USING CRANFIELD ROVIO ROBOTS

Using the Rovio

For this assignment you have been provided with a Wowee Rovio robot together with a C++ library for
controlling the robot over a wireless network and accessing various information, including imagery,
from its on-board sensors. An overview of the robot is provided on p.6-9 of the accompanying manual.
The robot is provided with a manual, charging dock / home station, charging power pack (with UK
adapter) and USB cable. Information on charging the robot is available on p. 13-16 of the supplied
manual. Note that the battery pack is pre-fitted and should not be removed.
An on-line copy of the manual is available from:
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/rovio_manual_fw500.pdf
As you will read from the manual, the robot has a range of functionality – only some of which we will
be using from this assignment.

Connecting the Rovio to the Wireless Network

The robot connects to a standard 802.11b/g wireless network (as provided on campus) based on a
specified network identifier (ESSID).

On Campus (at Cranfield)

The robot has been pre-configured to work on the Cranfield University network and be
controlled/accessed from common web-browsers. You do not need to download and install any
software from the manufacturer to use the robot on campus.
The robot automatically connects to the “Cranfield Web” network on campus and is then accessible via
a web-browser at NAME.wless.cranfield.ac.uk where NAME is the name of your robot. You will also
need the username/password issued with your robot.
To use Rovio on campus you can just ignore chapter 3 of the manual, connect to the robot using a web
browser and operate it remotely as described in chapter 4 of the manual. You can connect to the robot
from any PC on campus (wired or wireless) on the technical/academic network (not residential
network). For “Cranfield Web” wireless remember to logon in the browser before accessing the robot.

Off Cranfield Campus (inc. at ESTIA)

To use the robot off campus (including ESTIA or campus residential network) you will require to re-
configure the robot to use this network identifier and ensure the MAC address is authorized by the
controller/owner of the network. Assuming you are working off campus on your own PC you will need
to download and install the following software (from the manufacturer) to use the robot on an
off-campus network:
32-bit Windows PC (Windows 7 32-bit / XP):
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/roviosoftwareinstaller_v2.3.zip
MAC:http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/roviomacsetup1.0.zip
Install the software and run the provided “Rovio Setup” tool to configure the robot to another available
wireless network (follow on-screen instructions). Do not upgrade the firmware (if prompted) or change

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the admin username/password during this process. Be aware that you will need to reverse this process
to re-select the “Cranfield Web” wireless network if you have the robot back on campus for use.
WINDOWS 7 (64-bit): No software is provided by the manufacturer for Windows 64-bit (yes, we
know this is not the best!).
To set it up for another network follow the details of manually setting up the wifi network or first-
time “ad-hoc” setup are given on p.20-27 of the manual (chapter 3) – please note this involves first
factory re-setting the robot so do this with care (see manual p.55). If you do set this up make sure to
specify a manual IP on the robot and not leave it as DHCP – otherwise you will not know which
address the DHCP has assigned to the robot. YOU MUST ALSO ENTER THE ADMIN
PASSWORD AND RESET UP THE USER ACCOUNT ON YOUR ROVIO (see manual p.41 and
security settings tab in web interface) – once reset, the robot is “open”. Again - be aware that you
will need to reverse this process to re-select the “Cranfield Web” wireless network if you have the robot
back on campus for use.
The robot connects to an Ad-Hoc wireless network (PC to robot direct, no router / access point) in the
same way. You will need to specify manual IP addresses for computer and robot.
• MS Windows 7 Ad-Hoc network setup:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Set-up-a-computer-to-computer-ad-hoc-
network
• MAC Ad-Hoc networking setup:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/8339.html
• Linux
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/creating-an-adhoc-host-with-ubuntu.html
http://www.susegeek.com/wireless/iwconfig-wireless-interface-configuration-utility-in-linux/
Off-campus the robot automatically connects to the network identifier you specify (either using the
manufacturers software or by accessing it Ad-hoc) and is then either accessible via a web-browser at
NAME-robot.no-ip.org (where NAME is the name of your robot – only if it has not been reset to use
Ad-hoc mode) or if this fails at the network IP address (X.X.X.X) specified at the end of the “Rovio
Setup” tool wizard. You will also need the username/password issued with your robot. By default on
the Ad-hoc network the robot is at a IP address 192.168.10.18.
Off campus you can similarly connect to the robot using a web browser and operate it remotely as
described in chapter 4 of the manual.
ON THE ESTIA CAMPUS: robots will be provided in Ad-hoc mode (IP address 192.168.10.18).
Following the instructions on p.20-27 of the manual (chapter 3) set your computer IP address as
192.168.10.x (for x 1-5) and connect in the browser to the Rovio at IP address 192.168.10.18.
Username and password as per the card supplied with the robot.

The C++ API Library Software

The provided C++ library has been tested on MS Windows (Visual Studio 2010) and Linux (gcc 4.3)

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and makes use of both OpenCV (for image access) and libCURL (C URL Library) to handle all of the
network transport functionality. Basically all the communications stuff is done for you.
Separate instructions on the configuration of libCURL with MS Visual Studio and an example Linux
Makefile will be made available. Example programs for communicating with, obtaining imagery from
and controlling the robot will be provided also. LibCURL is installed on the School of Engineering PCs
and this version is available from here (for windows):
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/curl-7.21.3-CU2011_01.zip
Versions for other operating systems are available from here: http://curl.haxx.se/
Most of the functionality available for controlling the robot from the web browser (chapter 4 of
manual) is available via the provided C++ library. Advanced applications are illustrated in chapter 5 of
the manual (pages 48-51 and 54-55 should be ignored). N.B. for the specified task it is un-likely you
will make use of the “True-track” path pre-recording and following functionality of the robot.
For reference the C++ library implements most of the functionality provided in version 1.3 of the
Rovio API:
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/Rovio_API_Specifications_v1.3.pdf
A copy of the latest version of RovioLib C++ API Library Software and example programs for
controlling your robot are available from (read the included README.txt file on how to use it):
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/roviolib/
A simple C++ test example to check that you first have OpenCV and libCURL configured correctly for
you is provided (loads an image from an internet URL):
http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/~toby.breckon/teaching/dip/rovio/imagetest.cc
Please be aware that this software is somewhat experimental and may contain bugs (please report any
bugs that you find or improvements/extensions you make to toby.breckon@cranfield.ac.uk).

Safety and Sanity

• Please be aware of the safety notices in Appendix C of the manual.
• Make use of the robot in an open space where it is not going to get easily damaged or trodden
on. Use your common sense please.
• Do not get the robot wet – the battery contacts on the bottom of the space will short circuit if
driven over wet ground or through water.
• When removing or inserting the USB lead to the robot hold the camera head with one hand –
don't just pull the lead out as this will damage the head joint.
• The aerial in the charging station must be disconnected by the push/clasp switches on the
bottom of the charging station. Do not just try to pull it out – it will break.
• Batteries: these are our greatest source of Rovio problems and battery performance of the
Rovios is not great. Some wisdom says with this type of battery (NiMH) it is best to fully
discharge it then fully recharge it to achieve best performance.

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• Use the provided software (which you may extend as you wish) to access and control the robot
only. Do not upgrade or in any way change the firmware on the robot or in any way try to
“hack” the robot. The cranfield robots use custom firmware to support wifi scanning.
• Do not make any hardware modifications to the robot.
• Do not connect the robot to any internet-connected network that is not behind a firewall
(router or similar).
• Do not reset the admin or user account passwords to anything other than the password
supplied with your robot (we mean this!)
• Do not remove the battery pack from the robot.
• The robot is for the use of students doing is assignment, on this course – no-one else.
• You only have permission to access your robot. Do not try to access other groups robots.
• Beware that the robot is “live” whilst connected to the campus network (including when on
charge – see below). If two students simultaneously run control code to access it strange effects
will occur.
• It is your responsibility to return the robot (undamaged, fully working) together with all of
the accessories (see packing list).
• If you plug the robot into a PC/MAC and it comes up “Format drive X” - DO NOT DO
THIS. IT WILL BREAK THE ROBOT (FOREVER!).
• Do not reset the MAC address of the robot under any circumstances.
• Read pages 56-58 of the manual on trouble-shooting and safety.
• Be aware that the Rovio robot is effectively an internet/network connected webcam (albeit
password protected but the password is widely known) – if you leave the robot on charge in
a personal space you may wish to consider the potential privacy implications of people
accessing the camera over the network whilst it is on charge.

A few things to note:

• The robot must be turned on to charge (strange and inconvenient - but true).
• If the robot is turned on and the charge is low it may try to dock. If the docking station aerial is
not attached this may result in strange behaviour. If the robot is unresponsive, check the battery
level and try charging it for a while.
• The robot responds to ping to check network connectivity.

Further Information
• Manufacturer's Support Page - http://www.wowwee.com/en/support/rovio/
• Third Party Rovio Software, Downloads and Forums – http://www.robocommunity.com/

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