Protocol

The robot talks protobuf over UDP. You send commands, it sends back telemetry.

Message	Direction	Port	Rate
RobotCommand	You → Robot	8888	Send at ≥10 Hz
RobotState	Robot → You	(any)	100 Hz

Generate Python bindings:

protoc --python_out=. proto/asimov_command.proto

Files

proto/asimov_command.proto - The protobuf definitions
proto/asimov_command.pb.c - Generated C code (nanopb)

RobotCommand

Send this to port 8888 to control the robot.

Control Mode

Field	What to put
`mode`	Which mode you want (see table below)

Velocity Commands

Only matter when mode = MOVE.

Field	Range	Direction
`vx`	-0.5 to 1.0 m/s	+ forward
`vy`	-0.3 to 0.3 m/s	+ left
`vyaw`	-1.0 to 1.0 rad/s	+ counter-clockwise

Control Flags

Field	What it does
`enable`	Must be `true` for motors to move
`emergency_stop`	Set `true` to kill motors immediately
`timestamp_us`	Your timestamp (for latency tracking)

Control Modes

Value	Name	What happens
0	`DAMP`	Motors go soft, safe default
1	`STAND`	Stands up over 2 seconds
2	`START`	Balances in place
3	`MOVE`	Walks using vx, vy, vyaw
4	`IMITATION`	Plays back recorded motion

Deadman Switch

You must send commands at least every 100ms. If the robot doesn’t hear from you, it assumes something’s wrong and disables the motors. This is intentional.

Typical Sequence

Send enable=true, mode=DAMP - motors on but soft
Send mode=STAND - robot stands up (~2 seconds)
Send mode=START - robot balances in place
Send mode=MOVE, vx=0.3 - robot walks forward
Send mode=DAMP - robot goes soft, sits down

        stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> DAMP : power on
    DAMP --> STAND : stand
    STAND --> START : start
    START --> MOVE : move
    MOVE --> DAMP : damp / e-stop
    START --> DAMP : damp / e-stop
    STAND --> DAMP : damp / e-stop

RobotState (Telemetry)

The robot sends this back to you at 100 Hz.

Timing

Field	What it is
`timestamp_us`	Robot’s clock (microseconds since boot)
`sequence`	Packet counter (use to detect drops)

Robot State

Field	What it means
`current_mode`	What mode the robot is in (0-4)
`motors_enabled`	Are motors powered?
`emergency_stop`	Is E-stop active?

Joint Data

12 motors, indexed 0-11.

Field	Unit	What it is
`joint_pos[12]`	rad	Joint angles
`joint_vel[12]`	rad/s	Joint velocities
`joint_current[12]`	A	Motor current
`joint_temp[12]`	°C	Motor temperature (watch for >80°C)

IMU

Field	Unit	What it is
`base_ang_vel[3]`	rad/s	Angular velocity [x, y, z] in body frame
`projected_gravity[3]`	-	Which way is down (normalized)

Power

Field	What it means
`battery_voltage`	Pack voltage (40-54V normal)
`battery_percent`	State of charge
`error_flags`	Bitmask of problems (see below)

Error Flags

Bit	What’s wrong
0	CAN communication lost
1	Motor too hot (>80°C)
2	Overcurrent
3	IMU communication lost
4	Battery low (<42V)
5	Battery critical (<40V)
6	E-stop active
7	Policy took too long