Lately DOBOT Magician has been upgraded to V2. Wondering the differences between Magician V1 and Magician V2? Here is a comparison of the old and new version, thoroughly describing the differences in appearance, I/O interfaces, and sensors. Feel free to check this article any time you have doubts concerning the different versions of DOBOT Magician.

 

1. Notes

• How to differentiate DOBOT Magician V1 and V2: click “?” on DobotStudio interface and check the hardware version.
• How to differentiate different versions of linear rail kit, photoelectric sensor and color sensor: version can only be identified by the physical label. If the label shows V2, it means the version is V2. While no physical label on the object means V1 version.
• If the rail kit version is V2, you need to select “New Rail” in “Settings > General” of DobotStudio interface when controlling the robot arm through DobotStudio. If the version of the rail kit is V1, leave this option unchecked.
• Photoelectric sensors and color sensors can be connected to multiple ports when connecting to the robot arm. Please make sure that the ports set by Blockly or API are in one-to-one correspondence with the hardware connection port.

 

2. Description of Appearance Differences

 

2.1 Similar Appearances of V1 and V2

 

The appearances and structural designs of V1 and V2 are similar, as shown below:

Figure 2.1 - Magician V1 Rendering Image

 

Figure 2.2 - Magician V2 Rendering Image

 

2.2 Color Change of V2 Ports

 

V1's ports on the base and forearm are all white, while the color of the V2’s ports has been changed to make it more convenient for users to distinguish and prevent incorrect operations. The universal port GP is green, and the 12V switch SW is red. The stepper port is yellow, and the 3D printing thermistor is blue, as shown below:

 

Figure 2.3 - Color change of the ports on the base

 

Figure 2.4 - Color change of the ports on the forearm

 

Figure 2.5 - V1 ports (left) vs V2 ports (right) on the base (within the red frame)

 

Figure 2.6 - V1 ports (left) vs V2 ports (right) on the forearm (within the red frame)

 

2.3 Control Axis Change of V2

 

V1 version’s rear arm and the forearm are connected by a connecting rod. The V2 version is optimized for structural design and is changed to a bearing plus a connecting rod, which improves the accuracy and consistency of the trajectory of the robot arm, including laser engraving, writing, and drawing.

 

3. Difference Description

 

3.1 Difference Between V1 and V2

 

 

3.1.1 Multiplexed I/O Interface

 

The total number of I/O interfaces of DOBOT Magician V1 and V2 stays the same, while the functions of specific multiplexed I/O interfaces differ in different versions. Detailed changes for multiplexed I/O Interface on the forearm, base peripheral and UART are shown in the below pictures, respectively. Blue means the function is both supported by V1 and V2; gray means it is only supported by V1. No caption means no change for the multiplexed function.

 

Figure 3.1 - Peripheral interface in the Forearm

Figure 3.2 - Base peripheral interface

Figure 3.3 - Base UART interface

 

3.1.2 Other Differences

 

Table 3.1 - Magician V1 vs V2

 

V2 Version	V1 Version	Change
Rail return switch connects GP2	Rail return switch connects 10PIN port	Upgraded the hardware and limited the usages of some ports to protect the device.
Automatic leveling tool connects GP4	Automatic leveling tool connects GP3
USB to serial port driver selects CP210x	USB to serial port driver selects CH340	Replaced the serial port chip
Ports have different colors based on their type	All ports have the same color	Easier to distinguish interfaces and prevent incorrect connection

 

 

3.2 Photoelectric Sensor Comparison

 

Table 3.2 - Photoelectric Sensor V1 vs V2

Photoelectric Sensor V2	Photoelectric Sensor V1	Change
Connects GP1, GP4, GP5	Connects GP1, GP2, GP4, GP5	The 4PIN port function was modified

3.3 Color Sensor Comparison

 

Although the V1 and V2 versions of the color sensor connection interface have not changed, the way the color sensor recognizes the color changes.

 

Table 3.3 - Color Sensor V1 vs V2

Color Sensor V2	Color Sensor V1	Change
The color sensor identifies color via communication interface	The color sensor identifies color via I/O interface	The 4PIN port function was modified

 

 

3.4 Rail Kit Comparison

 

Table 3.4 - Rail Kit V1 vs V2

Rail V2	Rail V1	Changes
Rail return switch connects 4PIN port	Rail return switch connects 10PIN port	Upgraded the hardware and limited the usages of some ports to protect the device.

 

 

4. Compatibility

 

4.1 Connection

 

DOBOT Magician supports different versions of peripherals (slide kit, photoelectric sensor, color sensor). When the DOBOT Magician version is different from the peripheral version, the connection descriptions are as follows.

 

4.1.1 Rail Return Switch

 

Table 4.1 - Compatibility Description

Magician Version	Rail Version	Rail Return Switch Connecting Port
V2	V1	GP2 (a patch cord is needed for connecting)
V1	V2	GP2

 

 

• When the user controls the rail via Blockly, the corresponding version of rail should be selected.
• If the rail kit version is V2, you need to select “New Rail” in “Settings > General” of DobotStudio interface when controlling the robot arm through DobotStudio.

 

4.1.2 Photoelectric Sensor

 

Table 4.2 - Compatibility Description

Magician Version	Photoelectric Sensor Version	Photoelectric Sensor Connecting Port
V2	V1	Connect GP1/GP4/GP5 via wire jumper
V1	V2	GP1/GP2/GP4/GP5

 

 

Jumper method: Take the GP1 interface as an example. The photoelectric sensor is triggered by I/O 11 INPUT. For the V2 version of the robot arm, the I/O multiplexing function changes. I/O 11 has no INPUT function, but I/O 12 supports INPUT, so the photoelectric sensor should be connected to the I/O 11 pin to manually access the I/O 12.

 

When the user sets the photoelectric sensor interface through Blockly, you need to select the version corresponding to the photoelectric sensor and select the appropriate connection port.

 

4.1.3 Color Sensor

 

Table 4.3 - Compatibility Description

Magician Version	Color Sensor Version	Color Sensor Connecting Port
V2	V1	GP2
V1	V2	GP1/GP2/GP4/GP5

 

 

When the user sets the photoelectric sensor interface through Blockly, you need to select the version corresponding to the color sensor and select the appropriate connection port.

 

4.2 API Changes

 

Photoelectric sensors, color sensors, and rail kits come in different versions. In order to enable the robot arm to support different versions of the peripherals, the corresponding API interface has also changed, the specific interface is as follows.

 

• Version number needs to be set when enabling the rail.

 

Table 4.4 - Set the status of the rail

prototype	int SetDeviceWithL(bool isEnable, bool isQueued, uint64_t *queuedCmdIndex, uint8_t version)
function	Set the rail status. If you use a rail kit, you need to call this API Before sending the instructions related to the slide rail, the slide rail status must be set.
parameter	isEnable: 1, start the rail. 0, close the rail. isQueued: Whether to add this instruction to the instruction queue queuedCmdIndex：If you choose to queue the instruction, it indicates the index number of the instruction in the queue. Otherwise, this parameter is meaningless. version: version number of rail. 0: V1; 1: V2
return	DobotCommunicate_NoError: instruction returned normally DobotCommunicate_BufferFull: the instruction queue is full DobotCommunicate_Timeout: no return of instruction, resulting timeout

 

 

• Version number needs to be set when enabling the photoelectric sensor and select the appropriate port according to the table below.

 

Table 4.5 - Enable photoelectric sensor

prototype	int SetInfaredSensor(bool enable,InfraredPort infraredPort, uint8_t version)
function	Enable photoelectric sensor
parameter	InfraredPort definition： enum InfraredPort{     IF_PORT_GP1;     IF_PORT_GP2;     IF_PORT_GP4;     IF_PORT_GP5; }; enable: status. 0: not enabled; 1, enabled infraredPort: port that the photoelectric sensor is connected to the robot, please select the corresponding interface version: version number of the photoelectric sensor. 0: V1; 1: V2
return	DobotCommunicate_NoError: instruction returned normally DobotCommunicate_Timeout: no return of instruction, resulting timeout

 

 

• Version number needs to be set when enabling the color sensor interface and select the appropriate port according to the table below.

 

Table 4.6 - Enable color sensor

prototype	int SetColorSensor(bool enable,ColorPort colorPort, uint8_t version )
function	Enable color sensor
parameter	ColorPort definition： enum ColorPort {sss     IF_PORT_GP1;     IF_PORT_GP2;     IF_PORT_GP4;     IF_PORT_GP5; }; enable: status. 0: not enabled; 1, enabled colorPort: port that the color sensor is connected to the robot, please select the corresponding interface version: version number of the color sensor. 0: V1; 1: V2
return	DobotCommunicate_NoError: instruction returned normally DobotCommunicate_Timeout: no return of instruction, resulting timeout