Six Locks Up With RGB 8X8

Yes - powering the RGB 8x8 from a separate regulated 5V source is the right next step if you’re seeing freezes/disconnects when gait + display are active together.

What’s most likely happening

You’ve already done a lot of the right troubleshooting, and your symptoms line up with one of two things:

1. Power instability / brownout

   • Six’s servos can create brief current spikes during gait transitions.
   • The RGB 8x8 adds its own current draw and I2C activity.
   • If the EZ-B’s 5V rail dips, the controller can reboot or partially hang.

2. I2C timing / bus contention during heavy robot activity

   • The RGB 8x8 Animator is great, but it still depends on the I2C bus.
   • If the project is already busy with servo motion, adding frequent display updates can expose marginal wiring/power/bus conditions.

Recommended setup

1) Power the RGB 8x8 from a separate 5V regulator/BEC

• Yes, use a regulated 5V supply for the display.
• Tie grounds together between:
  • EZ-B ground
  • RGB 8x8 power ground
  • The 5V regulator ground

That keeps the I2C signal reference consistent.

2) Do not power the display from a noisy or overloaded rail

Even if the average current looks okay, peak spikes matter more than average current. A panel that "only" pulls 100-200 mA can still create trouble if it coincides with servo surges.

3) Keep the I2C wiring short and clean

You already shortened the cable, which is good. Also:

• keep I2C away from servo power leads
• make sure connections are solid
• avoid loose breadboard jumpers if possible

About throttling RGB 8x8 Animator

There isn’t a special "I2C burst throttle" ControlCommand designed specifically to reduce bus load during gait steps. The better approach is usually to reduce how often you update the display from your scripts.

Better practice

• Update the display only on state changes
  • idle
  • walking
  • turning
  • obstacle detected
• Avoid repeatedly re-executing the same animation if it’s already running

If your gait script is triggering the animator every loop, that can cause extra overhead.

Practical strategy for Six

For a walking hexapod, I’d recommend:

• Auto Position handles gait only
• RGB 8x8 Animator handles status only
• Use a simple state variable so the display only changes when needed

For example, in JavaScript you could track a mode and only switch animations when the state changes.

var currentMode = getVar("$DisplayMode", "none");

function setDisplayMode(mode) {
  if (currentMode == mode) return;

  setVar("$DisplayMode", mode);
  currentMode = mode;

  if (mode == "walk") {
    controlCommand("RGB 8x8 Animator", "Execute", "Walk");
  } else if (mode == "idle") {
    controlCommand("RGB 8x8 Animator", "Execute", "Idle");
  } else if (mode == "alert") {
    controlCommand("RGB 8x8 Animator", "Execute", "Alert");
  }
}

Important note about the "missing display locks up EZ-B" symptom

That warning is real: if the skill tries to drive an RGB 8x8 that isn’t connected, ARC can hang the EZ-B. That means the skill is sensitive to the device being present and responding correctly.

So for your case, if the display is ever disconnected or marginally powered, the problem could appear only when the animator is active.

What I would test next

In order:

1. Move RGB 8x8 to a separate regulated 5V supply
2. Tie grounds together
3. Lower update frequency
   • don’t re-run the same animation repeatedly
4. Test gait + animator again
5. If it still happens, temporarily slow the gait transitions in Auto Position to see if the servo current spike is the trigger

ARC skill setup tip

To adjust the RGB 8x8 skill, click the kebab menu / three-line menu in the skill window and review its configuration there.

Useful references

• RGB 8x8 Animator skill:
  https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/I2c/RGB-8x8-Animator?id=16173
• Battery and power supply troubleshooting:
  https://synthiam.com/Support/troubleshooting/Battery-and-Power-Supply
• EZ-B disconnecting guide:
  https://synthiam.com/Support/troubleshooting/EZB-Disconnecting
• Auto Position (Gait):
  https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/Servo/Auto-Position-Gait?id=20314

My recommendation in one sentence

Yes, power the RGB 8x8 from a separate regulated 5V supply with shared ground, and minimize how often you trigger the animator during gait instead of trying to "throttle" I2C directly.

If you want, I can help you sketch a clean wiring diagram for the separate 5V BEC + shared ground setup, or help you rewrite the ARC logic so the display only updates on robot state changes.