Update: it worked, they are sending me a sample. Thanks for all the support
I’ve been building a robot for the last 6-months or so using some spare parts from my four-motor Maslow I was working on (and gave up on… long story) and recently ran into an issue with the atomic pi I was using as a processor… basically it doesn’t have enough USB bandwidth to handle a Kinect and anything else at the same time. It has one standard USB port and the other USB port is on some crazy header with 2.00 mm pin spacing and they don’t make an adapter for it…
Anyway, Radxa is releasing (finally) their Rock Pi X in 3-4 weeks that has 4 GB of RAM, 3-USB2.0 ports and 1-USB3.0 ports… Perfect replacement for the atomic pi. They are offering samples for use on interesting projects that people like. I’m dead in the water on the robot at the moment until I overcome the USB issue so I described the project and asked for a sample, but crickets.
I decided to take a direct approach (really, what do I have to lose) and created a thread on their forum where people can express their support for the idea of getting a sample. If you are inclined, please head over to their forum, like my post, and vote in the poll at the bottom of my thread. I’d greatly appreciate it.
I did laugh much, about myself… but ‘give’ and ‘provide’ did not seem safe, as I don’t have one, I choose ‘receive’ English is not my first languages and keeps confusing me…
Well, there are others that are more likely to be able to (one readily comes to mind).
Regarding why I moved on from the four-motor design (which I think is the ultimate solution for all-around accuracy), I was struggling with getting clean movement and thought it was all PID related. Since I had to do all the design/testing in my shed, which gets really uncomfortable, I just gave up after making no progress over weeks of work. That’s when I decided to start to work on the robot from the comfort of the house. And after tearing apart the four-motor maslow and deep in the build of the robot where I was experiencing similar jerky movement, I discovered that one of the main drive motor’s encoder magnet had come loose and was spinning erratically… it wasn’t so loose it didn’t pass the encoder test, but was loose enough to not be reliable. Some superglue seemed to fix it, but at that point, I was moving forward with the robot instead.
TL;DR
My Wanda is on ice for a few years now, but eventually she is going to guard around the house against stray cats that beat up mine (code name “catakiller”), vacuum, steam and mop (all in one go) the house and get me drinks when told so. Having to put another balancing thingy in the ‘hand’ to not spill requires to much processing, I agree. Currently working on the idea of timing-belts as tracks. Figured that a XL-94 on tooth gear can have a XL-98 flipped on the outside. Need it to climb one step, as this one floor house has them for no reason. Not sure how I’m going to adjust facial recognition for cats, but the 99$ Jetson Nano is bought for this task. Audio 2-way, video one way RPi, motors/sensors/servos Arduino. Autonomous mode and manual with gamepad.
Glad you woke me up with your post, time to wake up Wanda.
Kind regards, Gero
Edit: PETA disclaimer! No animals will be harmed in this project (at least not permanently). I have good experience with the 2 way audio that freaked out my own cats, although they knew my voice. Coming out a aluminium profile device with USB-speakers was enough to make them hide for hours. As the second escalation for stray-scare, I’ve downloaded various dog barking mp3. The fist stray in my garden that I can get the camera on will be the first test subject. A barking metal device on tracks approaching should do the trick. In the back of my head I do have plans for an air-pressure device with a mix of pepper and chilly powder, but I don’t think I need to build it. The codename “catakiller” obviously came from caterpillar and this are peaceful creatures, as far as I know. So am I.
I hacked some software to do face recognition on my jetson nano and log it. It worked pretty well, but unsurprisingly it couldn’t tell the difference between my identical twins. However, I joined the kickstarter for this:
I hope to use it to replace the jetson nano… which might get repurposed to assist in the navigation.
Love to hear more about your robot! Sounds like we have similar goals and maybe brainstorm solutions together. I’m not going to try to worry about the steps (two story house and I don’t trust anything I build to navigate up a full flight of stairs).
Not built anything like that Seen to many videos of them falling. Originally I wanted 4-motor tracks with the chain motors (30kg each) for the payload (batteries and water), but recently I need a AC duct Inspection and cleaning device that might need 8 tracks to expand in height to climb upwards, so downscaling to 4 of the Z-motors (11kg) each.
Not alive As a frame with slide-ins for Rpi, Arduino Mega, the usual 2 motor controller and a free spinning wheel at the back. Will completely construct her new, at least a 4-track drive.
How do you feel about hijacking this post? Did not want to share till date, but if there is a place in the interverse, I would do it is here. My Chipmonk family? I could open a new “robot” off-topic post. Perhaps I wouldn’t.
English is not my first languages and keeps confusing me…
Seen to many videos of them falling. Originally I wanted 4-motor tracks with the chain motors (30kg each) for the payload (batteries and water), but recently I need a AC duct Inspection and cleaning device that might need 8 tracks to expand in height to climb upwards, so downscaling to 4 of the Z-motors (11kg) each.
As a frame with slide-ins for Rpi, Arduino Mega, the usual 2 motor controller and a free spinning wheel at the back. Will completely construct her new, at least a 4-track drive.