Researchers teach ASIMO and HRP-2 a bit of real life Frogger

clipped from www.engadget.com Researchers teach ASIMO and HRP-2 a bit of real life Frogger Some George Costanza-types at Carnegie Mellon have repurposed their own hard earned knowledge of Frogger maneuvers at the university arcade into useful object avoidance techniques for robots. They've outfitted both ASIMO and HRP-2 with versions of the technology, which allows the robots to detect their surroundings, create 3D maps of obstacles and plan routes accordingly (and actually has nothing to do with Frogger). If you check out the two videos after the break, you can see that these guys really put the bots through the ringer, including some death defying spinning obstacles that ASIMO avoided with ease, and the "real life" environment the HRP-2 is faced with... but seriously, couldn't they just let ASIMO have the blue dot already?

InvenSense gloats about world's first 6-axis MEMS-based motion sensing solution

mechachonic

clipped from www.engadget.com InvenSense gloats about world's first 6-axis MEMS-based motion sensing solution We tell ya, some proud folks work at InvenSense. After boasting last year about its Wii MotionPlus-powering IDG-600 motion sensor, the company is set to gloat once more at E3 this year. The cause for celebration? Its 6-axis motion processing solution, which it's calling a world's first. Said solution weds its IME-3000 3-axis accelerometer with its IDG dual-axis family of gyros in order to produce a wicked small 6-axis motion sensor. In theory, at least, this creation is small enough to add MotionPlus-like capabilities to smartphones and other ridiculously small devices, with even TV remotes holding the promise of one day letting you "roll through" the EPG. Currently, the only big-name devices utilizing 5- or 6-axis motion functionality is Logitech's MX Air Mouse and the aforementioned MotionPlus accessory, but obviously InvenSense is hungry for more. Too bad that DSi already launched, right?

RiSE V3 Dynamic Climbing Robot

RiSE, my idea

clipped from www.technologyreview.com

Boston Dynamics-designed RiSE V3 robot climbs poles, haunts dreams

RISE3, My idea

clipped from hackedgadgets.com Hacked Gadgets Forum clipped from hackedgadgets.com Pole Climbing Robot The RiSE Version 3  robot looks freaky, it appears to be some type of small animal scampering up the pole. The University of Pennsylvania has some cool tech coming out of its Kod*lab. "Unlike RiSE V1 and RiSE V2, this newer version adopted a quadrupedal configuration, and was designed by Boston Dynamics, with input from the RiSE Project consortium. RiSE V3 uses brushless DC motors that increase power density. Coupled with a dramatically different leg mechanism, this robot exhibits rapid climbing (upwards of 22 cm/s) up a vertical surface such as a telephone pole."  Via: Technabob

Exmovere's wearable Chariot: for the mild-mannered cyborg

robot, exoskelentons

clipped from www.engadget.com Exmovere's wearable Chariot: for the mild-mannered cyborg What does it take to make robotic exoskeletons look like a quaint relic of the past? This -- a new wearable transportation device concept that Exmovere Holdings has dubbed the Chariot. Apparently, the device is specifically intended to help amputees and people that have difficulty standing, with a range of sensors used to let the wearer control the device at speeds up to 12 miles per hour with a minimum amount of physical effort. Better still, Exmovere looks to have even more ambitious plans for production versions of the device, including on-board vital sign sensors, built-in wireless and cellular connectivity and, yes, even specialized versions for military and law enforcement customers. Head on past the break for more evidence of the future.

Japan sending biped robots to conquer moon by 2020

robot

clipped from www.engadget.com Japan sending biped robots to conquer moon by 2020 Remember back in 2006 when we told you about Japan's goal to colonize the moon with robots? Some dreams don't seem to die, and the country's Strategic Headquarters for Space Development said recently that they expect a two-legged droid traversing the satellite's surface by 2020. Should that prove successful, it'll be followed later by a joint mission with humans -- that is, if the robots don't find a way to take over before then and deny the spacemen their planetary visas.

Viliv S5 and X70 MIDs hands-on with video!

haptics

clipped from www.engadget.com We just played around with Viliv's latest MIDs, the stylish S5 and X70. Both devices use haptic feedback for onscreen keyboard input, and despite the resistive screen we found them both to offer some of the best touchscreen interaction we've seen on devices like this. They were both running Windows Vista, and seemed rather responsive and usable, even with Atom under the hood. What's really impressive is the X70 (pictured), which is thinner than the S5, and also can be mounted to an optional leather case that brings a keyboard and foldability to the device, and turns the unit into a laptop of sorts. Neither device is particularly thin or light, but there's a lot of quality going on here, and for folks sold on this sort of functionality and form factor, it would be hard to do much better than these at the moment -- of course, you'll have to swim to Korea to do it. Video of the S5 is after the break.

MIT's 'bar of soap' knows just what you want when you hold it

haptics

clipped from www.engadget.com It's no mind reader, but MIT researchers Brandon Taylor and Michael Bove's "bar of soap" device should be able to tell you what gadget you're pretending to use based on how you hold it. Loaded with 72 capacitive sensors and a three-axis accelerometer, the prototype has a small screen that says what it believes you're pantomiming -- camera, phone, PDA, gamepad, and remote control are demonstrated in the accompanying video. In a slightly more realistic / entertaining example, a baseball is stuffed with sensors and used to determine what kind of pitch you've. Bove speculates the idea could potentially be used for high-tech golf clubs that tell you how incorrectly you're holding it or power tools that don't work unless you're gripping it the right way, and while we're sure there's other, more beneficial uses, we're really looking forward to figuring out why we always seem to slice right.

Arduino規格

Arduino.tw http://arduino.tw/?page_id=23

clipped from arduino.tw Arduino規格 l   Digital I/O 數位式輸入/輸出端共 1~13。 l   Analog I/O 類比式輸入/輸出端共 0~5。 l   支援USB接頭傳輸資料及供電(不需額外電源)。 l   支援ICSP線上燒錄功能。 l   支援TX/RX端子。 l   支援AREF端子。 l   支援三組PWM端子(Pin11,Pin10,Pin9)。 l   輸入電壓： 接上USB時無須供電。 5V~12V DC輸入。 l   輸出電壓：5V DC輸出 l   採用Atmel Atmega8-16PI/PU單晶片。 l   Arduino大小尺寸：寬70mm X 高54mm。 Arduino官方網站 www.arduino.cc Arduino經典範例 www.youtube.com/results (撰文：KEN@TNUA，mfa.stliu@gmail.com) 本網域所有內容文章或是圖片等，其他一切電子 文件檔案，授權給 XLINX 用戶在 WIKI 上自由發佈應用。 http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arduino

Arduino 是什麼？

clipped from wiki.arch.nctu.edu.tw Arduino More info and applications: engadget: http://www.engadget.com/tag/arduino youtube: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=arduino&search=Search Arduino 是什麼？ Arduino是近年來相當受歡迎之基於開放授權的互動開發平台！ 強調了讓設計者、藝術家能更快上手數位互動技術，由於對於這些使用者而言，互動的內容設計才是他們的主要訴求，至於怎麼拼湊一個單晶片開發板，或是當中涉及如何構築電路之類的知識，就並非他們所真正需要的，他們所需的，僅僅不過是如何去'使用'這樣的設計工具。於是乎，Arduino所指的是包含了以下三樣東西： Arduino Board + Arduino Software + Open Source = Arduino 透過低價的開發板(US$69)與越來越強大的開放資料，Arduino漸漸受到設計互動相關領域的青睞，也因為他的易上手， 很容易與目前設計系所學的FLASH, MAX/MSP, Virtool, Quest3D?做整合，使得虛擬與現實的互動整合更加容易。 Arduino板 有哪幾種？ 目前Arduino的種類可說是五花八門，有入門級的Arduino USB，也有專門來作更小尺寸的Arduino mini，號稱可水洗的貼片式LilyPad?，還有不用線的Arduino BT，專門接麵包板的Bodruino，以及自我DIY等。 Arduino板 何處買？ 嗯...這個問題問的很好，其實原則上台灣並沒有真正取得授權的製造代理，但你可以到飆機器人網站，他們有代理進口來賣，只是會稍為收點價差，若你只買一兩片，可以跟他們購買，或是上購物網站，有人非正式地製造，可以用較便宜的價格取用，但若你的量較大，還是會建議你直接向國外下定，還可順便定幾個不同版本。 Arudino可以做啥？ 如果我告訴你可以做Z剛彈你信不信？基本上你可以將它視為一個小的電腦，只要給他輸入訊號，它可以幫你做處理後，輸出訊號，而這樣就可以做世界上所有的電路了，當然還是需要點額外的幫助啦，不過舉幾個例來說，它可以做自動化燈控. 機器人. 互動建築. 甚至寵物餵食機都可以完成你的夢想，但它也只是你的工具，重點是你的想像力來達成這些創意。

iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard

clipped from www.engadget.com iPhone robot is ambulatory, still wants physical keyboard Robots are awesome, we can all probably agree on that. Robots made from iPhones are basically an extension of that awesomeness, crossed with an element of unimaginable, ludicrous fun, which is why we're pleasantly surprised to see that such a device finally exists. Using a jailbroken iPhone 3G running some Ruby code, an Arduino CPU, a TA7291P motor, and 4 AA batteries, the creator is able to pilot the bot via WiFi from a nearby computer, all the while recording its view for later playback. The results look pretty cool, and trust us, you're definitely going to want to check out the video after the break. As far as we can tell, by the way, the lyrics to the song in the video are "iPhone with keyboard," which seemingly refers to this, um... iPhone with keyboard we saw earlier today -- apparently from the hands of the same craftsman, who seems like a very busy guy. Especially if he wrote the song!

Haptic Compass gives you sense of direction, not style

clipped from www.engadget.com While most folks can get by just fine by simply looking at a compass, Eric from Monkeys & Robots decided to see just how just how far he could push things and ultimately arrived at the Haptic Compass, which he says roughly simulates the magnetic orientation in migrating birds. To do that, Eric made use of a digital compass, twelve vibrating pager motors and, of course, an Arduino, all of which got brought together in belt form. When switched on, the belt simply buzzes the appropriate motor to indicate which way is north, and it can also be paired with an iPhone (or other device, presumably) to direct the wearer to a specific destination. Unfortunately, Eric doesn't seem to have yet provided a complete how-to, but those with the requisite skills should be able to pick up most of the necessary details by hitting up the read link below.

水彩で初音 - watercolored comics with real brush

clipped from www.youtube.com 水彩で初音ミクを描いてみた。

NASA unveils rock-climbing Axel Rover, slashes dirt without getting dizzy

clipped from www.engadget.com NASA unveils rock-climbing Axel Rover, slashes dirt without getting dizzy NASA's latest toy is an oversized robotic yo-yo dubbed the Axel Rover. Developed in collaboration with Caltech, it's designed to raise and lower itself over any environment with a motorized lever that can be used for tethering as well as scooping up materials for scientific research and maneuvering its two cameras. Two more motors run each of its wheels, which should ensure it's more than equipped to traverse anything from the Garden of Eden to otherworldly terrain right next door to Hell. Check out the rover doing its thing in the video after the break

Maestro guitar attachment shows you how to shred with lasers

Maestro guitar attachment shows you how to shred with lasers

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 5th 2009 at 2:33PM

The world needs another instructional guitar tool like it needs another hole in the ozone layer, but in all seriousness, this one is stupendous. Er, it exhibits remarkable potential, considering that it's not yet beyond the concept stage. Designer Eugene Cheong has dreamed up the Maestro, an attachment that can supposedly be adapted to work on any guitar (of the electric variety, we presume) and teach you what frets to mash in order to actually become a halfway decent player. Put simply, the device accepts MP3 files via SD card, and then it breaks down the tunes into tablature which can be displayed via lasers. Once you see the beams lighting up your fretboard, you mash / strum in order to keep up and "learn" the songs. We can only hope this thing adds a slowdown mode should it ever hit store shelves, 'cause even the amateur probably doesn't want to tackle select Dream Theater tracks at full speed.

LaserPup - The Internet Enabled Dog Toy

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LaserPup - The Internet Enabled Dog Toy

Introduction

Over the past few weeks I have read about several projects for the iobridge: internet dog feeder, Jason’s fish cam, and the servo-beer. These got me thinking about small projects that I could use the new device for. It didn’t take very long before I came up with idea for LaserPup. One of my favorite things in the world is my dog, and one of his favorite things in the world is his laser pointer. Over the past 4 years he’s gone through several of them, and it continues to be one of his favorite toys.

This is not LaserPup

So what is LaserPup? It is not a dog with a laser beam attached to his head, as cool as that would be. In its simplest form it is an internet enabled dog toy. I have created a small device that mounts in the ceiling of my basement where my dog likes to play. It is comprised of two servos, a buzzer, and a laser pointer. The servos move the laser pointer around on the floor, alleviating the need for my arms to do it myself. Because really, there is nothing more exhausting than sitting on the couch watching TV while your dog chases the laser around the floor. The buzzer is used to notify the dog that it is time to play, and also that play time is over. This is really a bit of a social experiment, and I’m curious how long it will take before he understands what it means (if ever).

LaserPup YouTube Demo

What makes the project possible is the iobridge, as it allows me full control of the servos and the small electronic circuit over the internet. To stream the action I installed a small webcam in the room, and to combat darkness I added an X10 controlled light. Finally I designed an interface page for the iphone (using iui as a base) that controls it all, and now my new toy travels with me everywhere.

Disclaimer:
I understand that some people don’t believe that laser pointers and dogs are good mix. In some dogs it can lead to OCD, and strange behaviors. I am confident that this is not an issue with my dog, but realize the dangers and will continue to monitor him.

Hardware Design

Once I decided to actually construct this project it was time to gather supplies. Here is what I needed to complete my device:

- I/O Bridge with Servo Module
- Webcam
- 2 Servos
- Buzzer
- Laser Pointer
- Spare Electrical Components from parts bin (Transistor, Resistors, LEDs, etc.)
- X10 Module

It has been many years since college, which was the last time I put together a digital circuit. I was lucky enough to find my old EE breadboard, and a trip to Radio Shack gave me the spare components I needed to get started. After the week long wait for the everything else it was time to get building.

The first thing I did was connect up the servo module board, the two servos, and the iobridge. I powered on the iobridge and followed the directions to link it to my web account. On the iobridge website I configured the servo board, and created two widgets for variable servo motion. In all this about 15 minutes before I had web control from the iobridge site working to move my servos.

iobridge & two servos

iobridge servo widget

The servos moved, but I needed to fine tune them to the ranges of motion I needed. To make a complete circle on the floor I figured that the X-Axis needed to move 180 degrees, and the Y-Axis needed about 80 degrees. I had two Hitec HS-322D servo’s in my possession, and I set out on the internet to find the PWM timings. So if anyone else is interested in the values for this particular servo:

-90 Degrees -> 600 usec
-45 Degrees ->1050 usec
0 Degrees -> 1500 usec
45 Degrees -> 1950 usec
90 Degrees -> 2400 usec

If the servos are vibrating then you’ve issued a timing outside the valid range, and you can damage the servo. Once I put in the correct min/max and starting points the servos were fully operational, and had the range of motion I desired.

Now that the servos were working it was time to create a digital circuit! I would need to use two digital out lines of iobridge, one to control the laser pointer on/off and one to control the audio buzzer. Now I could have run both of those directly off of the 5V digital out line, the iobridge would have supported the necessary current. But just to play it safe, and because I had the necessary parts, I decided to turn them on/off through transistors being used as a digital switches. By wiring it this way the current to power them is drawn from the power supply, and not the digital logic that produces the DOUT signals from the iobridge.

For the first prototype I used LEDs in place of the laser pointer and buzzer. I then created iobridge widgets for the two digital out lines, each one has an on and off switch. By connecting the two DOUT lines of the iobrige to the base of the transistors I was able to turn on & off the LEDs from the iobridge website. Now I had full control over the web of all my necessary electronic pieces through widgets.

LEDs under control

iobridge DOUT widget

Next I took an old laser pointer device that ran off of 3 1.5V watch batteries, and removed the electronics with a dremmel. I soldered a wire across the push button switch to short it, and keep it always in the on position. Next I replaced the two LEDs on my breadboard with the laser and a small buzzer. At this point the LaserPup module was ready for assembly!

Laser & Buzzer under control

iobridge dashboard control

After creating a quick circuit diagram I soldered the electronics onto a small prototyping board. This was mounted with the servos in a box, and ready for installation in the ceiling. Since I didn’t want the ioBridge mounted in the ceiling (I want it available for other projects), I decided to create a simple interface board that would connect my custom modules using a standard ethernet cable. The physical construction of the device was finally complete.

LaserPup circuit board

Board & servo moutned

LaserPup Module

Ceiling Mounted Module

Software Interface Design

The iobridge website provides javascript code to drop onto your webpage and control all of your widgets. There is also an api that allows you to interface with your controls in custom javascript, and this is what I would be using. Since the desired interface of this project is my iphone, I designed the page to fit perfectly when the phone is in the horizontal position. On the page I have the live video feed to the laser pointer room, along with three interface objects.

Iphone interface

The second button controls a x10 light that is in the laser pointer room. If it’s too dark then you can not see the video feed, and what fun is that.

X10 Light ON

The first button turns the laser pointer on and off. When turning the laser pointer on, it will also turn the buzzer on for two 1 second pulses. When turning the laser pointer off it will move the servos back to the default position, and turn the buzzer on for one 1 second pulse. We’ll see how long it takes my dog to figure out what the buzzing means!

Laser ON

The circle graphic controls the position of the laser pointer in the room, but only if the laser pointer is turned on. If you click on the circle, an image map is used to feed the coordinates to javascript that then calculate the correct servo positions and set the values. Thanks to the iobridge team there, they provided me two lines of javacript that mapped x/y coordinates to servo PWM positions.

Play Time

Conclusion

I would eventually like to make an updated interface that uses the iphone’s accelerometors as the control. Since the current interface is written in javascript, Safari only gives access to 3 positions from the iphone (-90,0,90). I will have to develop an iphone application, and not a web page, to finish what I envision. Please check out the demo and tell me what you think, as you can see from the video Skyler is a big fan! Leave a comment below, or email me at joe@laserpup.com

February 3, 2009 • Tags: iobridge, iphone • Posted in: iobridge, iphone • 6 Comments

ioBridge RJ45 Breakout Board

My new iobridge is great, and I already have several project ideas. The problem I faced was how to connect multiple projects, in different locations of my house, to one central iobridge. Ethernet is the cheapest multi-wire cable I could think of, with 8 separate wires it will pass enough signals for most projects. As an example my LaserPup module requires 6 lines: 2 PWM servo signals, 2 DOUT signals, and +5/GND. That still leaves 2 to spare.

I purchased a few RJ45 jacks from digikey, and once they came in I noticed that the second row of pins is offset. This means it wouldn’t fit in the holes of a .1″ prototype board, but that was nothing a little bending of the pins to align them wouldn’t fix.

With that figured out I soldered together a simple breakout board that had one RJ45 jack, an 8 pin male header, and an 8 pin female header. This would give me the versatility to send any signal down any pin of the ethernet cable. By using two headers I can connect to the board with a bare wire or one that has a header attached. It also allows me a second point to easily connect a multimeter for testing and debugging.

Breakout wired for LaserPup module (6/8 pins used)

Now for all of my remote iobridge modules, I will just add an RJ45 port and use a standard cat5 cable to connect them together.