and the velocity error limit. The “Control” section (4) provides sliders to run each motor at a commanded speed and contains the auto-tuning controls for both channels. As with the PWM Settings screen, the graph (1) plots motor and controller values over time for testing and tuning.

Position Settings

Clicking “Position Settings” (2) on the left-hand side of the application opens the screen used to set the encoder and PID settings for position control. The “Position Settings” section (3) contains both the velocity PID values and the position PID values, along with limits such as the deadzone and the minimum and maximum encoder positions. The “Control” section (4) moves each motor to a commanded position, with settable acceleration and deceleration. Before using this screen the motor and encoder combination must be tuned for velocity in the “Velocity Settings” screen. The graph (1) plots position, speed and other values to use alongside the tuning routines.

Connecting and Disconnecting a RoboClaw

After starting Motion Studio a RoboClaw must be connected to the application. The “Attached Devices” window (1) in the upper left-hand corner shows all of the RoboClaws visible to Motion Studio. To connect a RoboClaw, select it in the list and click “Connect Selected Unit” (2). The “Stat1” LED on the RoboClaw will flash rapidly while it is connected to Motion Studio. To disconnect the RoboClaw, click the same button (2), now labeled “Disconnect Selected Unit”.

Updating Firmware

The firmware on a RoboClaw can be updated from inside Motion Studio. When connecting a RoboClaw, Motion Studio may open a pop-up dialog offering to update the firmware; you can proceed from that dialog or start the update manually at any time.

To update manually, click “Device Status” on the left-hand side of the application and locate the section labeled “Firmware”. Two fields at the top of this section show the current RoboClaw firmware version and the latest version available from BasicMicro. If the versions differ, click the “Update Firmware” button (1). A dialog box with information on the new firmware will open; click “OK” and the update process will start. Do not interrupt this process.

The RoboClaw will disappear from the list of attached devices and reappear once the process completes. After updating the firmware, reconnect the RoboClaw by clicking “Connect Selected Unit” to continue using Motion Studio.

Write Settings to Board

After making changes to the settings in Motion Studio, the changes must be written to the motor controller. Click “Device” in the menu at the top of the application, then click “Write Settings” (1). Once the settings have been written to the board, Motion Studio resets the controller automatically. The RoboClaw can then be disconnected from Motion Studio.

Restoring Default Values

An attached RoboClaw can be set back to its factory settings easily. Click “Device” in the menu at the top of the application, then click “Restore Defaults” (1).

Read Settings

Read Settings loads the settings currently written on the connected RoboClaw back into Motion Studio. This is useful if you make a mistake while changing settings and want to return to the values stored on the board. Click “Device” in the menu at the top of the application, then click “Read Settings” (1).

Save and Load Configuration Settings

The settings for the RoboClaw can be saved to a file and restored later. All of the options for this are found in the “File” menu (1) at the top of the application. To save the current settings, click “Save Settings”, choose a file location and name in the dialog that opens, and click “Save”. To load settings from a file, click “Load Settings”, select the file in the dialog, and click “Open”. Previously used settings files can also be loaded quickly from the “Recent Settings” entry.

Stop All Button

The “Stop All” button (1) in the lower left-hand corner of the application is used to stop both motors quickly and easily. Clicking the button stops both motors. There is also a checkbox that, if checked, allows the space bar to be used as an alternative to clicking the button.

Next Steps

Each of the main screens introduced in this tour is covered in depth in its own article:

• General Settings in Motion Studio
• PWM Settings in Motion Studio
• Velocity Settings in Motion Studio
• Position Settings in Motion Studio

For more on Motion Studio’s tools and configuration options, see:

• Graphing in Motion Studio
• Auto Tuning with Motion Studio
• Saving and Restoring RoboClaw Configurations
• Understanding Acceleration and Deceleration Values
• Velocity and Position Error Limits
• RoboClaw Advanced RC Options