Getting Started

Hardware
PCB DESIGN The electronics for Programmable-Air are pretty simple, as these things go. The PCB is composed of two boards that are connected by default but can be snapped off and used independently. The 'master' board contains an Arduino Nano, two pumps and IO. The 'slave' board contains three valves and the pressure sensor circuit. In this way, the 'master' board contains the brains and IO as well as the pressure sources while the 'slave' board contains the valves to control air flow and feedback from the pressure sensor. The... Read more...
Code
Programmable-Air is fully Arduino compatible and work on an Arduino Nano board. The nano board is very similar to the UNO, just in a smaller form factor, so most external libraries should work without issues. To start with the board, install the programmable-Air library from Arduino library manager(Sketch>Include library>Manage libraries and search for Programmable-Air). Visit the github for detailed instructions. Read more...
Pneumatic Connections
To fully control a soft robot it needs to be able to connect to high pressure, low pressure and atmospheric pressure independently. The diagrams below explain an easy way to configure the pumps and valves to achieve this. Each Programmable-Air board contains all of these elements. The solid lines represent air tubes. There are three valves below, all closed. From top to bottom, the inputs of the valves are connected to high pressure, low pressure and atmospheric pressure. The outputs of all valves are connected to each other and to... Read more...
Video Tutorials
First Power-Up: Plugging in the power cord Core Mechanics: Air, Suction, and Venting Understanding LED Behavior Running the Factory Firmware Test (FFT) How to Perform the Factory Firmware TestTroubleshooting - Factory Firmware Test Failure Reason 1: Seal Issue Factory Firmware Test Failure Reason 2: Power Issue Factory Firmware Test Failure Reason 3: Blow Tube Connection Issue Factory Firmware Test Failure Reason 4: Pressure Sensor Tube Connection Issue Read more...