Servo Gripper

This article explains how to connect a servo to an autopilot and configure it for use as a gripper which is useful for delivery or bottle drop applications. The servo can be controlled directly by the pilot via a switch on the transmitter or as part of a mission. You may wish to refer to the general servo wiki page for other ways servos can be controlled.

Connecting the servo to an autopilot

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  • If using Copter, connect the servo to AUX OUT 1, 2, 3 or 4 if the autopilot includes an IOMCU for the first 8 MAIN outputs, or any output operating at 50Hz if the autopilot does not use an IOMCU. MAIN OUT 1 ~ 8 should be avoided because these normally update at 400hz. If using Plane or Rover where all PWM output pins usually update at 50hz, any unused output may be used.

  • In some autopilots with IOMCUs, AUX OUT 5 and 6 cannot be used by default because they are setup by default as Relays. These pins can changed to Servo outputs by setting the BRD_PWM_COUNT parameter to 6 and setting RELAY2_PIN and RELAY1_PIN to -1.

  • If the autopilot cannot provide power to the servos, an external BEC or ESC that can provide 5V should be used.

Configuration

  • set which RC output is used by setting SERVOx_FUNCTION (or RCX_FUNCTION) to 28 (i.e. if using AUX OUT 1 on a Pixhawk, set SERVO9_FUNCTION to 28).

  • GRIP_ENABLE to 1 to enable the gripper feature and then refetch parameters from the ground station in order to make other gripper parameters visible.

  • GRIP_TYPE to 1 to enable the servo gripper and reboot the autopilot

  • GRIP_GRAB to the pwm value (i.e. 1000 ~ 2000) for the gripper’s closed position

  • GRIP_RELEASE to the pwm value for the gripper’s open position

  • GRIP_NEUTRAL to the pwm value for the gripper’s neutral position (often the same as its closed position)

Controlling Gripper from the transmitter

The transmitter’s auxiliary switch can control the gripper.

  • In firmware versions 4.0 later, use an RC channel for control by setting is RCx_OPTION parameter to “19”.

Controlling Gripper during a mission

The gripper position can be controlled during a mission in AUTO mode using the DO_GRIPPER command. Set the “drop/grab” column to 0 to drop (open the gripper), 1 to grab (close the gripper).

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Controlling Gripper from the ground station

The gripper can be opened or closed in real-time from the ground station if the ground station sends a COMMAND_LONG with the command field set to DO_GRIPPER (i.e. 211) but there are no ground stations (as far as we know) that support doing this.