Student programs never talk to the motors directly. A single protected motion-control node is the only software layer permitted to send final commands to the servo controllers and base motor system.
The motion-control node enforces (or is designed to enforce) joint limits, speed limits, movement-duration limits, safe sequencing, command timeouts, and rejection of malformed or impossible requests, and it respects emergency-stop state and instructor execution control at all times.
Every one of the 21 joints has a bounded safe range enforced before a command reaches a servo.
Requested speeds and command durations are capped so motion stays predictable.
A stalled or disconnected program cannot leave the robot mid-motion indefinitely.
Out-of-range, impossible, or badly formed requests are rejected before execution.
All 21 programmable degrees of freedom — including the rotating base — are available to student programs. This is open student development with protected physical execution, not unrestricted motor access.
Before an instructor ever sees a submission, it runs through automated checks. Some are already part of the architecture; others are planned ahead of classroom release.
This is planned architecture for the checks above; it does not claim complete behavioral simulation or a guaranteed-safe program. Full detail on the queue and instructor review flow lives in the Learning Hub's Queue and Classroom Workflow pages.
Software validation is one layer. A classroom also needs a physical layer that works even if a program misbehaves.
Disables motor power without necessarily cutting power to the Raspberry Pi, where practical.
A standard, always-available stop command for ending a running program.
Instructors can start, stop, and revoke approval for any running or queued program.
See Motion Architecture and Validation & Queue above.
Physical labeling and classroom supervision practices for finger, elbow, and shoulder pinch points.
Documented power-on/power-off sequence to avoid unexpected motion.
SwayForm does not claim a guaranteed-safe system. Robot operation should always be supervised, and instructors should review the full Robot Safety and Acceptable Use Policy before classroom use.