neo_relayboard_v3

Summary

RelayBoard V3 is a compact microprocessor deployed on ROX and newer MPO-500 platforms. It is the central hub for the platform’s sensors and actuators.

The RelayBoardV3 is responsible for the following functionalities:

  • All the motion commands from ROS to the motor controllers are sent through the relayboardv3_node
  • Provides the necessary interface for
    • reading the joint states
    • switching the different pre-configured safety fields on the flexisoft
    • starting and stopping the charging process (not for wired charging)
    • enabling and disabling the onboard digital outputs
    • enabling and disabling the relays
    • reading the battery voltage and current
    • controlling the onboard LEDs
    • reading the Ultrasonic sensor data from the new generation USBoard
    • reading the key switch state
    • reading the emergency stop state
    • reading the platforms ambient temperature
    • reading the possible hardware system errors

Location: https://github.com/neobotix/neo_relayboard_v3

relayboardv3_node

Note

This documentation contains the updates for the version 0.5.0. If you would like to update the version of your Beaglebone, please write to us directly.

The relayboardv3_node is the main and the only node of this ROS 2 package.

Subscribes:
  • /drive/joint_trajectory (trajectory_msgs/JointTrajectory)
    • The joint trajectory to be executed
  • /kinematics_state (neo_msgs2/KinematicsState)
    • The kinematics state of the robot
Publishes:
  • /drive/joint_states (sensor_msgs/JointState)
    • The joint states of the robot
  • /emergency_stop_state (neo_msgs2/EmergencyStopState)
    • The emergency stop state of the robot
  • /battery_state (neo_msgs2/BatteryState)
    • The battery state of the robot
  • /safety_state (neo_msgs2/SafetyState)
    • The flexisoft state of the robot
  • /relayboard_v3/state (neo_msgs2/RelayBoardV3)
    • Provides the state of the relayboards auxillary components which includes the digital inputs, relays, LEDs, key switch, and the temperature sensor
  • /ioboard/data (neo_msgs2/IOBoardData)
    • Provides the state of the IOBoard
  • /usboard/measurements (neo_msgs2/USBoardV2)
    • Provides the data of the Ultrasonic sensors connected to the USBoard
Services:
  • /set_relay (neo_srvs2/ReayBoardSetRelay)
    • Enables or disables the relays
  • /ioboard/set_digital_output (neo_srvs2/IOBoardSetDigitalOutput)
    • Enables or disables the digital outputs
  • /start_charging (std_srvs/Empty)
    • Starts the charging process (not for wired charging)
  • /stop_charging (std_srvs/Empty)
    • Stops the charging process (not for wired charging)
  • /set_safety_field (neo_srvs2/SetSafetyField)
    • Switches the currently active safety field to the one with the given ID. Use field_id = 0 to disable or revert to preset
  • /shutdown_platform (std_srvs/Empty)
    • Does a complete shutdown of the robot
  • /set_safety_mode (neo_srvs2/RelayboardSetSafetyMode)
    • Allows you to switch between the different pre-configured safety modes on the flexisoft using the neo_msgs2/SafetyMode

Parameters:

Note

Depending on the batteries and Wallbox, adjust the parameters in the platform-specific configuration file:

  • ROX: ~/ros2_workspace/src/rox/rox_bringup/configs/neo_relayboard_v3/relayboard_v3.yaml
  • Newer MPO-500: ~/ros2_workspace/src/neo_mpo_500-2/configs/neo_relayboard_v3/relayboard_v3.yaml
board_node:
Type Default
string 192.168.1.80:5554
Description

Specifies the IP address and port of the relayboard for communication.
pilot_config:
Type Default
string /home/neobotix/ros2_workspace/src/neo_relayboard_v3/config/default/rox-argo
Description

The path to the configuration file for the pilot module, likely specific to the robot model (e.g., rox-argo).
agm_batteries_config:
 
Type Default
string /home/neobotix/ros2_workspace/src/neo_relayboard_v3/config/addons/agm-batteries
Description

The path to the configuration file for AGM batteries.
lfp_batteries:
Type Default
bool False
Description

A boolean flag to enable or disable the configuration for Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries. Set to True if you have LFP Batteries.
lfp_batteries_config:
 
Type Default
string /home/neobotix/ros2_workspace/src/neo_relayboard_v3/config/addons/lfp-batteries
Description

The path to the configuration file for LFP batteries, only used when lfp_batteries is True.
use_multipowr:
Type Default
bool False
Description

A boolean flag to enable or disable the configuration for the Multipowr wallbox/smart charger. Set to True if you have a wallbox.
multipowr_config:
 
Type Default
string /home/neobotix/ros2_workspace/src/neo_relayboard_v3/config/addons/smart-charger
Description

The path to the configuration file for the Multipowr smart charger, only used when use_multipowr is True.

Building the package

Once the relevant ROS Distribution is sourced, please follow the steps in a terminal:

Initialize the associated submodules

cd your_colcon_workspace/src/neo_relayboard_v3
git submodule update --init

Install the vnx_base

sudo dpkg -i vnx-base/x86_64/vnx-base-1.9.6-x86_64-ubuntu-22.04.deb

cd your_colcon_workspace
colcon build --symlink-install
. install/setup.bash