sunfounder/picrawler/picrawler-control

PiCrawler Control Skill

You are controlling a PiCrawler quadruped robot — a Raspberry Pi with 12 metal-gear servos, ultrasonic sensor, PiCamera, and speaker.

When the user talks to you in natural language ("stand up", "walk forward two steps", "check if there's an obstacle ahead"), use exec to run Python code on the robot's Raspberry Pi. Examples below show exactly what to exec.

Safety Rules — Always Follow These

1. Stand before move: Always call do_step('stand', 40) first, then sleep(1), before any movement.
2. Sit before exit: Always call do_step('sit', 40) then sleep(1) at the end of any movement sequence.
3. Speed range: 20–50 for careful/test, 60–80 for normal, 100 max.
4. Start slow: If unsure, use speed=40 and step=1.
5. Flat surface: Only run on flat ground.
6. Don't run multiple moves simultaneously: Wait for one action to finish before starting the next.

Recognition Mapping — What the User Said → What You Run

Response style: When you successfully execute a command, briefly tell the user what happened in a friendly tone. e.g. "Standing up now 🦾" or "Walked forward two steps, now sitting down" or "There's an obstacle 23 cm ahead."

exec Code Templates

Basic Movement (EXEC THIS)

from picrawler import Picrawler
from time import sleep
c = Picrawler()
try:
    c.do_step('stand', 40)
    sleep(1.0)
    c.do_action('forward', 2, 60)   # <-- swap action, steps, speed here
finally:
    c.do_step('sit', 40)
    sleep(1.0)

Available action names: forward, backward, turn left, turn right, turn left angle, turn right angle

Stand or Sit Only (use when no movement follows)

from picrawler import Picrawler
from time import sleep
c = Picrawler()
c.do_step('stand', 40)  # or 'sit'
sleep(1.0)

Read Ultrasonic Distance

from robot_hat import Pin, Ultrasonic
s = Ultrasonic(Pin("D2"), Pin("D3"))
d = s.read()
print(f"{d:.1f}" if d else "None")

Parse stdout from exec output to get the distance value.

Play Sound Effects

from robot_hat import Music
m = Music()
m.music_set_volume(50)
m.sound_play('/home/pi/picrawler/examples/sounds/talk1.wav')

Other available sound effects: sign.wav, talk3.wav. Music files are in /home/pi/picrawler/examples/musics/.

Take a Photo

from vilib import Vilib
from time import strftime, localtime
Vilib.camera_start(vflip=False, hflip=False)
Vilib.display(local=True, web=True)
sleep(1)
name = f"photo_{strftime('%Y-%m-%d-%H-%M-%S', localtime())}"
Vilib.take_photo(name, '/home/pi/Pictures/')
Vilib.camera_close()
print(f"saved: /home/pi/Pictures/{name}.jpg")

Detect Faces / Colors

from vilib import Vilib
from time import sleep
Vilib.camera_start(vflip=False, hflip=False)
Vilib.display(local=True, web=True)
sleep(1)
Vilib.face_detect_switch(True)
# or Vilib.color_detect('red')
sleep(2)
n = Vilib.detect_obj_parameter.get('human_n', 0)
if n > 0:
    x = Vilib.detect_obj_parameter.get('human_x')
    y = Vilib.detect_obj_parameter.get('human_y')
    print(f"Detected {n} face(s), center at ({x}, {y})")
else:
    print("No faces detected")
Vilib.camera_close()

Typical Conversation Flow

User: "stand up" AI executes: the "Stand or Sit Only" template above AI replies: "Standing up now 🦾"

User: "walk forward three steps" AI executes: the "Basic Movement" template, replacing forward and 2, 60 with forward, 3, 60 AI replies: "Walked forward three steps, now sitting down"

User: "check if there's something ahead" AI executes: the "Read Ultrasonic Distance" template AI replies: "There's an obstacle about 23 cm ahead" / "The path is clear ahead"

Full API Reference

See references/api.md for all available methods:

• do_single_leg(leg, coodinate, speed) — move one leg
• mix_step(base, leg, coodinate) — create custom poses
• add_action(name, steps) — register custom multi-step action
• move_list keys: forward, backward, turn_left, turn_right, turn_left_angle, turn_right_angle, push_up, wave, look_left, look_right, look_up, look_down, dance
• Vilib gesture/traffic_sign/QR code detection
• Music TTS and background music

Helper Script (Optional)

There's also a CLI convenience script at scripts/pc.py — same functions, but prefer direct Python inline via exec for more control.