AiboHack

YART 7 = Yet Another RCode Tool for the ERS-7

For the ERS-7 model only.
Please refer to separate pages for other models:
  • For the ERS-110,111 - see the YART 11x page
  • For the ERS-210/220/31x - see the main YART page

    • To use RCODE you need an 8MB or 16MB "PMS" stick.
    Other sticks will not work.
    Click here to learn more about PMS sticks

    WARNING: ONLY USE SONY BRAND MEMORY STICK READERS!

    WARNING: NEVER FORMAT A PINK MEMORY STICK!

    Overview

    YART is a simple drag-and-drop tool for customizing the behavior of existing YART-enabled personalities.

    Minimal Documentation release

    WARNING: You should first be familiar with the regular version of YART (210/220/31x) and YART_APG (if you wish to use it). If you have never used them before, I suggest following the regular tutorial first. You should at least read through the tutorial. You may do the tutorial steps yourself on a memory stick even if you don't have a 210/220/31x AIBO just to get a feel for it.

    Installation

  • Dig up a PMS memory stick (8MB or 16MB). It must be a PMS stick. It must be pink. It must not have an ERF- number on the sticker. You can't use the 32MB AiboMind/AiboMind2 pink stick.

  • Delete any files on the stick (do not format, use a Sony brand stick reader)
  • Download the RCODE7+YART memory stick image: RCODE7_YART703_E.zip (3.8MB)
  • Unzip the memory stick image on top of your RCODE/PMS stick.
    When done at the top of the memory stick there should be an "OPEN-R" folder, a "CUSTOM" folder and maybe a "MEMSTICK.IND" file (zero size) and nothing else.

  • Now open the "\CUSTOM" folder on the memory stick. In there you will find YART7.EXE and YART_APG7.EXE. You can run them directly from there.

    YART Notes:

    • The program is found on the memory stick in the \CUSTOM folder (\CUSTOM\YART7.EXE)
    • This version includes a mostly empty skeleton R-CODE application. Most event handlers are empty.
    • When running YART, drag and drop the actions as described in the regular tutorial. You will notice the categories and features are different.
    • When selecting a system action, take a look at the bottom of the YART screen. It will say something like "Posture_stand". This is the starting posture of the action. Most actions start and end with the same posture (unless they are specially designed to change between postures). "Posture_any" works for any posture (usually LED and/or audio only)
    • Some old feature of RCodePlus are not supported in the current version (which uses regular RCODE version 7)

    Action Naming:

    • Action names are straight from the documentation with some disambiguation added (I'm open to suggestions for improvement). The category names need some improvement too.
    • The action names (and categories) are good hints, but you still must use trial and error and the posture rules mentioned above.
    • The action names are in the general format "?_category.mood.kind", eg: "L_PHYSI.M_EXCRETE.S_HANG". Categories start with "L_" or "E_". I think "L_" categories mostly involve the legs.
    • Some names require disambiguation, and will end in ".sleep", ".sit", ".stand". This is similar to the _SLP,_SIT,_STD extension for the starting posture. These are the same as the Posture_??? reported on the bottom. For example:
      "L_PHUMAN.M_GREET.S_GOODMORNING.stand",
      "L_PHUMAN.M_GREET.S_GOODMORNING.sit",
      "L_PHUMAN.M_GREET.S_GOODMORNING.sleep"
    • Other names requiring disambiguation end in different numbers for different versions. Try them all to find the one you like best. For example:
      "L_FDSP.M_CHEER.S_FOUNDTOY.1",
      "L_FDSP.M_CHEER.S_FOUNDTOY.2",...

    Custom motions may be added with Skitter or the new MEdit editor (.MTN files). Custom LED patterns may be edited with Skitter (.LED files).
    You can optionally use YART_APG to generate audio-synced eye LED flashing, mouth movement and head bopping actions for use with Audio based personalities. YART_APG can also be used to build the final action list for motions created with Skitter or MEdit.

    YART_APG Notes:

    • YART_APG use is optional. YART7 can be used with or without YART_APG.
    • The program is found on the memory stick in the \CUSTOM folder (\CUSTOM\YART_APG7.EXE)
    • Audio must be in old style WAV format (8kHz, 8bit, mono). The ERS-7 does support other audio formats, but not YART_APG.
    • If the action name end in "_SND", then YART_APG will not generate mouth/head movements for the action (so you can play the sound and perform full body motions at the same time)
    • See the YART_APG tutorial if you haven't already used this tool.
    • To add more room on the memory stick, the YART_APG program can be copied to your PC (ie. they don't have to reside in the \CUSTOM folder)

    Future work

    • Beef up the default behavior for the initial personality
    • Do something about the cryptic action names (and categories)
    • Fix rear leg switch bug ?
    • Provide full blown YART7 personalities as samples and entertainment value (Cartman7, WhoAibo7, Bender7?)