About the aluminum_puppeteer Package
This is a repository that contains all of the PIC code that runs on the mobile robots that are part of the robotic marionette project at Northwestern University. The project is part of Todd Murphey's research group which is housed within the Neuroscience and Robotics Laboratory (NxR lab).
Each robot has a PIC32 processor (either a PIC32MX460F512L or a PIC32MX795F512L), and is controlled by a master computer via an XBee network. Each robot is responsible for controlling 4 separate DC motors via PID loops, as well as tracking odometry, and providing a serial interface.
Compiling and loading onto the PIC
Currently, the PIC processors are attached to UBW32 boards which are then plugged into separate breakout boards that connect to the motors, and serial communication circuit. On my system, the code is compiled into a *.hex file, and then loaded onto the UBW32 via the ubw32 command line program. The UBW32's have the standard bootloader onboard. Note that with very little modification, this code could be loaded with a PIC programmer (such as the PICKit3).
Assuming you have make installed, and the xc32-gcc compiler (from Microchip) is available on your system's path, the code can be compiled for the 795 and loaded onto the UBW32 using
make PIC=795 write
Replacing the '795' with '460' would compile for the PIC32MX460F512L.
More Information
More information about the project, the NxR lab, and videos of the system working can be found at
http://nxr.northwestern.edu/research/scalable-algorithms-physical-systems/marionettes
http://vimeo.com/channels/numarionette
More information about the bootloading program and the UBW32 itself can be found at
http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW32/
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