alphabot-hal

This npm module makes it easy to talk to the hardware on a AlphaBot using node.js.

Install

npm install alphabot-hal

Usage

This module needs to be executed with root privileges. This means you need to run with sudo, or use some other technique for managing permissions.

const alphabotHal = require('alphabot-hal');
 
const hal = alphabotHal();
 
// Go forward at 60% PWM
hal.wheels.left(60);
hal.wheels.right(60);

API

hal.wheels.left(speed), hal.wheels.right(speed)

Sets the speed of the left and right motors. The speed can be a value between -100 and +100. Negative values make the motors spin in reverse. Setting speed to 0 makes them stop.

hal.obstacleSensors.left(), hal.obstacleSensors.right()

Returns the ADC reading from the obstacle sensor. In my case, I only got values roughly between 25 and 45, with a max range of under 10 cms. So it's not great, but it's something. I think that's all you can expect from these crappy obstacle sensors.

hal.on('leftTick', cb), hal.on('rightTick', cb)

These events are emitted when the wheel encoder detects a 'tick'. Ticks are picked up on both the rising and falling edges of the IR receiver output, so two ticks events are raised per notch of the encoder wheel.

License: MIT