K-Team Khepera III User manual

Documentation Author
F.Lambercy and G.Caprari for K-Team S.A.
Rue Galilee 9
1400 Yverdon-les-bains
Switzerland
email: [e-mail]
Url: www.k-team.com
Trademark Acknowledgments:
IBM PC: International Business Machine Corp.
Khepera: K-Team and LAMI
Legal Notice:
•The content of this manual is subject to change without notice.
•All effort have been made to ensure the accuracy of the content of
this manual. However, should any error be detected, please inform
K-Team S.A.
•The above notwithstanding K-Team can assume no responsibility for
any error in this manual.
Khepera III manual ver 2.2 1

Table Of Contents
1 Introduction 4
1.1 How to Use this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Safety Precaution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 Recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2 Unpacking and Inspection 6
3 The Robot and Its Accessories 7
3.1 The Khepera III Robot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1.1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1.2 ON-OFF Battery Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1.3 Indication LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1.4 Serial connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1.5 Cable unroller connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.6 USB connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.7 How to plug a KoreBotLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Motors and motor control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.2.1 Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.3 Infra-red Proximity sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.3.1 Ambient light measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3.2 Reflected light measurements (proximity) . . . . . . . 17
3.4 Ultrasonic sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.5 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.6 Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4 Connections 20
4.1 Configuration for batteries charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2 Configuration for Robot-Computer Communication in standalone 21
4.3 Configuration for Robot-Computer Communication with KoreBotLE 22
4.3.1 Serial link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3.2 USB link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4 Bluetooth Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.4.1 Bluetooth communication with KheperaIII . . . . . . 24
4.4.2 Bluetooth communication with KoreBotLE . . . . . . 25
4.4.3 Log On the KoreBotLE with a Bluetooth connection . 25
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5 Serial Communication Mode 26
5.1 Testing the primary serial link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.2 Testing the secondary serial link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5.3 Serial communication protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5.3.1 Testing a simple interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6 KoreBotLE programming 30
A Communication protocol 33
Khepera III manual ver 2.2 3

1Introduction
1.1 How to Use this Manual
This manual is introducing the Khepera III robot. For a quick start and
overview of the robot’s functions, please read chapter 1 to 4.
Refer to the following summary if a particular information is needed.
If the manual does not cover a particular problem, many more technical
documentation is available online from K-Team website (www.k-team.com)
and especially a Frequently Asked Question document to solve most common
problems and questions.
Unpacking and Inspection: Khepera’s package description.
The robot and its accessories: Khepera Hardware overview and main
functions and accessories description.
Connections: detailed cables connections for various usage.
Serial Communication mode: detailed description for the Serial com-
munication mode between a computer and the robot.
1.2 Safety Precaution
Check the unit’s operating voltage before operation.
It must be identical with that of your local power supply. The operating
voltage is indicated on the nameplate at the rear of the power supply.
All connnections (including extension addition or disconnection) must
be made when the robot and the interface are switched OFF. Otherwise
damages can occur.
Switch OFF the robot if you will not use it for more than a day.
Disconnect the power supply removing it from the wall socket.
Do not manually force any mechanical movement.
Avoid to force, by any mechanical way, the movement of the wheels or
any other part.
If you have any question or problem concerning the robot, please contact
your local Khepera dealer.
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1.3 Recycling
Think about the end of life of your robot! Parts of the robot can be recycled
and it is important to do so. It is for instance important to keep batteries
out of the solid waste stream. When you throw away a battery, it eventually
ends up in a landfill or municipal incinerator. These batteries, which contain
heavy metals, can contribute to the toxicity levels of landfills or incinerator
ash. By recycling the batteries through recycling programs, you can help to
create a cleaner and safer environment for generations to come. For those
reasons please take care to the recycling of your robot at the end of its life
cycle, for instance sending back the robot to the manufacturer or to your
local dealer.
Thanks for your contribution to a cleaner environment!
Khepera III manual ver 2.2 5

2Unpacking and Inspection
Open the bag and check each item in the box. You should having the
following material.
1. Khepera III robot
2. KoreBotLE ( not included in the Khepera III base package )
3. Power Supply with a primary plug
4. Battery Pack
5. Optional KoreConnect
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3The Robot and Its Accessories
3.1 The Khepera III Robot
3.1.1 Overview
Figure 3.1: Overview of the Khepera III robot.
Make an external inspection of the robot. Note the location of the fol-
lowing parts:
1. Infrared sensors.
2. Ultrasonic sensors.
3. Main serial connector.
4. USB miniAB connector.
5. Power jack connector.
6. Reset.
7. On / Off.
8. Cable unroller connector.
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3.1.2 ON-OFF Battery Switch
It allows the user to switch the robot ON or OFF. When ON, the robot is
powered. The robot may even be powered without the battery pack using
the external power supply connector. See figure 3.1 number 7.
3.1.3 Indication LEDs
The Khepera III has six indication LEDs, two for the battery charger, one
for the Power ON, one for the state of the motors controller and two pro-
grammables by the end-user (see figure 3.2).
When the Motor controller state LED is on, one of the two motor con-
troller is in error mode. This could append when a motor is blocked or
a current limit is detected. In this case the controller must be reset by
the dsPIC (’M’ command in serial interface mode or call ’initKH3()’ in a
KoreBotLE program).
For the battery charger, the red one indicates that charge is in progress
and the green one signals when the charge is complete. If there’s no battery
pack when you plug an external power supply, the green one will turn on.
The led 5 and 6 can be set by the user with ’L’ command. See annexe
A Serial communication protocol.
Figure 3.2: LEDs of the Khepera III.
1. Motor Controllers state LED (redD).
2. Power ON LED (green).
3. Charge completed LED (green).
4. Charge in progress LED (red).
5. Programmable LED (green).
6. Programmable LED (red).
Khepera III manual ver 2.2 8