#robotics | Logs for 2016-06-08

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[03:32:17] <deshipu> rue_house: right, but somehow it feels wrong to make a http request to it every time someone calls i2c.init()
[07:49:53] <jhylands> Hey deshipu - new ROV a friend and I are working on: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3wf0c2ln5nm11yx/IMG_20160607_201111.jpg?dl=0
[07:53:04] <deshipu> jhylands: nice, is that a cat5 cable?
[07:53:12] <jhylands> the blue one is, yes
[07:53:15] <jhylands> that's the tether
[07:53:28] <jhylands> its got a raspberry pi onboard
[07:53:42] <deshipu> I always wondered how those ROVs are able to carry so much weight in cable begind them
[07:53:52] <deshipu> behind
[07:54:10] <jhylands> the cables for most ROVs are neutrally buoyant in water
[07:54:28] <deshipu> but they still have inertia
[07:54:34] <jhylands> yeah
[07:55:07] <deshipu> anyways, looks nice
[07:55:16] <jhylands> for long tethers, they are typically sending thousands of volts down, and run very powerful motors
[07:55:17] <deshipu> I'm working an a HSPI driver for the esp8266 now
[07:55:41] <jhylands> we're using a battery onboard, and the cat 5 is strictly an ethernet cable
[07:56:04] <deshipu> I guess power over ethenet is out of spec here ;)
[07:56:25] <jhylands> just a little :-)
[07:59:29] <jhylands> each of the three thrusters has a max current rating of 11.5 amps at 12 volts
[09:14:23] <rue_house> deshipu, i2c? why are you changing the bitrate to specific numbers for i2c?
[09:32:19] <deshipu> rue_house: what?
[09:32:34] <deshipu> ah, sorry, spi
[09:32:41] <rue_house> why are you using specific baud rates for i2c?
[09:32:47] <rue_house> even spi dosn't matter
[09:32:52] <deshipu> also, because that's the api I have to conform with
[09:33:06] <rue_house> the bit rate of any synchronous serial, dosn't mreally matter
[09:33:14] <deshipu> because there may be a device on the bus requiring slower speed than the default
[09:33:30] <rue_house> 115k?
[09:33:53] <deshipu> in any case that wasn't the question
[09:34:02] <deshipu> also, I figured it out
[09:34:04] <rue_house> sometimes the questions are broken
[09:34:37] <rue_house> does it use the same baud divider as the asynchronous uart?
[09:34:38] <deshipu> less often than some people think
[09:34:58] <deshipu> does what?
[09:35:09] <rue_house> the spi
[09:35:22] <deshipu> no, it's configured independently
[09:35:52] <deshipu> at least on that particular board
[09:36:05] <rue_house> uh
[09:36:39] <rue_house> the registers for spi baud rate are specific to the micorcontroller, not the board they are on...
[09:37:22] <deshipu> and the microcontroller is pecific to the board
[09:37:26] <deshipu> specific
[09:37:28] <deshipu> in this case
[09:37:39] <deshipu> anyways, you are not helping
[09:39:20] <rue_house> what baud rate do I need for continious rotation servos?
[09:40:01] <rue_house> hmm
[09:41:33] <rue_house> deshipu, have you worked with continious rotation servos?
[09:42:05] <deshipu> 50Hz
[09:42:13] <deshipu> same as regular hobby servos
[09:42:15] <rue_house> no, what baud rate
[09:44:28] <rue_house> hmm, I think I'm gonna end up with ground noise in the feedback
[09:44:54] <rue_house> I wonder how fast the adc runs
[09:49:56] <rue_house> hmm maybe I should build a system that can read multiple serial channels at the same time
[10:21:57] <jhylands> this is really cool - http://www.pocketnc.com/pocketnc/pocket-nc
[10:39:08] <deshipu> yeah, they sold a house to make it
[12:16:26] <gus_> Can anyone suggest me some advanced robotics projects?>
[12:22:00] <gus_> anyone there
[12:22:35] <jhylands> advanced is in the eye of the beholder
[12:22:59] <roboticArm> jhylands: Well then just suggest some projects
[12:23:11] <jhylands> what are you interested in?
[12:23:35] <jhylands> I've done lots of advanced robotics projects - robots that swim, walk, roll around outdoors, etc
[12:23:35] <roboticArm> jhylands: What do you mean?
[12:23:52] <jhylands> you need to narrow things down a little
[12:23:54] <roboticArm> jhylands: Wow, you are an expert
[12:24:03] <jhylands> what's your skill level? what's your budget?
[12:24:46] <jhylands> if you want to see some of my robots, many of them are on my YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/JonHylands
[12:27:45] <roboticArm> jhylands: Whoa, I just looked at some of your bots!!They are so good, Tell me what will it cost for me to build a maze solver, I have built basic projects like the line follower and biped bots etc
[12:28:08] <jhylands> do you want a fast maze solver, or just one that solves mazes?
[12:28:25] <jhylands> and how small does the robot have to be?
[12:28:30] <jhylands> and what tools do you have?
[12:28:39] <jhylands> All those things factor in to what it costs
[12:29:37] <roboticArm> jhylands: Ok, what about a fast one
[12:29:40] <jhylands> To give you an example
[12:29:50] <roboticArm> jhylands: May I ask, what do you do for a living
[12:29:52] <jhylands> Seeker 2x is my most recent mini sumo robot I built
[12:30:12] <jhylands> I'm a professional software/hardware developer
[12:30:18] <jhylands> http://huv.com/miniSumo/seeker2x/index.html
[12:30:34] <jhylands> so I spent probably close to $1000 to build that robot
[12:31:08] <jhylands> I could probably do it for less now, because PCBs and electronics are much cheaper
[12:31:39] <roboticArm> jhylands: I cannot afford that much
[12:31:41] <jhylands> Of course that cost doesn't include the 200 or so hours I spent working on it
[12:32:10] <jhylands> but I also used some expensive tools - 3D printer, CNC milling machine, metal lathe
[12:32:24] <roboticArm> jhylands: Time and energy, learning etc. is not a problem, I am interested enough
[12:32:30] <roboticArm> jhylands: Oh god
[12:32:36] <jhylands> it really comes down to tools then
[12:33:03] <jhylands> If you don't have the tools yourself, you might live in a town that has a makerspace/hackerspace
[12:33:55] <roboticArm> jhylands: So what about my project, can it be done under $100
[12:34:16] <jhylands> it would be very difficult to build a fast maze solver for that price
[12:34:26] <jhylands> you could build a maze solver for that price easily
[12:34:34] <jhylands> but fast == precision
[12:34:38] <roboticArm> jhylands: Thanks
[12:34:47] <jhylands> good quality motors are expensive
[12:34:48] <roboticArm> roboticArm: Even a dollar is too much for me lol. My currency is different
[12:35:38] <roboticArm> jhylands: Actually, I may already have access to several resources. Will build it with a friend. So you must have a good idea of algorithms and data structures, right?
[12:35:49] <roboticArm> Ah..............I remembered aeromodelling
[12:36:02] <jhylands> In general, yes, but I've never built a maze solver
[12:36:25] <roboticArm> jhylands: Ok
[12:36:50] <roboticArm> jhylands: Which is your favourite bot out of the ones you made
[12:37:03] <jhylands> I think Roz
[12:37:08] <jhylands> my quad walker
[12:37:54] <jhylands> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q4nsocmLWU
[12:38:12] <roboticArm> jhylands: Watched it already :)
[12:38:31] <jhylands> http://www.instructables.com/id/Robot-Maze-Solver/
[12:38:31] <jhylands> http://www.instructables.com/id/Maze-Solving-Robot/
[12:39:14] <roboticArm> jhylands: Thanks a lot
[12:39:35] <roboticArm> jhylands: I have another idea in mind, but I don't wanna tell it to anybody:)
[12:40:11] <jhylands> I used to think like that, but after a while I realized that (a) nobody cares, and (b) ideas are worth nothing - execution is everything
[12:40:24] <roboticArm> jhylands: Ok, haha, I am a beginner
[12:40:34] <roboticArm> jhylands: How much did Roz cost?
[12:41:00] <jhylands> Well, the bioloid kit (with the servos and the brackets) was around $800
[12:41:09] <roboticArm> jhylands: Oh god
[12:41:17] <jhylands> the latest version (https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MYNKpNKxKgo/VsFLtDXncLI/AAAAAAAADVk/oPpiOygR1LM/s1600/IMG_20160214_224048.jpg)
[12:41:41] <jhylands> has a raspberry pi and a bunch of other custom hardware, probably another $1000 worth
[12:41:47] <roboticArm> jhylands: So you made the parts or got them from the market?
[12:41:49] <jhylands> if I added it all up
[12:41:58] <jhylands> some of it I made (like the power board)
[12:42:02] <jhylands> some of it I bought
[12:42:23] <roboticArm> jhylands: Ok
[12:42:26] <jhylands> I 3D printed the body, feet, and head
[12:43:32] <jhylands> There are lots of other people in this group who build much cheaper robots
[12:43:38] <jhylands> like deshipu
[12:43:53] <jhylands> he builds really cool quad walkers using pico-sized servos
[12:44:57] <roboticArm> Show me the links to deshipu's bots
[12:45:41] <jhylands> https://hackaday.io/deshipu
[12:46:04] <roboticArm> jhylands: What is this custom micropython chip?
[12:46:15] <jhylands> which one?
[12:47:25] <roboticArm> jhylands: The one you mention on the Roz repo
[12:48:03] <jhylands> its a custom board I built for uCee, which ended up on an earlier version of Roz
[12:48:30] <jhylands> basically this: http://blog.huv.com/2014/02/micropython-board-with-crystal-and-new.html
[12:49:21] <jhylands> there's a bunch more info and pictures here: http://forum.micropython.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=32
[12:49:35] <roboticArm> jhylands: Wow, so you can build custom boards too
[12:49:45] <jhylands> yeah
[12:50:51] <jhylands> I've been doing hobby robotics for almost 20 years now
[12:50:56] <roboticArm> jhylands: Ok
[12:51:04] <jhylands> so I've built up a large number of skills and abilities over that time
[12:51:11] <jhylands> not to mention a lot of tools
[12:51:19] <veverak> micropython <3
[12:51:19] <roboticArm> jhylands: Boston Dynamic's bull is so cool and funny
[12:51:27] <roboticArm> jhylands: Nice
[12:51:29] <jhylands> bull?
[12:51:59] <deshipu> I think he means Big Dog
[12:52:10] <jhylands> yeah, probably
[12:52:16] <roboticArm> deshipu: I heard about your awesome low cost robotics
[12:52:18] <jhylands> I like Spot myself
[12:52:19] <deshipu> I like Spot much more
[12:52:24] <jhylands> heh
[12:52:25] <deshipu> ha!
[12:52:34] <deshipu> jhylands: have you seen XDog?
[12:52:59] <jhylands> yeah
[12:53:08] <deshipu> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK-s6EgMBYYWpT---mOuHCQ
[12:53:13] <roboticArm> deshipu, jhylands : Can OpenCV work with Atmega or arduino, or do I need Raspberry Pi?
[12:53:13] <deshipu> low-cost Spot :)
[12:53:24] <deshipu> roboticArm: it can't
[12:53:41] <jhylands> you need at least a raspberry pi
[12:53:48] <jhylands> or something in that class
[12:53:58] <roboticArm> jhylands: 'Atleast', what's better than that?>
[12:54:03] <jhylands> you can use an openmv board to do some neat vision stuff
[12:54:21] <jhylands> there are lots of embedded boards that are way more powerful than a raspberry pi
[12:54:29] <deshipu> lots of "better" boards: beaglebone black, raspberry pi 3
[12:54:34] <jhylands> its on the very low end of boards that run linux
[12:54:47] <roboticArm> deshipu, jhylands : By bull I meant the wildcat
[12:54:51] <deshipu> there are even robots that simply have a laptop on them
[12:55:05] <jhylands> wildcat is pretty cool for sure
[12:55:19] <jhylands> one of my robots had a quad core PC on it
[12:58:31] <roboticArm> Awesome
[12:58:57] <roboticArm> What is the purpose of Boston dynamics robots? How do they get the funding?
[12:59:07] <roboticArm> Seen Japan's transforming bots
[12:59:30] <jhylands> Boston Dynamics has (as far as I know) gotten all of its funding from DARPA
[13:00:31] <veverak> deshipu: yeah
[13:00:36] <veverak> was thinking that one day
[13:00:42] <veverak> maybe I will make robot with T420 in it
[13:00:44] <veverak> ;)
[13:01:17] <deshipu> well, recently Boston Dynamics is part of Alphabet (former Google)
[13:03:25] <veverak> hmm
[13:03:35] <veverak> decided to play a bit with micropython in esp
[13:03:43] <veverak> "git clone && make -> let's make some tea"
[13:06:02] <roboticArm> The MIT Cheetah bot is good
[13:06:13] <roboticArm> Robotics is SO multidisciplinary
[13:07:33] <roboticArm> Robots Field tests by the US Military?
[13:10:08] <roboticArm> Oh now I wanna work in Boston Dynamics instead of google
[13:10:43] <jhylands> Google owns Boston Dynamics
[13:24:46] <roboticArm> jhylands: That's cool for me
[13:25:29] <roboticArm> Thanks and bye everyone
[13:38:25] <deshipu> veverak: make -j8
[13:38:32] <deshipu> veverak: no tea needed ;)
[13:38:49] <deshipu> veverak: also, make sure you read esp8266/README.md
[13:38:55] <deshipu> veverak: because it's not so easy