Controlling a Servo with a BeagleBone
Black
Created by Simon Monk
https://learn.adafruit.com/controlling-a-servo-with-a-beaglebone-black
Last updated on 2022-12-01 02:01:05 PM EST
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Table of Contents
Overview 3
You Will Need 3
Installing the Python Library 7
Wiring 7
The Python Console 8
Writing a Program 9
Servo Motors 10
Next Steps 11
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Overview
In this tutorial, you will learn how to control a servo from Python using a BeagleBone
Black (BBB).
A Python test program will allow you to set the angle of the servo between 0 and 180
degrees.
# python servo.py
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):90
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):180
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):0
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):x
#
You Will Need
To try out this tutorial, you will need:
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BeagleBone Black
Standard Servo
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or a Micro Servo
1 kΩ Resistor (optional)
5V Power Supply
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Female Screw Terminal adaptor
Half-sized Breadboard
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Male to Male Jumpers
The 1 kΩ resistor is not strictly necessary, but will protect your BBB from damage is
something should go wrong in the servo.
Installing the Python Library
This tutorial uses Ångström Linux, the operating system that comes pre-installed on
the BBB.
Follow the instructions here, to install the Python IO BBIO library. http://
learn.adafruit.com/setting-up-io-python-library-on-beaglebone-black ()
Wiring
Wire up the solderless breadboard using the header leads as shown below.
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You can use male to male jumper wires from the screw terminal to the breadboard.
Connect an external 5VDC power supply to DC power jack
We will use pin P8_13 as the PWM output to control the servo. The only other
connection that we need from the BBB is GND.
There is more information about all the pins available on the P8 and P9 connecters
down each side of the BBB here: http://stuffwemade.net/hwio/beaglebone-pin-
reference/ ()
The Python Console
Before writing a Python program to allow us to set the servo to an angle between 0
and 180, we can try some experiments in the Python Console.
To launch the Python Console type:
# python
Python 2.7.3 (default, Apr 3 2013, 21:37:23)
[GCC 4.7.3 20130205 (prerelease)] on linux2
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>
First, we need to import the library, so enter the command:
>>> import Adafruit_BBIO.PWM as PWM
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Now enter the commands below into the Python Console one at a time, and you
should see the servo change position.
>>> PWM.start("P8_13", 95.0, 60)
>>> PWM.set_duty_cycle("P8_13", 97.0)
>>> PWM.stop("P8_13")
>>> PWM.cleanup()
NOTE: If your servo doesn't move you might need to change the polarity of the PWM
signal and try again. Add a 4th parameter to the PWM.start function with a value of 1
(one), this will invert the PWM signal so it's low when normally high and vice versa.
Here's the same code but with the inverse parameter set:
>>> PWM.start("P8_13", 95.0, 60, 1)
>>> PWM.set_duty_cycle("P8_13", 97.0)
>>> PWM.stop("P8_13")
>>> PWM.cleanup()
Writing a Program
Exit the Python Console by typing:
>>> exit()
This should take you back to the Linux prompt.
Enter the following command to create a new files called servo.py
nano servo.py
Now paste the code below into the editor window.
NOTE: Don't forget to add the inverse parameter to the PWM.start function if you
found it was required to make your servos move in the previous page!
import Adafruit_BBIO.PWM as PWM
servo_pin = "P8_13"
duty_min = 3
duty_max = 14.5
duty_span = duty_max - duty_min
PWM.start(servo_pin, (100-duty_min), 60.0)
while True:
angle = raw_input("Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):")
if angle == 'x':
PWM.stop(servo_pin)
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PWM.cleanup()
break
angle_f = float(angle)
duty = 100 - ((angle_f / 180) * duty_span + duty_min)
PWM.set_duty_cycle(servo_pin, duty)
To start the program, enter the command:
# python servo.py
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):90
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):180
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):0
Angle (0 to 180 x to exit):x
#
Entering a value between 0 and 180 will set the servo's angle accordingly.
When you want to stop the program, enter 'x'.
You may find that your servo judders at one end of its range or does not give a full
180 degree range of movement. If this is the case, try tweaking the values in duty_min
and duty_max.
When you enter 'x', the PWM is stopped and 'cleanup' is run, otherwise the PWM
signal would continue in the background even after the program had stopped
running.
Servo Motors
The position of the servo motor is set by the length of a pulse. The servo expects to
receive a pulse roughly every 20 milliseconds. If that pulse is high for 1 millisecond or
less, then the servo angle will be zero, if it is 1.5 milliseconds, then it will be at its
centre position and if it is 2 milliseconds or more it will be at 180 degrees.
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"Continuous" Servos, also called "360 Servos" work very similarly, so you can use
them just like a position servo. Instead of the absolute position, a continuous
servo will adjust its speed with different pulse widths
This example uses the PWM feature of the GPIO library to generate the pulses for the
servo. The PWM frequency is set to 60 Hz so that the servo will receive a pulse
roughly every 17 milliseconds.
The length of the pulse is changed by adjusting the duty cycle over the fairly narrow
range of 3 to 14.5 percent. These figures were estimated and then tweaked a bit to
give a maximum range of the servo being used.
Next Steps
If you wanted to, you could attach three more servos to the GPIO pins P8_19, P9_14
and P9_16. They could all share the same external 5-6VDC power supply without any
problem.
About the Author.
As well as contributing lots of tutorials about Raspberry Pi, Arduino and now
BeagleBone Black, Simon Monk writes books about open source hardware. You will
find his books for sale here () at Adafruit.
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