Internal WAM PC

The WAM has a built-in computer that you can use for controlling the WAM and writing software. This computer consists of small form factor PC/104-type motherboard and a CANbus ISA expansion card.

Specifications

Motherboard Aaeon TF-PFM-540I-A10
Processor AMD Geode LX 800
Speed 500MHz
RAM 2GB
Disk 8GB SLC CompactFlash
O/S Ubuntu Linux 12.04 + Xenomai
Power ~10W
Ethernet 100Base-T
CAN PEAK PCAN PC/104
Video SVGA*
USB 2 ports*
PS/2 Yes*

*cables available upon request.

Ethernet / WiFi / DHCP

You can log into the WAM over wired Ethernet or over WiFi using the supplied Access Point (AP). The internal WAM PC is configured to obtain its IP address from a DHCP server. The WiFi access point included with the WAM has a built-in DHCP server. If you choose to plug the WAM into your own wired network, please make sure your DHCP server is configured to assign an IP address to the WAM PC.

  • Wired Ethernet - You can use a Cat5e Ethernet cable to connect the ETHERNET port on the backplate of the WAM to an Ethernet switch on your network. Please note that unless you have a DHCP server running on your workstation (this is rare), you can not plug the WAM directly into your workstation.
  • Wireless Ethernet - You can connect the ETHERNET port on the backplate of the WAM to the supplied WiFi access point. You will need to browse the available WiFi networks on your laptop/workstation and join the WAM's WiFi network. Please note that this will disconnect you from any other WiFi access points you were using previously. Unless you have a secondary Internet connection, this will prevent your workstation from connecting to the Internet.

Discovering the WAM's IP address

When the WAM's power supply is switched on, the internal WAM PC begins to boot up (you will hear a short "beep"). After about 30 seconds, the WAM PC will request an IP address from a DHCP server. Once the WAM PC obtains an IP address, it launches a small UDP discovery application. If your workstation is connected to the same network as the WAM, then you can use the ​wamdiscover.exe Windows application or the ​wamdiscover.py Python script to determine the IP address of the WAM PC.

Logging into the WAM PC using ssh

Once you know the WAM PC's address, you can connect to it using ssh. If you have a Windows workstation, we recommend using ​PuTTY SSH.

The default username is "robot". The default password is "WAM".

After logging into the WAM PC, you will find yourself in the /home/robot directory. If you type "ls" then hit <Enter>, you will see a listing of the files and folders in that directory. One of the directories should be called "libbarrett_examples". If you type "cd libbarrett_examples" then hit <Enter>, you will change to that directory.

Editing source code on the internal WAM PC

There are several options for editing source code on the internal WAM PC:

  • The easiest way is to install/use ​Eclipse or ​jEdit (with its FTP plugin) or some other editor on your workstation that supports file access over sftp (ssh).
  • An alternative is to enable X11 forwarding in your ssh connection. At the command line, include "-Y" in your ssh connection command: ssh -Y robot@<your-WAM-IP>. In PuTTY, this setting is called Connection:SSH:X11:Enable X11 Forwarding. Then you can ssh into the internal WAM PC and edit files on your workstation using commands like "gedit ex01_initialize_wam.cpp &", or any other graphical editor you want to install on the WAM PC. You can also launch the file browser by typing "nautilus &". For this method to work, you will need an X11 server running on your workstation. For Windows workstations, we recommend using ​Xming.
  • If you prefer text-based code editor like vi or emacs, you can use those directly on the WAM PC.
Last modified 11 years ago Last modified on Oct 18, 2013, 2:27:17 PM