#robotics Logs

Jun 19 2017

12:03 AM z64555: huh. this digital electronics book has a blurb on servos
12:10 AM hypodyne: what sort of robotics are you doing?
12:12 AM z64555: oh, I putz around on different projects. Trying to avoid making my quadcopter fly
12:12 AM z64555: no idea why.
12:12 AM z64555: Core hardware is installed on it, need to make a balancing jig to test its attitude control
12:13 AM hypodyne: you build it from scratch?
12:13 AM z64555: and I need to get used to programming the new mincrocontroller, which is the utterly boring part that I'm avoiding
12:14 AM z64555: Yeah, built from various breakout boards and other parts
12:14 AM z64555: Made it a point to minimize custom built electronics, since I don't have any tooling to do surface mount soldering, much less fab a custom board
12:15 AM z64555: well, tooling/funding
12:15 AM z64555: the sad part is this thing is 5 years old
12:16 AM z64555: eventually I'll be guilted into working on it again :D
12:17 AM hypodyne: if its a hobby then its if you feel like it.
12:18 AM z64555: yeah, basically a hobby
12:21 AM hypodyne: I have a 3D printer I need to put together.. corexy.. but started programming something and havent stopped.
12:53 AM rue_house: drat, past bedtime
01:20 AM rue_house: if I do about 5 of those power supply boards a day during the week
01:20 AM rue_house: then in only about 10 weeks I might be able to get it down to just one box of them
01:21 AM rue_house: somehow that dosn't have the ring of hope around it I hoped it would
04:52 PM ccook_ is now known as ccook
04:55 PM joga_ is now known as joga
07:14 PM z64555: learned of a VFO on a chip today
07:14 PM z64555: (variable frequency oscillator)
07:15 PM z64555: Notably, its frequency output can be changed by a pot, or a microphone
07:16 PM z64555: meaning it can take the roll of an LO (local oscillator) in a super heterodyne reciever, as well as be used as a FM circuit
07:17 PM z64555: oh, and these chips can go up to 2GHz or so
07:44 PM Atomsk is now known as ace4016
07:52 PM tumdedum_ is now known as tumdedum
08:31 PM rue_house: z64555, 4046
08:31 PM rue_house: 555
08:31 PM rue_house: but not 2Ghz
09:01 PM z64556 is now known as z64555
10:30 PM vkipy: Hi...
10:31 PM vkipy: what are the various domains in the field of robotics?
10:31 PM vkipy: like perception, SLAM, etc
10:31 PM vkipy: i want to get in depth with some specific domain
10:33 PM ace4016: which domain intrigues you? robotics is honestly still in its infancy, so the "domains" are superficial. what problems do you want to solve and/or address? what capabilities do you want your robot to have? that's kind of where you really start
10:33 PM ace4016: unless you're just aimless learning, which is ok
10:42 PM zhanx: learning is always good
10:44 PM hypodyne: how about learning to make a bomb?
10:47 PM zhanx: what is wrong with that? Its using the bomb is the problem
10:51 PM rue_shop3: thats 4 boards, the box is healing over just fine
10:51 PM rue_shop3: one more and I'll play with something else
10:52 PM z64555: zhanx: yep, also if you know how a bomb is built, you also know how to disarm it
10:53 PM zhanx: this is true
10:53 PM vkipy: thanx ace4016
10:53 PM vkipy: i want to learn much in robotics... but dont know where to start
10:53 PM vkipy: i did my graduation in Instrumentation
10:53 PM z64555: physics
10:54 PM z64555: understand the basics of mechanics
10:54 PM ace4016: make a robot that does something simple. figure things out what you need as you go and dive deep into the topics when you hit them
10:54 PM z64555: that too
10:54 PM z64555: rue_shop3: just what are you doing
10:55 PM vkipy: ok...
10:56 PM z64555: oh
10:56 PM hypodyne: see what books the local library has on robotics
10:56 PM vkipy: as of now i've started learning ROS, Rpi...
10:56 PM z64555: hypodyne: I forget to mention, you can get a 2D look from 3D models with shaders
10:56 PM z64555: DirectX might have a slightly different name for shaders
10:57 PM hypodyne: yep.. I would do that if I go 3d
10:57 PM z64555: ok, just wanted to mention it
10:57 PM hypodyne: I just trying to work out whats slow in my current system.
10:57 PM hypodyne: I am*
10:57 PM vkipy: at my place local library as more regional magazine than learning materials
10:58 PM vkipy: *magazines
10:58 PM hypodyne: womens day for robotics
11:00 PM vkipy: I was searching for topics/domains in which i could get like "specialized" ... :p
11:00 PM ace4016: what interests you in terms of real world problems to solve?
11:01 PM ace4016: computer vision? navigation? manipulation? locomotion? logical thinking?
11:01 PM hypodyne: okay.. I know there is a few old books on building robots around on the web.. toy like stuff.
11:01 PM ace4016: a lot of robotics has nothing to do with "robotics"
11:03 PM rue_shop3: ok, thats 5
11:03 PM rue_shop3: robotics is programming, mechanics, and electronics, all under one handy title
11:04 PM ace4016: sometimes chemistry and the like as well
11:04 PM ace4016: which covers pretty much the entirety of the modern world
11:12 PM vkipy: I'm interested in the whole of robotics...
11:12 PM vkipy: i like all of it
11:13 PM vkipy: cannot decide which i like more
11:13 PM vkipy: :p
11:13 PM ace4016: :P
11:14 PM ace4016: do you know how you eat a whole cow?
11:14 PM ace4016: one bite at a time
11:14 PM vkipy: i like programming.... i love Mathematics...
11:14 PM vkipy: yeah.. i agree... in that case, where shall i start?
11:15 PM vkipy: as you said before, i'm aimless
11:16 PM ace4016: start at making a robot :P
11:16 PM ace4016: simple one. think of a simple task and make a robot to perform that simple task
11:17 PM vkipy: ok
11:17 PM vkipy: for academic project, i made a robot that just moves around and captures photo as it moves...
11:18 PM z64555: that's a start. what did it do for SLAM?
11:18 PM vkipy: i think i'll start with the usual, a robotic arm... right?
11:18 PM ace4016: "the usual"
11:18 PM ace4016: the usual is what you did for your acadmeic project :P
11:18 PM vkipy: there was no slam... :(
11:18 PM ace4016: though usually something more itneresting than take pictures. usually grabing and sorting something
11:19 PM z64555: positioning, then?
11:19 PM vkipy: this robot i designed, would move around based on the pics it take
11:20 PM vkipy: ace4016, in my college, when you say your project is in robotics domain, their first thought is "Robotic arm"?
11:20 PM vkipy: *"Robotic arm ?"
11:20 PM vkipy: second one is "Robotic rover"
11:20 PM vkipy: :P
11:20 PM ace4016: heh
11:21 PM vkipy: Thank you guys...
11:22 PM vkipy: will come soon... with more questions... once i dwell into it.. :D
11:22 PM ace4016: i think what interests me the most in robotics isn't the minutia of how, but the what
11:22 PM z64555: Robotics is like love, Everybody knows what it is, but not what precisely it is
11:22 PM vkipy: yeah...
11:23 PM ace4016: could probably be said about most things in life :P
11:23 PM vkipy: lol
11:23 PM z64555: except physics. We've pretty much got that nailed down
11:23 PM z64555: not on every scale, mind you...
11:23 PM ace4016: gotta have some axioms to go off of, sure :P
11:24 PM z64555: vkipy: anyway. Since you've already got a rover bot, you should look into expanding on it
11:24 PM z64555: try making it follow a line
11:25 PM z64555: then try making it go to a specific position, using a grid of lines
11:25 PM z64555: then try using a radio or optical beacon, to replace the grid
11:25 PM z64555: or
11:26 PM z64555: Try giving your robot attachemts like an arm
11:26 PM z64555: or a head with sensors on it
11:26 PM z64555: or try replacing your wheels with legs
11:26 PM vkipy: that sounds like a good start... the one with arm and head
11:27 PM z64555: a 5DOF arm should suit you for awhile
11:28 PM vkipy: mmmm