SPOT

When using the Spot robot with your custom software, the most important thing is to setup the network connection between the robot and your computer. The Wifi password of the Spot robot can be found in the battery compartment, or in the admin console of the controller.

The Spot robot server is hosted at 192.168.80.3 on the LAN of the Spot wifi. You can connect to it from an internet browser by going to https://192.168.80.3 and logging in with the admin credentials.

Any program that uses the Spot SDK (either directly or through a ROS wrapper), requires the username, password and correct IP address in order to communicate with the robot. The steps to handle the robot are: establish a connection with Spot, acquire the lease, enable motor power, then Spot will be able to move around.

The key specifications of the Spot robot we have:

1. SDK v3.2.0 (as of 15 Feb 2023)
2. Spot Explorer (basic model)
3. Spot depth cameras (part of the robot, 4m range max)
4. Spot Arm
5. Spot Core (basic model, CPU only)
6. Spot EAP: VLP-16 Velodyne LIDAR (100m range max)

The key advantages of the Spot robot lie in its robust software and control systems.

There is a small computer carried by Spot to run all your software/experiments. This takes Docker containers and runs it on a Linux platform. The correct networking setup is key to ensuring that whatever you run on your laptop continues to run well on the Spot Core. The following services are available at the corresponding addresses:

1. 192.168.80.3:21900 is the Portainer interface
2. 192.168.80.3 is the Spot robot admin interface
3. 192.168.80.3:21443 is the Spot CORE admin interface

The Spot robot can be controlled manually with the included tablet controller.

1. Turn on the controller
2. Connect the controller to the Internet to set the local time
3. Check the robot for obstructions and damage
4. Insert the battery into the robot
5. Turn on the robot by holding down the power button for 2 seconds
6. Connect the controller to the robot's wifi (SPOT-XXXXXXXXXX)
7. Login to the robot on the controller
8. Enable motor power
9. Start moving the robot!
10. Once done, sit the robot down, disable motor power, and Disconnect from the robot. This releases the lease (ownership) on the robot, allowing it to be used by other programs

First step, check the robot for damage before attempting to turn it on. Flip it on its side and insert the battery. A good video guide for inserting the battery (and all Spot things) is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeUD7kqTw1k

Next, turn on the robot by holding the power button for 2 seconds. The button should turn blue.

Turn on the motor power by disabling the hardware emergency stop (e-stop) on the robot. The button should turn red once it has been pressed, and the robot is active.

Now the robot is ready to move, either manually with the controller, or automatically with your program!

This step is only required if you want to use the controller to manually control the movements of the robot. First step is to turn on the controller by holding the power button. Then, connect the tablet to Wifi. This allows it to access the internet and automatically set the correct time.

Once the time has been set up, open the Spot app. You should see the following screen with the robot's profile. Click on the robot icon on the left. Login with the credentials, 'admin' and password written on the sticker on the handle of the controller.

Once logged in, you will be greeted with this screen prompting you to enable power to the motors in software.

Follow the instructions to enable motor power in software. This does not yet enable motor power on the Spot robot.

You will now have two choices, “Power On” and “Observe”. “Power On” enables hardware power to the motors, allowing it to move. “Observe” keeps motor power off and you can look through the various camera streams available on the Spot robot.

In either mode, you will be able to see the camera stream from the Spot robot.

Now that you have set up the robot, you can move it around with the buttons and joysticks of the controller.

A summary of the movement functions of the robot:

• Left joystick up/down: Moves the robot forward/backward
• Left joystick left/right: Moves the robot left/right in a strafing motion without rotating
• Right joystick left/right: Rotates the robot on the spot (yaw)
• A: Walk mode
• B: Stand mode
• X: Sit mode
• Y: Stairs mode
• Up/Down/Left/Right: Changes camera view

The rest of the controls rely on the touchscreen of the robot.

Make sure the controller is powered off. Connecting it to power will automatically power it on and it does not have autoshutdown and will discharge if not manully powered off.

Make sure controller is always powered off when you are finished using Spot!