Add Actuator

Connect motors, servos, and other actuators to your OctoMY™ Agent.

Security Consideration

Always test new actuators at low power settings first. A misconfigured motor can move unexpectedly at full speed - secure the robot or detach moving parts until you've verified the configuration is correct.

Actuator types

OctoMY™ supports various actuator types:

Type Description Use Case
Servo Position-controlled motor Arms, grippers, pan/tilt
DC Motor Speed-controlled motor Wheels, continuous rotation
Stepper Step-controlled motor Precise positioning
Linear Linear actuator Lifts, sliders
Relay On/off switch Lights, pumps

Prerequisites

Step 1: Open hardware configuration

On the Agent:

  1. Open ☰ Menu → Settings
  2. Go to Hardware → Actuators
  3. Tap [Add Actuator]

Actuators List

Step 2: Select actuator type

Choose the type of actuator you're adding:

Select Actuator Type

Step 3: Configure pin assignment

Select which controller pin the actuator is connected to:

Pin Assignment

Pin requirements by type

Actuator Type Pin Type Notes
Servo PWM Needs 50Hz PWM signal
DC Motor PWM + Direction 2 pins for H-bridge
Stepper 4 Digital Step, Dir, Enable, etc.
Relay Digital Any GPIO

Step 4: Set physical properties

Configure the actuator's physical characteristics:

For servo

Servo Configuration

For DC motor

DC Motor Configuration

Step 5: Test the actuator

Before saving, test the actuator:

Test Actuator

Move the slider or tap the buttons to test movement.

Step 6: Assign to control group

Organize actuators into logical groups for control:

Control Group Assignment

Common actuator setups

Differential drive robot

Two DC motors for tank-style steering:

Actuator Pin Group
Left Motor PWM 3, Dir 4/5 Locomotion
Right Motor PWM 6, Dir 7/8 Locomotion

Robot arm

Multiple servos for articulated arm:

Actuator Pin Range
Base Rotation PWM 2 0-180°
Shoulder PWM 3 30-150°
Elbow PWM 4 0-180°
Wrist PWM 5 0-180°
Gripper PWM 6 10-60°

Pan-tilt camera

Two servos for camera aiming:

Actuator Pin Range
Pan (horizontal) PWM 9 0-180°
Tilt (vertical) PWM 10 45-135°

Wiring diagrams

Servo wiring

Servo Wiring

DC motor with L298N

L298N Motor Driver Wiring

Troubleshooting

Servo not moving

  1. Check power - Servos need 5-6V, high current
  2. Check signal pin - Must be PWM capable
  3. Check PWM timing - Adjust min/max pulse width
  4. Test with different servo - Rule out hardware fault

Motor runs wrong direction

  1. Swap direction pins - Exchange Pin A and Pin B
  2. Use "Invert" option - Toggle in configuration
  3. Check wiring - Motor leads may be swapped

Actuator jitters

  1. Power issue - Add capacitor, improve power supply
  2. Signal noise - Shorter wires, twisted pairs
  3. Feedback loop - Reduce update frequency

"Pin already in use" error

  1. Check no other actuator uses that pin
  2. Release pin from previous configuration
  3. Restart Agent after removing old config

Advanced: Direct ArduMY configuration

For programmatic control, actuators are defined in the hardware config:

{
  "actuators": [
    {
      "name": "Right Arm Shoulder",
      "type": "servo",
      "pin": 3,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 180,
      "minPulse": 500,
      "maxPulse": 2500,
      "inverted": true,
      "group": "manipulation"
    }
  ]
}

Location: ~/.local/share/OctoMY™/OctoMY Agent/<personality>/hardware.json