Page 27 - PDA Robotics Using Your Personal Digital Assistant to Control Your Robot

PDA 01 5/30/03 9:09 AM Page 4
Figure 1.2
Palm m505: A PDA Robotics
typical PDA.

age that could occur by an electronic malfunction in the robot body,
and eliminates the need for any physical connection to the PDA. The
PDA will act as the “brain” of the robot, monitoring and controlling its
systems. The IR beam of light could be considered the robot spinal
cord.

• IR port: Uses IR technology to transmit data to and receive data
from other Palm OS handhelds, and to perform HotSync opera-
tions. Used for communication with PDA Robot’s body.

• Power button/backlight control/LED indicator: Turns your hand-
held on or off and controls the backlight feature. If your handheld
is turned off, pressing the power button turns the handheld on
and returns you to the last screen you viewed. If your handheld
is turned on, pressing the power button turns the unit off.
Pressing the power button for about two seconds turns the back-
light on or off. The power button also lights steadily when the
handheld is charging in the cradle, and blinks to indicate alarms.
Some applications enable you to set alarms to remind yourself of
events or notes. You can set preferences for nonaudible alarm
notification.

• Handheld screen: Displays the applications and information
stored in your handheld. It is touch-sensitive and responds to the
stylus.

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