robotics

Observations from an outlier

robotics

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configuring ubuntu wireless there is nothing cool about a robot that needs wires plugged in — actually it vexes me to no end. running ubuntu in an embedded device can be a real pain when first setting up a new device. many robots are running linux on low cost itx boards these days and they all suffer from the same security hassle with initial network configuration. you just unboxed…

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led lighting with arduino yun progress on the rgb leds continues, here is the code for a useful android testing tool, with a very brutal looking UI.. awful. sliders for the red, green, blue light levels, few buttons for presets and scrolling debug messaging. the only noteworthy thing is defining the range of the sliders to suit the pwm levels on the arduino end.. so, [0 – 255] values…

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So, things break and need repairs. My Dad has always said.. “don’t repair, fit the spare”, but this part hasn’t been available a long time. I looked, made calls, sent emails, got calls back.. but no luck. The board is simple, just a few AC Power relays, but it is the controller for my bed and I needed it working as soon as possible. after an hour with the…

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testing pan and tilt from servo city here is an arduino sketch (below) to control a pan and tilt system from your keyboard. I chose high torque servos hoping they would be a bit smoother and less “buzzy” when tracking into new positions. with the lightweight gopro camera there is still some jittering, but nothing that can’t be removed with a good video editing tool. servo city claims this…

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Here is a short video of us testing the elevation wheelchair with the disk brakes we designed. This project has been both frustrating and rewarding. The tiny details add up quickly. The disk brakes require a bit of extra chair width, and this can be deal breaker for most users. It can make getting into older buildings, especially bathrooms, impossible, but outside all that matters is stopping force and…

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arduino data acquisition Arduinos can be used in real products, they just aren’t teaching tools anymore. I cut my teeth on 68HC11 using C and the BUFFALO bootloader, mostly pain and not so much fun. sure the paid tools and IDE’s for this chip were pretty good but the were expensive and not hobby grade. if one wanted to experiment, the (oopic and the basic stamp and pic were…

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disk brakes for wheelchairs it’s been a braking with software (on board arduino or android). As a quadriplegic I don’t want to take my hands off the wheels to apply the brakes because this throws off my balance (especially on uneven ground or with muscle spasms to contend with). When adding power assist motors, a user must have the ability to stop even if that motor is malfunctioning. So…

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wheelchair as a gopro dolly testing the camera on the seawall. this is simply the goPo handle bar mount attached to my wheelchair. I imported into final cut and shared to youtube directly. I did the colour balance step after a few basic edits. be sure to try it in different resolutions. the 720p and 1080p version look really good. youtube’s on stabilization took out most the bumps, pretty…

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I am finally wanting to learn again. No papers and exams, but learning for fun. Remember when that was true? As a kid, my friends and I would create small dams with sand and mud, then upend the buckets of water to see if our design actually worked. A few summers later, I was adding water wheels down stream and asking my Dad about how our electric lights stay…

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From drawing board to being ready to install in single day? Colin, same guy that is now selling wifi robots, salvaged an old power drill to go with the new Lithium-ion battery pack for my chair. More Ardiuno and IOIO protects are possible now that I have a power supply I can remove and charge myself.

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Solid state sensors and high torque servos are getting cheaper all the time, but it is the software methodologies that needed to change for walking to be considered a “primitive behavior”. Any kids learning about robots would, and should, assume that we have walking sorted. Getting back into standing from an unknown state, say on bumpy uneven ground — that’s still tricky. Google is going to lead the cloud…

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I’ve been following Boston Dynamics awhile now. They seem to be the most stable legs around..