Antonio is an insect-inspired hexapod robot with 3 degrees of freedom in each of its 18 legs, allowing it to walk in any direction. It has 25 servos total - 18 for the legs and 7 for the head and tail. An SSC-32U servo controller and BotBoarduino board are used to control the servos either through LynxTerm software or an Arduino sketch uploaded to the board. The robot can be controlled using a PS2 controller for walking, adjusting body height, and special body moves, but the code needs updating to control the head and tail as well.

1. ANT-ONIO
A-POD HEXAPOD
from www.lynxmotion.com
Hello! My name
is
ANT-ONIO

2. Antonio’s body is insect inspired. The angled legs
provides additional range of movement. The three DOF
(degree of freedom) leg design means it can walk in any
direction!
3DOF LEG
TIBIA
FEMUR
COXA

3. Antonio has been designed to use 18 HS-645 servos for the legs
and an additional 7 servos for the head and tail. It's truly amazing
to see in action.
Range = 180°

4. There are 25 servos in total
RIGHT SIDE LEGS
FRONT: 08, 09, 10 MIDDLE: 04, 05, 06 BACK: 00, 01, 02
LEFT SIDE LEGS
FRONT: 24, 25, 26 MIDDLE: 20, 21, 22 BACK: 16, 17, 18
TAIL
30, 31*
2 servos
HEAD
13, 12*, 14, 29, 28
5 servos
*Servos that need replacement

5. Electronics

6. SSC-32U Servo Controller
There are two ways through which you can control the 25
servos (18 for legs and 7 for head and tail) using an SSC-
32U servo controller. You can either do it:
•directly from the lynx SSC-32 Terminal (a program called
LynxTerm).
•from the BotBoarduino board.

7. LynxTerm
LynxTerm is used to test the servos and to calibrate Antonio.
How to use LynxTerm:
Connect the SSC-32U to the computer
skip
LynxTerm
tutorial

8.  Turn on robot and open LynxTerm

9.  Select the port and click connect

10.  All = 1500 means all to neutral positions
NOTICE: the neutral positions might be wrong
due to the assembly or the servos

11. How Antonio’s LEGS should be
calibrated

12. How Antonio’s HEAD and TAIL
should be calibrated

13.  Turn on Registers and read the positions of the servos

14.  pick a servo and change its angle by scrolling up and
down the Offset nob
This will help you to:
•test if a particular servo
works
•adjust a certain servo to
the position it should have
according to the previous
guidelines

15. NOTICE that servos have limited range they can
be adjusted. If a servo is too off you might need
to fix the problem by re-assembling and
assembling a part again.
90°90°

16. Re-assembling and assembling a part again
• Detach the servo control horn from Antonio, but do not detach
its cable from the SSC-32U.
• Pull off the metal control horn from the shaft.
• Turn on the robot and open LynxTerm.
• Set all = 1500.
• Push the metal control horn back on this way:
• Attach the servo back
into position.

17. Once all the servos are perfectly aligned push
Write and the program will save the adjustments
unto SSC-32U.

18. To study and learn more about how the servos, the SSC-32U and
LynxTerm work go to:
http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/data/lynxmotion_ssc-32u_usb_u

19. BotBoarduino board
The BotBoarduino is an Arduino Duemilanove compatible
microcontroller made specifically for the Lynxmotion
robots. It has the 3" x 2.3" footprint so it can be attached to
any of the robot kits. It retains the normal Arduino shield
connections as well.
The BotBoarduino is connected with the SSC-32U Servo
Controller and PS2 level shifter board for PS2 control.

21. To study and learn more about how the BotBoarduino works go
to:
http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/html/build185.htm

22. The BotBoarduino has been programmed through
Arduino software with the Phoenix code.
The Phoenix Code can be found at (step 5):
http://www.lynxmotion.com/images/html/build99f.htm
by KurtE

23. Extract the .zip file to a folder named
"BotBoarduino_CH3R_PS2". The folder name IS
required.
Open BotBoarduino_CH3R_PS2.ino in the arduino
software, turn on the robot, and click upload (the small
arrow pointing to the right.)

24. Remember to choose the appropriate board,
processor and port beforehand.

25. The problem with the Phoenix code:
The code is only for the legs (for 18 servos),
therefore Antonio cannot move its head or its tail.
Moreover the middle legs hook over the front legs
while turning, which means that the degrees in the
code must me reduced.

26. Antonio is controlled by a PS2, which is
connected with the BotBoarduino.

27. PS2 controls

28. The default is Walking mode 1.
Use the Left joystick to move Antonio around
without turning (this is called "translation"), and
the Right joystick rotates Antonio as it moves.

29. Up and Down on the D-Pad increases or decreases
the height of the body.

30. The Circle button puts the body onto the floor in a
'resting' position. Press Triangle or Up on the D-Pad to
raise or lower the body.
The Triangle button puts the body
at 35mm from the ground.

31. That is only the few things Antonio can do!
There are four special "body moves" functions that are
triggered by pressing L1, L2, Circle, or X.
While in one of these modes, it does not walk.
The joysticks and some buttons change function depending
on which mode is toggled on.
See next slide for more functions and details.

32. DOESN’T WORK WITH SSC-32U

33. Antonio is worth playing with and improving!
The goal is to calibrate Antonio to perfection and to rewrite
the Phoenix code to move Antonio’s head and tail, and to
make him turn with no problems as well!

34. A-Pod Hexapod Robot Specs