CotsBots Setup

Last updated 31 Jan. 2003

Introduction

There are a couple important setup parameters in using CotsBots that you should read first before doing any CotsBots programming.

Programming the MotorBoard

Several things have changed since the MotorBoard was last programmed, so it is important to do this first. The MotorBoard uses the ATmega8L microcontroller, a relatively recent addition to the Atmel family. Therefore, in order to program, you must be using avr-gcc3.2 or higher.

Please re-program your MotorBoards first! Many things have been added since code was last downloaded to the motorboards.

You will notice that you may need to add a sensorboard in the programming board stack as shown below. In addition, a 3V power supply (available from Radio Shack) needs to be used while programming. This is taken care of when using the latest mica2 programming board.

Setting up the Makefiles

Because the CotsBots software is placed in the separate tinyos-1.x/contrib directory, one small addition must be made if using a Makelocal file in your standard tinyos-1.x/apps directory. You may be using this if you are working on an IBM Thinkpad, where you need to set the extra -dlpt=3 flag. Just modify the Makelocal file in tinyos-1.x/contrib/cotsbots/apps/ to be the same as that in your primary apps directory.

Running RobotCmdGUI

If you would like to have external control of the robot (for the TestMotorBoard and TestNavigation applications), you will need to use the RobotCmdGUI provided in the tinyos-1.x/contrib/cotsbots/tools directory. Once again, because the software is installed in the contrib directory, you will need to modify your CLASSPATH environment variable. Often you need to be a computer administrator to do this. Add the following directory to the CLASSPATH. 

{INSTALL DRIVE}/tinyos-1.x/contrib/cotsbots/tools;
And that should be it! You are ready to play with the CotsBots!

If you have problems with any of the above, please email:
cotsbots-help@millennium.berkeley.edu