Pioneer 3TM User Manual

To engage AROS maintenance mode, press and hold the white MOTORS button, press 
and release the red RESET button, then release MOTORS.   In the future, the white 
MOTORS button may engage other modes, such as when in AROS standalone mode. 

Your  ActivMedia robot’s sturdy, but lightweight aluminum body houses the batteries, 

drive motors, electronics, and other common components, including the front and rear 
sonar arrays.  The body also has sufficient room, with power and signal connectors, to 

support a variety of robotics accessories inside, including an A/V wireless surveillance 

system, radio modems or radio Ethernet, onboard computer, laser range finder, and 
more. 

On all models except the Pioneer 2-CE, a hinged rear door gives you easy access to the 

batteries, which you may quickly hot-swap to refresh any of up to three batteries. 

The nose is where we put the onboard PC.  The nose is readily removable for access:  

Simply remove two screws from underneath the front sonar array.  A third screw holds the 

nose to the bottom of the AT’s body.  The DX nose is hinged at the bottom. 

Once the mounting screws are removed, simply pull the nose away from the body.

  This 

provides a quick and easy way to get to the accessory boards and disk drive of the 

onboard PC, as well as to the sonar gain adjustment for the front sonar array.  The nose 
also is an ideal place for you to attach your own custom accessories and sensors. 

All DX’s come with a removable right-side panel through which you may install accessory 

connectors and controls.  A special side panel comes with the onboard PC option, for 
example, which gives users monitor, keyboard, mouse, and 10Base-T Ethernet access, as 

well as the means to reset and switch power for the onboard computer. 

AT’s  come  with  a  single  access  panel  in  the  deck.    Fastened  down  with  finger-tight 
screws, the User Control Panel and onboard computer controls are accessible beneath 

the hinged door. 

All models come with an access port 
near the center of the deck through 

which to run cables to the internal 
components. 

Natively, H8S/AROS-based ActivMedia 

robots support up to four sonar arrays, 
each with eight transducers that 

provide object detection and range 

information for collision avoidance, 
features recognition, localization, and 

navigation.  The sonar positions in all 

Pioneer 2 and 3 arrays are fixed: one 
on each side, and six facing outward 

at 20-degree intervals.  Together, fore 

and aft sonar arrays provide 360 
degrees of nearly seamless sensing for 

the platform. 
                                                           

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With older Pioneer 2 models, you also needed to remove the Gripper before removing the Nose.  

With the DXE, and newer DXs and ATs, the Nose and Gripper come off together, so you only 
need to remove the Nose’s mounting screws. 

 

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