With your Galileo, you've learned how to build projects that can roll, now let's build one that can walk. In this final chapter, you'll move from using the simple Galileo IDE to using the Linux capabilities of the Galileo to drive an external USB servo controller so that you can control the 12 servos that will make your quadruped move.
In this chapter, you will learn how to use the Galileo's Linux capabilities to control a basic quadruped platform. To do this you will learn the following:
- Galileo's Linux capabilities
- How servos work
- How to use the Galileo's Linux capabilities to control a servo controller that can control lots of servos
- Creating complex movements out of simple servo commands
While you have been accessing the Galileo exclusively through the IDE, the Galileo actually has been running a version of the Linux operating system all along. Linux is an operating system similar to Windows, or the Apple Mac operating system. In fact, the Mac operating system is built upon a version of Unix, which is very similar to Linux. Now Linux, unlike Windows, Android, or IOS, is not tightly controlled by a single company. It is a group effort, mostly open source, and while it is available for free, it grows and develops based on community development and support.
Thus, a number of distributions have emerged, each built on a similar kernel, or core set of capabilities. These core capabilities are all based on the Linux specification. However, they are packaged slightly differently, and developed, supported, and packaged by different organizations. Angstrom is one of these versions. Debian is another. There are others as well. The one included in the internal memory associated with the Galileo is called Poky, and is built using a set of tools called Yocto. Yocto is a toolkit that allows users to build their own Linux distribution.
For this project, you're going to create a new SD card image of Linux with a Debian distribution, install it on a microSD card, and boot the Galileo from the card. This is a very popular version of Linux that supports a wide range of different capabilities.
Now you'll need to connect the Galileo to the LAN to add capability. There are two ways to do this. The first is using a wired connection; you can simply connect the Galileo directly by connecting a LAN cable to the connector on the Galileo. You can also connect the Galileo using a Wi-Fi connection. This requires you to add additional Hardware and configure your Wi-Fi connection. See https://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2014/03/13/configuring-wifi-for-the-intel-galileo-board or http://www.hackshed.co.uk/how-to-use-wifi-with-the-intel-galileo for more information on how to assemble, configure, and connect your Galileo to a Wi-Fi network.