#robotics Logs

May 25 2017

12:23 AM synja: i'd love a plasma cutter
12:25 AM synja: not a bad price too
12:26 AM deshipu: making love to a plasma cutter can get very painful
12:30 AM synja: tell me about it..
12:33 AM deshipu: so first, there are the burns
12:33 AM deshipu: then, there is blinding
12:34 AM deshipu: and of course let's not forget the lost limbs
01:07 AM rue_house: I'm gonna make sure I can sleep in the new shop
01:08 AM rue_house: that way I can build circuits on a coffeetable beside a couch while watching a movie before I fall asleep
02:00 AM rue_bed: there seems to be a critical mass of parts to be able to just build things
02:00 AM rue_bed: missing some rue, hmmm
04:37 AM veverak: :)
08:25 AM mumptai_: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX_8zfFLXQQ
10:32 PM anonnumberanon: cool mumptai thanks
10:48 PM anniepoo: So, new robot project
10:48 PM anniepoo: small one
10:49 PM anniepoo: I do a video series on YouTube - "Playing with Prolog"
10:49 PM anniepoo: we're going to do a 4 part thing where we build a dancing robot whose dances are generated by Prolog
10:49 PM juanonymous: what's a Prolog?
10:55 PM anniepoo: Prolog's a computer language
10:55 PM anniepoo: http://swi-prolog.org
10:55 PM anniepoo: It's a logic language. It's widely used in NLP and AI.
10:55 PM juanonymous: is it easy to understand?
10:55 PM juanonymous: ok
10:55 PM juanonymous: thanks
10:55 PM anniepoo: nope
10:55 PM juanonymous: oh
10:56 PM anniepoo: =8cO
10:56 PM orlock: anniepoo: did something cool thismorning - went for a walk around the factory floor as the different groups had their standups
10:57 PM anniepoo: if programming languages were tools, Prolog would be the big machines that harvest trees in modern logging
10:57 PM orlock: the toys! the tools!
10:57 PM anniepoo: Ooh, Orlock, sounds cool
10:57 PM orlock: very very cool
10:57 PM juanonymous: can python be used to run a robot?
10:57 PM orlock: rows of steppers
10:57 PM orlock: juanonymous: yes
10:57 PM orlock: juanonymous: i'd guess its probably one of the most common languages for it, asside from Logo
10:58 PM juanonymous: python, i think is much easier to learn
10:58 PM juanonymous: orlock, thanks
10:58 PM orlock: many pure programmers dont like python
10:58 PM orlock: as it uses layout/whitespace as part of the program logic
10:59 PM anniepoo: also it's a sorta bland language - it's the oatmeal of programming
10:59 PM anniepoo: but lots of robot drivers are written in it
11:00 PM anniepoo: the snail I'm building is in Python, sends messages via YARP to Prolog
11:00 PM Snert: just curious why python as opposed to c++ ?
11:01 PM orlock: lower barrier to entry
11:01 PM orlock: no compiler
11:02 PM anniepoo: Python's easier to program in
11:02 PM juanonymous: im kind of thinking to make one too, somebody here suggested me to try andruino
11:02 PM anniepoo: you don't have to worry about memory
11:02 PM juanonymous: i am a complete noob, btw
11:02 PM orlock: juanonymous: that was probably me
11:02 PM anniepoo: If you want a gentle intro to this stuff, start with 'Processing' on Arduino
11:02 PM Snert: I got so much to learn any of them lol
11:03 PM anniepoo: that's very simple
11:05 PM anniepoo: well, Processing and the Arduino comes with an IDE, it's about as complicated to start programming an arduino as figuring out a new printer
11:05 PM anniepoo: (ie not very)
11:05 PM juanonymous: orlock, yes maybe it was you.
11:06 PM juanonymous: orlock, do you have a website, showcasing your projects or projects done by a group of yours?
11:06 PM juanonymous: something like that
11:07 PM orlock: sorta not really
11:07 PM juanonymous: can i check it out?
11:08 PM orlock: http://somepicturesof.space
11:08 PM orlock: but theres a few pictures of my gear in there
11:08 PM orlock: mainly its justthe pictures its tken
11:11 PM juanonymous: ok
11:11 PM juanonymous: ill check
11:11 PM juanonymous: thanks
11:13 PM juanonymous: what os are you using orlock? or what os do you suggest to help me have ease on creating one?
11:13 PM orlock: arduino for the microcontroller
11:13 PM orlock: i usually use linux and python
11:15 PM juanonymous: orlock, ok. thanks
11:16 PM orlock: juanonymous: i used the arduino and a simple circuit to control a pair of stepper motors attached to a telescope mount
11:17 PM orlock: juanonymous: so then instead of using a handset, i can script actions for the telescope mount in python
11:17 PM orlock: means instead of sitting outside hitting buttons for 10 minutes whole looking at a watch
11:17 PM orlock: i can do other things
11:18 PM orlock: linux/python walks serial over USB to the arduino, which then toggles some IO pins to make the motors move
11:24 PM anonnumberanon: one can never have enough black Sharpies
11:27 PM anonnumberanon: juanonymous> i am a complete noob, btw
11:28 PM anonnumberanon: so you could make something that drives around like a maze mouse
11:28 PM anonnumberanon: cause then it's easier
11:28 PM z64555: line followers are a great project
11:32 PM anonnumberanon: yeah!
11:35 PM anonnumberanon: man burning DVDs feels pretty geeky
11:48 PM anniepoo: burning dvd's is indeed a bit retro
11:48 PM anniepoo: 8cD
11:50 PM Snert: I can't make myself get rid of my burner though
11:50 PM Snert: and itzbeen 3 years since I burned anything