reynard-the-robot 0.2.2

Reyndard the Robot Raconteur educational Robot

Reynard the Robot

Documentation can be found at: https://reynard-the-robot.readthedocs.io/

Reynard the Robot is a tool designed to help new users learn Robot Raconteur. It is designed to provide a simple experience like the classic "Turtle" application, but with a robotics spin. Reynard is a cartoon planar mobile robot with an attached articulated arm. He can be translated in X and Y in the plane, and the arm has three revolute joints. For simplicity, Reynard cannot be rotated in the plane. In total, Reynard has 5 degrees of freedom.

The application also has a simple chat window, where Reynard can send and receive messages to the user.

The color of the robot base can be changed. The default is an orange color, but the color can be changed to any RGB value.

The software interface is designed to be representative of real devices, and provide a simple way for users to begin using Robot Raconteur.

The application is implemented as a simple Web application. By default the Reynard application runs a simple web server on port 29201. Open a web browser to http://localhost:29201 to view the user interface. Replace localhost with the IP address of the computer running the application, and use the --http-public option. A simple GUI is also available that can be enabled by passing the --gui command line option. The GUI is implemented using PySide6. The pyside6 Python package must be installed to use the GUI. Install Reynard using the package pip install reynard-the-robot[gui] to install the GUI along with the application.

By default, the Reynard Robot Raconteur service is available at rr+tcp://localhost:29200/?service=reynard.

Reynard is also designed to help users learn how to develop Robot Raconteur drivers. The application provides the following software programming interfaces:

• Robot Raconteur
• Python Library API
• HTTP REST API
• Raw ASCII Socket
• ROS 1 (external package required)
• ROS 2 (external package required)

These interfaces are designed to be representative of real devices. Robot Raconteur drivers communicates with the device using one of these (or similar) interfaces, and provides a Robot Raconteur service.

The ROS 1 and ROS 2 interfaces require external packages to operate. See https://github.com/johnwason/reynard_the_robot_ros and https://github.com/johnwason/reynard_the_robot_ros2

Installation

Installer for Windows

Reynard the Robot is available as an installer for Windows. See https://github.com/robotraconteur/reynard-the-robot/releases for the current release. Download the appropriate file, and install as normal. These installers use the PySide6 based viewer. Shortcut icons are created under the "Robot Raconteur" group on Windows. Windows may raise security warnings. If these are a problem, use the pip method below. By default the shortcut will start Reynard in GUI mode.

Note: Currently the Windows Installer will raise several security warnings. These are due to the installer not being signed. The software is safe to install. Future versions will be signed. If these warnings are a problem, use the pip method below.

If headless mode or other advanced options are required, use the pip method.

Python Pip

reynard-the-robot requires Python 3.8 or higher. Install using:

python -m pip install --user reynard-the-robot

If the GUI is desired, install using:

python -m pip install --user reynard-the-robot[gui]

On Linux and Mac OS, use:

python3 -m pip install --user reynard-the-robot

If the GUI is desired, install using:

python3 -m pip install --user reynard-the-robot[gui]

The GUI is not currently working on Mac OS.

Usage

Installer Shortcuts

If the installer is used, simply use the shortcut icons to start Reynard the Robot.

Command Line

reynard-the-robot [options]

Or use Python module invocation if the entrypoint does not work:

python3 -m reynard_the_robot [options]

Available options:

Here is the markdown documentation for the arguments:

• --gui - Run Reynard with a GUI. Requires the pyside6 package to be installed.
• --disable-robotraconteur - Disable Robot Raconteur service
• --disable-ascii-socket - Disable ASCII socket server
• --http-public - Use public IP for HTTP socket server. If omitted, only localhost connections are accepted
• --http-port= - Port for HTTP socket server. Default value is 29201
• --ascii-socket-public - Use public IP for ASCII socket server. If omitted, only localhost connections are accepted
• --ascii-socket-port= - Port for ASCII socket server. Default value is 29202
• --quiet - Suppress output

Standard Robot Raconteur command line options can also be used. See https://github.com/robotraconteur/robotraconteur/wiki/Command-Line-Options

Client Usage

Multiple client interfaces are provided. See the following pages for more information on each interface:

• Robot Raconteur docs/robotraconteur.md
• Python API https://reynard-the-robot.readthedocs.io/en/latest/api_reference.html
• HTTP REST API docs/http_rest.md
• Raw ASCII Socket docs/socket.md
• ROS 1 and ROS 2 docs/ros.md

Note that the ROS 1 and ROS 2 interfaces require external packages to operate. See docs/ros.md for more information.

Client Examples

See the examples/ directory for more examples.

from RobotRaconteur.Client import *
import time
import numpy as np

# Connect to the Reynard service using a URL
c = RRN.ConnectService('rr+tcp://localhost:29200?service=reynard')

def new_message(msg):
    print(f"New message: {msg}")

# Connect a callback function to listen for new messages
c.new_message += new_message

# Read the current state using a wire "peek". Can also "connect" to receive streaming updates.
state, _ = c.state.PeekInValue()
print(state)

# Teleport the robot
c.teleport(0.1,-0.2)

# Drive the robot with no timeout
c.drive_robot(0.5,-0.2, -1, False)

# Wait for one second
time.sleep(1)

# Stop the robot
c.drive_robot(0, 0, -1, False)

# Set the arm position
c.setf_arm_position(np.deg2rad(100), np.deg2rad(-30), np.deg2rad(-70))

# Drive the arm using timeout and wait
c.drive_arm(np.deg2rad(10), np.deg2rad(-30), np.deg2rad(-15), 1.5, True)

# Set the color to red
c.color = (1, 0, 0)

# Read the color
print(f"Color: {c.color}")

time.sleep(1)

# Reset the color
c.color = (0.929, 0.49, 0.192)

# Say hello
c.say("Hello, World From Robot Raconteur!")

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE.txt file for details.

The character "Reynard the Robot" is Copyright (C) 2024 John Wason, All Rights Reserved.

"Reynard the Robot" is developed by Wason Technology, LLC, New York, USA