Tag: robot

Project updates

Here is a brief summary of project progress over the last couple of weeks:

  • Robot car: finally ordered ultrasonic HY-SRF05 sensors. Initial testing shows stable accurate output, even without averaging. One interesting point – there are (at least) two different SRF05 sensors, with different chips and different pin-outs!
  • Spent some time thinking of ways to help Treecycle, the discussion is at the Xinchejian group.
  • Ordered some ATtiny85 for Safer alarm project next steps, thanks to a bulk order through Xinchejian.
  • Desktop chaos – my dream desktop workspace.
    • Testing continues to show promise, despite the misuse of CodeBlocks (C::B) for this purpose. Even when using very fragmented work habits 5, 10, 15 minutes chunks of time (forced due to my chaotic availability) and some unexpected testing of C::B behaviour after it’s process was terminated by a likely Ubuntu bug which closes the user session when logging back on after a suspend!
    • Search (Recoll) and Sync (Unison) – both look promising, but some effort is required to create workable implementations, and especially to make more generic for wider public use when integrated with C::B.
  • Spending way to much effort on site upgrades, spam and reacting to vandalism from many different IP addresses. If anyone has good tips in addition to the official / common ones for Mediawiki, phpBB and on analysing Apache logs and good Unix automated site and MYSQL database backup, please use the about email to drop me a line (the site is still locked down as I do not have time to deal with vandalism at the moment).

‘relaxation’ project – ‘building’ an autonomous maze solving car

Lately my ‘relaxation’ project has been dabbling in ‘building’ an autonomous maze solving car. Sounds grand, but in reality just using an off the shelf remote control Jeep and the RoboRacing bootstrap shield kit, both from the Xinchejian Hackerspace.

The Jeep has been stripped and an Arduino and the motor controller installed and tested.

The Arduino software has progressed to create an extensive framework manage:

  • task prioritisation
  • sensor data
  • collision and obstacle avoidance
  • selection from several maze solving algorithms
  • two simple maze algorithms trialled in simulator
  • additional logic to cater non-standard mazes and loops
  • basic motor control on/off and PWM motor control completed.

For more relaxation, a maze solving simulator has also been developed using Processing. It shares some of the Arduino program and data structure.

The Big “to do’s” are deciding on approach to sensors – type(s), positions, number and the collision and obstacle avoidance, guidance, position tracking, and all the other code I am sure to have forgotten or just think is already working. So tomorrow I am off for some more ‘relaxation’ at the monthly Xinchejian robot race to check out the track and sensors used.

So now I’ve gone public on this, pride is at stake, so I’ll have to give updates of my future progress, or I’m sure my competitors at Xinchejian will only be to happy to report on my lack of progress 🙂