Quanser QBot 2 User manual
CAPTIVATE. MOTIVATE. GRADUATE.
USER MANUAL
QBot 2 for QUARC
Set Up and Configuration
© 2015 Quanser Inc., All rights reserved.
Quanser Inc.
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Fax: 1-905-940-3576
Printed in Markham, Ontario.
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QBOT 2 - User Manual 2
1 Introduction
The Quanser QBot 2 (Figure 1.1) is an innovative autonomous ground robot system incorporating a robust
educational ground vehicle with the Microsoft Kinect and a Quanserrembedded target. The QBot 2 is comprised
of a Yujin Robot Kobuki platform, a Microsoft Kinect RGB camera and depth sensor, and a QuanserrDAQ with a
wireless embedded computer (also refered to as the target computer). The embedded computer system mounted
on the vehicle uses the Gumstix DuoVero computer [1] to run QUARCr,Quanserr's real-time control software, and
interface with the QBot 2 data acquisition card (DAQ).
Figure 1.1: The Quanser QBot 2
The interface to the target computer is MatlabrSimulinkrwith QUARCr. The QBot 2 is accessible through three
different block sets: the QuanserrHardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) block set to read from sensors and/or write to
outputs, the QuanserrStream API blockset to perform communications over wired and wireless communication
channels, the QuanserrMultimedia blockset to read RGB and depth image data from the Kinect sensor, and The
MathWorksrComputer Vision System toolbox to perform image processing. Controllers are developed in Simulinkr
with QUARCron the host computer, and these models are cross-compiled and downloaded to the target (Gumstix
[1]) seamlessly. A diagram of this configuration is shown in Figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2: Communication Hierarchy
The general system description, component nomenclature, specifications, and model parameters are all given in
Section 2. Section 3 goes into detail on how to setup the QBot 2. Lastly, Section 4 contains a troubleshooting guide.
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1.1 Prerequisites
To successfully operate the QBot 2, the prerequisites are:
1. To be familiar with the components of the QBot 2.
2. To have QUARCrversion 2.5 or later installed and properly licensed.
3. The MathWorksrComputer Vision System toolbox: http://www.mathworks.com/products/computer-vision/
4. Microsoft Kinect SDK v1.8 installed: http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=40278
5. Microsoft Kinect for Windows Developer Toolkit v1.8 installed:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/download/details.aspx?id=40276
6. To be familiar with using QUARCrcontrol and monitor the vehicle in real-time, and in designing a controller
through Simulinkr. See Reference [2] for more details.
1.2 References
[1] Gumstix: http://gumstix.com/
[2] QUARC User Manual (type doc quarc in Matlab to access)
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2 Components
The QBot 2 is made up of four main components: the Kobuki robot platform, the QBot 2 data acquisition card (DAQ),
the Gumstix DuoVero embedded computer, and the Kinect sensor. This section outlines these components in more
detail.
2.1 The Kobuki Robot Platform
The QBot 2 uses an Kobuki mobile robot platform (Figure 2.1). The QBot 2 follows the Quanserrstandard for body
frame axes, where the x-axis is in the forward direction, the y-axis is to the left, and the z-axis is up. The diameter
of the vehicle is 34 cm, and its height (without attachments) is 10 cm. The Kobuki is driven by two differential drive
wheels with built-in encoders. The Kobuki comes with a bumper sensor as well as a built-in gyroscope and cliff
sensors. The embedded computer target can access data from these sensors.
Figure 2.1: The Kobuki mobile robot platform
The QBot 2 is powered by a Lithium ion battery pack (Figure 2.2a) provided by Yujin Robot. The battery fits
underneath the QBot 2, and can last continuously for about 3hours after a full charge. The battery takes less
than 3hours to charge. While charging, the power light pulses slowly with an orange colour. A battery charger is
provided (Figure 2.2b). To recharge the QBot 2, plug in the battery charger and connect it to the charger input port
on the QBot 2 next to the ON/OFF switch (Figure 2.2c).
QBOT 2 - User Manual DRAFT - April 14, 2015
(a) The QBot 2 battery
(b) The QBot 2 charger (c) The QBot 2 charger input
Figure 2.2: The QBot 2 battery and charger input
2.2 System Specifications and Model Parameters
Table 2.1 lists the main parametrs associated with the QBot 2.
Symbol Description Value Unit
DDiameter of the QBot 2 0.35 m
dDistance between the left and right wheels 0.235 m
hHeight of the QBot 2 (with Kinect mounted) 0.27 m
νmax Maximum speed of the QBot 2 0.7m/s
mTotal mass of the QBot 2 3.79 kg
Table 2.1: QBot 2 specifications
2.3 The QBot 2 Data Acquisition Card (DAQ)
The QBot 2 DAQ contains the wiring and circuitry integrating the DuoVero embedded computer, Kobuki robot, Kinect
sensor, and additional input/output (I/O) components connected to the DAQ. Figure 2.3 shows the QBot 2 DAQ with
QBOT 2 - User Manual 6
accessible I/O headers for the user including SPI, I2C, UART, digital I/O, analog input, encoder input, and PWM
output. More details on accessing the QBot 2 I/O is found in 2.6. The QBot 2 DAQ connects to the Kinect sensor
via a USB port (see Figure 2.4). The QBot 2 DAQ connects to the Kobuki via a ribbon cable (see Figure 2.4). The
QBot 2 DAQ is powered via a cable connected to the Kobuki 12 V,5Apower source (see Figure 2.4).
Figure 2.3: The QBot 2 DAQ
Figure 2.4: The QBot 2 DAQ connectors
The QBot 2 DAQ also provides five headers for users to use when integrating additional I/O components. Each
header is a double row where each pin in the first row is electrically connected to the pin in the second row directly
opposite. This allows users to connect a sensor to one row and map the connection from the DAQ I/O to the pins in
the mating row similar to a breadboard. Figure 2.5 shows the location of the headers.
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Figure 2.5: The QBot 2 DAQ sensor mounting rows
2.3.1 Digital Input/Output Pins (DIO)
The user DIO channels (Figure 2.6) are set as inputs by default. The DIO channels need to be configured as either
inputs (or outputs, but not both) using the HIL Initialize block. Also, if an output needs to be in a known state on
power up, it is recommended that a 10k resistor is put from the I/O to 5Vor GND as needed. The DIO channels are
accessed through the HIL API.
Figure 2.6: The QBot 2 DAQ user digital I/O
2.3.2 Analog inputs
The QBot 2 provides four user analog input channels (Figure 2.7) that are rated for signals between 0−5Vand
uses 12-bit analog to digital converters (ADCs). The analog inputs are accessed through the HIL API.
QBOT 2 - User Manual 8
Figure 2.7: The QBot 2 DAQ user analog inputs
2.3.3 Encoder inputs
The QBot 2 provides two user encoder input channels (Figure 2.8). Each encoder input channel has an A and B
pulse as well as a Z index signal. The encoders are sampled at 100 kHz. The encoder inputs are accessed through
the HIL API.
Figure 2.8: The QBot 2 DAQ user encoder inputs
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2.3.4 PWM
The QBot 2 provides four user PWM outputs (Figure 2.9) that users can configure to output pulse-width modulated
digital signals.
Figure 2.9: The QBot 2 DAQ user PWM outputs
2.3.5 SPI
The QBot 2 provides one Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus (Figure 2.10), which is a synchronous serial data bus
for interfacing other sensors or devices with the embedded computer. The SPI channel is accessed through the
Steam API (see the SPI protocol in the QUARCrhelp).
Figure 2.10: The QBot 2 DAQ SPI communication port
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