Possible to control BB8 Head?

[James Jacoby]

I was able to connect and control bb8 using standard commands, but am I correct in assuming that controlling the head is not supported? I'd be happy to investigate how to add it if someone could point me in the right direction. Is there a way to interface the motors directly?

[Robert Hencke]

The head is directly attached to the motor that drives the weight through a magnet mounted to a fixed stock - it is not a separate component you'd drive on its own.

This may help clarify things:

http://www.element14.com/community/blogs/linker/2015/09/16/disassembling-bb8-part-1

[James Jacoby]

Oh, perfect. Thanks for the clarification.

[debu66er]

@mobyjames did you get any code to move the head working?
i am trying to force bb8 to say YES but i am not able. I tried different combinations of roll and stop with no luck. Don't know if there is other functions to move the magnets inside for example. Thanks!

[James Jacoby]

As mentioned above, the head is not directly controlled. To get a fast nod / yes, I use the following (node.js):

var src = "motor 2 80 2 80\n" +
          "delay 50\n" +
          "motor 1 80 1 80\n" +
          "delay 50\n" +
          "motor 2 80 2 80\n" +
          "delay 50\n" +
          "motor 1 80 1 80\n" +
          "delay 50\n" +
          "motor 0 0 0 0\n";

actions['fast_nod'] = macros.compile(src);

[debu66er]

Hi @mobyjames, thank you very much for your help.
Following your sample I got YES working without macros like this:

opts = {lmode: 2, lpower: 80, rmode: 2, rpower: 80};
bb8.setRawMotors(opts, function() { });
setTimeout(function() { opts = {lmode: 1, lpower: 80, rmode: 1, rpower: 80}; bb8.setRawMotors(opts, function() { }); }, 100);
setTimeout(function() { opts = {lmode: 2, lpower: 80, rmode: 2, rpower: 80}; bb8.setRawMotors(opts, function() { }); }, 200);
setTimeout(function() { opts = {lmode: 1, lpower: 80, rmode: 1, rpower: 80}; bb8.setRawMotors(opts, function() { }); }, 300);
setTimeout(function() { opts = {lmode: 0, lpower:  0, rmode: 0, rpower:  0}; bb8.setRawMotors(opts, function() { }); bb8.setStabilization(1, function() { }); }, 400);

And NO like this:

bb8.roll(0,45);
setTimeout(function() { bb8.roll(0,315); }, 200);
setTimeout(function() { bb8.roll(0,45); }, 400);
setTimeout(function() { bb8.roll(0,315); }, 600);
setTimeout(function() { bb8.roll(0,45); }, 400);
setTimeout(function() { bb8.roll(0,315); }, 600);
setTimeout(function() { bb8.roll(0,0); }, 800);