View source for 3. Interfacing with the Actual Allegro Hand ← 3. Interfacing with the Actual Allegro Hand

In the last tutorial, [[2. Allegro Hand Joint Position Control]], we developed a controller that commands the joints in a sinusoidal fashion. While any motion can be established at this point, we will show this same motion in the actual Allegro Hand to demonstrate the ease of developing a controller for use with both the virtual and actual Allegro Hand systems.

This tutorial assumes you have completed both of the previous tutorials, [[1. Setup: DLL Project, Control XDL & the AHAS Lua file]] and [[2. Allegro Hand Joint Position Control]]. Also, this tutorial assumes that you have one of the four stock supported CAN devices

==AHAS Lua File==

Navigate to the Allegro Hand Application Studio (AHAS) controls directory and locate the file called AHAS_NI-CAN_L.lua.

<pre>C:\Program Files (x86)\SimLab\Allegro Hand Application Studio\bin\controls</pre>

Find the Lua file called AHAS_NI-CAN_L.lua and copy it to your Desktop. Rename the file ''myAHController_ACTUAL.lua''. Open ''myAHController_ACTUAL.lua'' to see the following code.

<syntaxhighlight lang="lua">
  print(RoboticsLab.version())
 
  aml = "models/Etc/AllegroHand/AllegroHandL_RT_NICAN.aml"
  controlXDL = "controls/control_AHAS_L.xdl"
 
  rtTimer = Timer.new("RTTimer", rTimer_MODE_REAL_WIN32)
  sysname = "RTSys"
  T0 = HTransform.new(Rotation.new(), Vector3D.new(0, 0, 0))
  hand = RoboticsLab.createRTSystem(aml, sysname, T0, rtTimer)

  comm = hand:findDevice("COMM")
  print(comm)
 
  step = 1
  deltaT = 0.003
  controller = RoboticsLab.createController("controller", hand, step)
  controller:setAlgorithm(controlXDL)
  controller:setPeriod(deltaT)
  controller:setNominalSystem(aml, sysname)--, T0) 
 
  function Update()
  	-- Can be used do draw graphic elements in AHAS
  end
 ...
</syntaxhighlight>

The line below loads the NI-CAN interfacing Allegro Hand model. We must change this to reflect the hand (left/right) and the CAN interface (NI/Softing/ESD/Kvaser) that are using. Please refer to the following table to determine with what model you must replace ''"AllegroHand_RT_NICAN.aml"''.

<syntaxhighlight lang="lua">
  aml = "models/Etc/AllegroHand/AllegroHandL_RT_NICAN.aml"
  rtTimer = Timer.new("RTTimer", rTimer_MODE_REAL_WIN32)
  sysname = "RTSys"
  hand = RoboticsLab.createRTSystem(aml, sysname, T0, rtTimer)
</syntaxhighlight>

{|style=" border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 15; border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; border-color: #CCCCCC; padding:  0px; text-align: left; width: 450px"
|-
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; width: 150px; background: #DDDDDD" | <h5> </h5>
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; width: 150px; background: #F0F0F0" | <h5>NI CAN</h5>
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; width: 150px; background: #F0F0F0" | <h5>Softing</h5>
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; width: 150px; background: #F0F0F0" | <h5>Kvaser</h5>
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; width: 150px; background: #F0F0F0" | <h5>ESD</h5>
|-
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; background: #F0F0F0" | <h5>Right</h5>
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHand_RT_NICAN.aml
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHand_RT_SoftingCAN.aml
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHand_RT_KvaserCAN.aml
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHand_RT_ESDCAN.aml
|-
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px; background: #F0F0F0" | <h5>Left</h5>
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHandL_RT_NICAN.aml
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHandL_RT_SoftingCAN.aml
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHandL_RT_KvaserCAN.aml
| style="padding: 3px 5px 3px 5px" | AllegroHandL_RT_ESDCAN.aml
|-
|}
<br>
For this tutorial, I am using NI Can and a left Allegro Hand so I will leave this line as-is.<br>
Next we must link this new LUA file to the ''myAHController.xdl'' we made in tutorial 1.

<syntaxhighlight lang="lua">
  controlXDL = "controls/control_AHAS_L.xdl"
</syntaxhighlight>

This line must be changed to the following so that the AHAS can evoke our new controller.

<syntaxhighlight lang="lua">
  controlXDL = "controls/myAHController.xdl"
</syntaxhighlight>

Now move the file ''myAHController_ACTUAL.lua'' from the ''Desktop'' back into the ''controls'' directory.

==AHAS Shortcut==

Make a copy of the AHAS shortcut on the ''Desktop'' created in tutorial 1. Right click the shortcut and click ''Properties''. Change the target as follows:

<pre>
Original Target: "C:\Program Files (x86)\SimLab\Allegro Hand Application Studio\bin\Allegro.exe" controls\myAHController.lua  
New Target:      "C:\Program Files (x86)\SimLab\Allegro Hand Application Studio\bin\Allegro.exe" controls\myAHController_ACTUAL.lua  
</pre>

Close the ''Properties'' window. Connect the Allegro Hand to your computer's CAN interface and turn it on. 

'''''Note:''' Make sure to straighten out all of the fingers prior to running AHAS.''

Double-click the the shortcut to test it out. An Allegro Hand simulator should load with more buttons that before. Click ''On'' and the controller will immediately start controlling the actual Allegro Hand joints with the same sinusoidal patterns as the virtual. The AHAS model will reflect the joint movements of the actual hand.<br>
If the hand motion is not correct, please check the dml is set properly.

Please move on to the next tutorial to learn how to use the AHAS button to evoke BHand library grasping motions and your own motions/algorithms.

[[4. AHAS Buttons and BHand Library Motions]]
[[Category:Programming Guides]]