Calibrator

The rationale for calibration

Understand the zero state and the coordinate system

After the robot enters the calibration state, with all servos rotated to their zero angles, attach the head, tail, and legs prepared in the previous section to the body. They are generally perpendicular to their linked body frames.

Bittle's Calibration State

Install the servo-related components according to the picture (calibration state) and try to ensure that they are perpendicular to each other (the upper leg is perpendicular to the torso, and the lower leg is perpendicular to the upper leg).

Note: Insert the servo-related components directly into the servo output shaft; do not turn the output shaft during this process.

Rotating the limbs counter-clockwise from their zero states will be positive (same as in polar coordinates). Viewed from the left side of the robot's body, the counter-clockwise rotation of the joint is defined as the positive direction.

The only exception is the tilt angle for the head of Nybble. It’s more natural to say head up, while it’s the result of rotating clockwise.

However, from the right side of the robot's body, the rotation directions' positive and negative are just opposite.

Discrete angular intervals

If we look closer at the servo shaft, we can see it has a certain number of teeth. That’s for attaching the servo arms and avoiding sliding in the rotational direction. In our servo sample, the gears divide 360 degrees into 25 sectors, each taking 14.4 degrees(offset of -7.2~7.2 degrees). That means we cannot always get a perfect perpendicular installation.

Calibration Interfaces

Bittle, Bittle X, and Bittle X+Arm use the same calibrator interface and process. You can ignore the mainboard type in the following pictures.

The calibrator interface for Bittle is as follows:

Calibration Interface

These interfaces will be displayed when you calibrate for the first time. You can also click to open the upper-right menu in the control panel and select Calibrate to re-access.

Enter the calibration state

After the battery powers on the robot, follow the next steps to enter the calibration state.

• Click the Start Calibration button.

  
• Click the Calibration button in the calibration interface.

  

After the robot enters the calibration state, for the construction kit, do the following steps:

The pre-assembled robot has already had its joints calibrated, so there is no need to disassemble the joints for further calibration.

Install the neck servo

Note: For Bittle X+Arm, there is no head component; only need to install the neck servo, which is in the head of Bittle X. So the installation is the same as Bittle / Bittle X's.

In the calibration state, place the head as close to the central axis as possible and insert its servo shaft into the servo arm of the neck.

Press down on the head so it is firmly attached to the neck.

Install the legs

Install the upper leg and lower leg components to the output teeth of the servos when the Bittle is powered on and in the calibration state. Please keep the torso, upper leg, and lower leg installed vertically as much as possible. Pay attention not to install the lower leg backward (the correct orientation is shown in the picture below).

Install the robot arm

The robotic arm installation of the construction kit is the same as the pre-assembled kit.

For the construction kit, after installing the body parts, you do not need to use screws to fix the body parts to the robot trunk for the time being.

Use the included L-shaped tool as a reference

Align the upper leg first

Pay attention to the reference edges for the lower leg

First, select the index number of the joint servo from the diagram(when adjusting the leg servo, adjust the thigh first, and then adjust the calf).

Then, click the "+" or "-" button to fine-tune the joint to the desired angle.

If the offset is more than ±9 degrees, you need to remove the corresponding part of the servo, reinstall it by rotating one tooth, and then press the "+" or "-" button.

For example, if you need to use -10 as the calibration value, remove the limb, rotate it by one tooth, and then reattach it. The new calibration value should be around 4, i.e., they sum up to 14. Avoid rotating the servo shaft during this adjustment.

Test the calibration effect

Bittle

You can click the skill buttons to switch between Rest, Stand, and Walk to test the calibration effect.

If you want to continue calibrating, please click the Calibration button, and the robot will return to the calibration state, with all servos immediately moving to their calibration positions.

Note:

You may need a second round of calibrations to achieve optimal results.

After calibration, remember to click the Save button to save the calibration offset. Otherwise, click "<" in the upper left corner to abandon the calibration.

Install the screws for the construction kit

For the construction kit, after completing the joint calibration, install the center screws to fix the leg parts and servo gears.