Stanzas

Reference for OctoMY™ stanzas, which define logical groupings of lobes, actuators, and sensors that configure an agent for specific behavior modes.

Pro Tip

Think of stanzas as "presets" for your robot. A quadruped might have a "walking" stanza that links all leg servos to a gait lobe, and an "interaction" stanza that gives fine control of front legs for manipulating objects while the back legs maintain balance. Switching stanzas is instant - no reconfiguration needed.

What is a Stanza?

A stanza is a logical constellation of lobes, actuators, and sensors that makes an agent act in a certain way. Stanzas enable mode-switching, allowing a single robot to be reconfigured for different operational modes without physical changes.

Key concepts

Exclusive actuator control

Each actuator can only be controlled by one lobe at a time. When switching stanzas, the control of actuators transfers from one lobe configuration to another.

Mode switching

Stanzas allow users to quickly switch between operational "modes":

• Walking Stanza: Links all servo actuators to a walking lobe that generates stable gaits
• Interaction Stanza: Connects front limbs to a fine control lobe for careful manipulation
• Driving Stanza: Connects wheels to a locomotion lobe for vehicle-style control

Stanza structure

StanzaBook

A collection of stanzas configured for an agent:

class StanzaBook {
public:
    // Stanza management
    void addStanza(const Stanza& stanza);
    void removeStanza(const QString& name);
    Stanza* stanza(const QString& name);

    // Active stanza
    void setActive(const QString& name);
    Stanza* active();

    // Serialization
    QByteArray serialize() const;
    bool deserialize(const QByteArray& data);
};

Stanza definition

struct Stanza {
    QString name;                    // Stanza identifier
    QString description;             // Human-readable description
    QMap<QString, LobeConfig> lobes; // Lobes in this stanza
    QMap<QString, QString> mapping;  // Actuator-to-lobe mappings
};

Configuration format

JSON configuration

{
  "stanzas": [
    {
      "name": "walking",
      "description": "Quadruped walking mode",
      "lobes": [
        {
          "name": "gait",
          "type": "walking",
          "config": {
            "gaitStyle": "crawl",
            "stepHeight": 30,
            "cycleTime": 1000
          }
        }
      ],
      "mapping": {
        "leg_fl_hip": "gait",
        "leg_fl_knee": "gait",
        "leg_fr_hip": "gait",
        "leg_fr_knee": "gait",
        "leg_bl_hip": "gait",
        "leg_bl_knee": "gait",
        "leg_br_hip": "gait",
        "leg_br_knee": "gait"
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "interaction",
      "description": "Fine control of front limbs",
      "lobes": [
        {
          "name": "fine_control",
          "type": "manipulator",
          "config": {
            "precision": "high",
            "feedback": true
          }
        },
        {
          "name": "balance",
          "type": "static_balance",
          "config": {}
        }
      ],
      "mapping": {
        "leg_fl_hip": "fine_control",
        "leg_fl_knee": "fine_control",
        "leg_fr_hip": "fine_control",
        "leg_fr_knee": "fine_control",
        "leg_bl_hip": "balance",
        "leg_bl_knee": "balance",
        "leg_br_hip": "balance",
        "leg_br_knee": "balance"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Legged robot example

Consider a quadruped robot with two operational modes:

Walking stanza

The walking stanza:

• Links all eight leg servos to the Gait Lobe
• Provides user interface to steer the robot
• Gait is generated in real-time based on speed and direction

Interaction stanza

The interaction stanza:

• Links front legs to the Fine Control Lobe for precise manipulation
• Links back legs to the Balance Lobe for stability
• User can point limbs precisely to poke and grab objects

Wheeled robot example

For a wheeled robot like the Traxxas example:

{
  "stanzas": [
    {
      "name": "driving",
      "description": "Standard driving mode",
      "lobes": [
        {
          "name": "wheeled",
          "type": "wheeled_locomotion",
          "config": {
            "steeringStyle": "ackermann"
          }
        }
      ],
      "mapping": {
        "throttle": "wheeled",
        "steering": "wheeled"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Actuator mapping

Name-based mapping

Actuators and lobes are connected via name mappings:

// Mapping format: actuator_name -> lobe_name
QMap<QString, QString> mapping;
mapping["throttle"] = "wheeled";
mapping["steering"] = "wheeled";
mapping["pan_servo"] = "camera";
mapping["tilt_servo"] = "camera";

Auto-mapping

The mapping editor provides an automap feature:

• Automatically connects items with matching names
• If actuator "throttle" and lobe item "throttle" exist, they are connected
• Manual override for exceptions

Stanza operations

Switching stanzas

// Switch to a different stanza
stanzaBook->setActive("interaction");

// Get current stanza
Stanza* current = stanzaBook->active();
qDebug() << "Current mode:" << current->name;

From OPAL plans

// Switch stanza in a Plan
stanza.switch("walking")

// Query current stanza
if stanza.current == "interaction" {
    stanza.switch("walking")
}

Relationship to other concepts

Stanzas and lobes

• A lobe is a real-time control function (e.g., gait generation)
• A stanza is a configuration that assigns actuators to lobes
• Multiple stanzas can use the same lobe types with different actuator assignments

Stanzas and plans

• Plans orchestrate high-level behavior
• Stanzas configure low-level actuator control
• A Plan can switch stanzas based on conditions:

// Plan that switches stanzas based on situation
if proximity.obstacle_detected {
    stanza.switch("interaction")
    manipulator.poke()
} else {
    stanza.switch("walking")
    locomotion.move_forward()
}