Bocon: Bimanual Open Controller for Affordable Embodied AI Teleoperation

Declaration

This is a mujoco-based lightweight robot imitation/reinforcement, VLA framework that integrates a gamepad bocon teleoperated robotic arm (SO100), data generation and acquisition (HDF5), multiple model training (ACT, Diffusion Policy, etc.), and real-time inference in both simulation & physical objects. (Except for the first one, the rest of the work will be open soon.)

What's New?

• April 1, 2025: Bocon Project Launched

Installation (Recommend Ubuntu 20.04, 22.04 with Bluetooth)

  git clone https://github.com/box2ai-robotics/bocon.git
  cd bocon
  
  pip install -e .
  make install

Connection Setup

Initial Pairing

1. ​First-time Bluetooth Pairing:
   • Press and hold the small circular button on the side of the Joy-Con for 3 seconds to enter pairing mode.
   • On your computer, search for Bluetooth devices and select either Joy-Con (R) or Joy-Con (L) to complete pairing.

2. ​Connection Confirmation:
   • Upon successful pairing, the controller will vibrate at a fixed frequency.
   • ​Single-controller mode: Hold both trigger buttons (ZL + ZR) for 3 seconds.
   • ​Dual-controller mode: After both controllers vibrate, simultaneously press:
     • Left Joy-Con's upper trigger (L)
     • Right Joy-Con's upper trigger (R)
   • The system will allocate dedicated processes for connection monitoring.

3. ​Subsequent Connections:

   • For already paired devices, simply press the upper trigger (L/R) to auto-reconnect.
   • A confirmation vibration will occur within 5 seconds. Follow Step 2 to finalize.

4. ​Testing: Refer to the Quick Start Tutorial.

Operational Manual

Coordinate System

• Home Position: (0, 0, 0)
• ​Front Direction: X+ (end-effector facing)
• ​Right Direction: Y+
• ​Up Direction: Z+

Joystick Control (End-Effector POV)

• ​↑: Move forward along end-effector direction
• ​↓: Move backward along end-effector direction
• ​←: Strafe left (Y-)
• ​→: Strafe right (Y+)

Button Functions

1. ​Reset (Recommend)

   • Right Joy-Con Home button ​or Left Joy-Con O (Capture button): Return to home position.

2. ​Gripper Control

   • Right ZR ​or Left ZL (Lower triggers): Toggle gripper state:
     • Open → Close (when pressed)
     • Close → Open (when pressed)

3. ​Height Adjustment

   • Joystick press (click down): Lower end-effector (Z-)
   • L/R (Upper triggers): Raise end-effector (Z+)

4. ​Linear Movement

   • Left D-pad ↑ ​or Right X: Move forward (X+)
   • Left D-pad ↓ ​or Right B: Move backward (X-)

5. ​Data Recording

   • Right A: Stop current dataset recording (requires custom implementation)
   • Right Y: Restart current dataset recording (error recovery)

Customization

• All other buttons are user-configurable.

FAQ

Connection Issues

Q1: Unable to connect / No vibration on successful connection

Solution:

1. Re-run the install command to verify dependency installation
2. Briefly press the pairing button to power off
3. Remove the device from your computer's Bluetooth list
4. Restart your computer
5. Long-press the pairing button and reconnect via Bluetooth

Q2: Frequent disconnections with unstable data

Solution:

1. Charge the controller for 30 minutes (auto-shutdown indicates low battery)
2. Restart both controller and computer
   • Note: Ubuntu has known Bluetooth compatibility issues

System Compatibility

Q1: Does it support Windows, VM, WSL or Mac?

A1: Currently no - due to kernel-level driver requirements.
Tested systems:

• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
  (Other systems may work but are unsupported)

More Info

1. You can follow the bilibili video account
2. Join the discussion on the QQ group 948755626 or discord
3. Click here to buy the well-tuned version of the hardware

If this project is helpful to you, please give us a star. We greatly appreciate it! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐