User Manual

The Pololu USB SDK contains example code for

the Maestro in C#, Visual C++, and Visual Basic

.NET.

8. Writing PC Software to Control the Maestro

There are two ways to write PC software to control the Maestro: the native USB interface and the

virtual serial port. The native USB interface provides more features than the serial port, such as the

ability to change configuration parameters and select the Maestro by its serial number. Also, the

USB interface allows you to recover more easily from temporary disconnections. The virtual serial

port interface is easier to use if you are not familiar with programming, and it can work with existing

software programs that use serial ports, such as LabView.

Native USB Interface

The Pololu USB Software Development Kit

[https://www.pololu.com/docs/0J41] supports

Windows and Linux, and includes the source

code for:

• MaestroEasyExample: a simple

example application that uses native

USB and has three buttons that control

the Maestro. Versions of this example

are available in C#, Visual Basic .NET,

and Visual C++.

• MaestroAdvancedExample: an

example graphical application that

uses native USB to send commands

and receive feedback from the Maestro

and automatically recover from

disconnection (written in C#).

• UscCmd: a command-line utility for

configuring and controlling the Maestro

(written in C#).

• C# .NET class libraries that enable

native USB communication with the

Maestro (written in C#).

You can modify the applications in the SDK to suit your needs or you can use the class libraries to

integrate the Maestro in to your own applications.

Example code that uses the native USB interface from other languages can be found in Section 10.

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