Programming Servo Sequences

Related Config File Sections:

• servos:
• shows:
• show_player:

You often want to move servos to different positions sequentially. For instance, an animated toy should open and close its mouth three times on a hit to a target. The target will post one event and you could use that to move the servo to one position. Servos do not prove position feedback so there is no way to trigger something on arrival at that position (unless you add additional switches). Instead you usually create a show which triggers a timed series of movements. The advantage of this solution is that you can easily integrate and synchonize it with sounds and lights.

The following example will move the servo six times when my_toy_hit is posted (three times to open and three times to close):

servos:
  my_toy:
    positions:
      0.0: open_mouth
      1.0: close_mouth
    reset_position: 1.0
    number: 1
shows:
  toy_hit:
    - duration: 1s
      events: open_mouth
    - duration: 2s
      events: close_mouth
show_player:
  my_toy_hit:
    toy_hit:
      loops: 2

To see how this can be used in a real machine we recommend this explanation video by the pinball amigos:

You might also enjoy our video about servos in general:

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