Search found 75 matches

by gpvillamil
Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:59 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Alternative wheels for Spirit Rover
Replies: 2
Views: 8736

Re: Alternative wheels for Spirit Rover

Yeah, ultimately I want to drive this over the Internet. I used to have a Meccano Spykee, but that gradually succumbed to WiFi incompatibilities and the end of cloud services. What appeals to me about the Spirit Rover is that it is potentially 1) Internet controllable 2) has a camera and 3) has an e...
by gpvillamil
Fri Feb 16, 2018 4:45 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: SOLVED: Navigation (gyro and accelerometer) not working?
Replies: 4
Views: 11695

Re: SOLVED: Navigation (gyro and accelerometer) not working?

This code does seem to work now. It returns heading + acceleration in X, Y, Z and then rotates the rover back & forth 90 degrees. It's not super accurate, but is not bad. The MoveWithOptions() function seems to use the gyro, so calling that function with the current heading as the intended headi...
by gpvillamil
Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:59 pm
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Alternative wheels for Spirit Rover
Replies: 2
Views: 8736

Alternative wheels for Spirit Rover

I noticed that performance on carpet is quite poor, due to the thin wheels. I designed some alternative wheels, more rover-like, that are designed to provide a greater contact patch, and include ridges to improve traction. Here are the wheels and some pictures: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2786...
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 7:18 pm
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Quick Update - Working on Pi Code Today!!
Replies: 14
Views: 25238

Re: Quick Update - Working on Pi Code Today!!

If you don't mind, I'll copy your comment here so that we have all the technical discussion in one place. Regarding the TCP socket problems with the Pi code, see my comments on the latest Kickstarter update. Cannot test it right now, since I am on travel and away from my Pi(s) and the still unassemb...
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 6:03 pm
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Forward-thinking: Jessie or Stretch? Python 2 or Python 3?
Replies: 6
Views: 12336

Re: Forward-thinking: Jessie or Stretch? Python 2 or Python 3?

Did you document this on your blog? I'm keen to do this too. Also - have you tried Kevin's Python code without a virtualenv? I'm in the process of setting that up, and would like to avoid the virtualenv if at all possible. I compiled OpenCV 3.4 against both Python2.7 and Python3.0 bindings simultane...
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:33 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Spirit Raspberry Pi Setup
Replies: 2
Views: 8802

Re: Spirit Raspberry Pi Setup

The instructions as written ask you to install the NeoPixel driver (sudo pip install rpi_ws281x) BEFORE the Python dev tools (sudo apt-get install libpython2.7-dev). If you install the Python devtools first, everything works fine. Perhaps update this in the instructions? (And while you're at it, upd...
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 2:31 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Power use of LEDs - some observations
Replies: 2
Views: 9033

Re: Power use of LEDs - some observations

I’m thinking of modifying SetPixelRGB to map incoming values to a range set by a constant somewhere, so that you can manage overall brightness for all sketches in one place.

Good point about calibrating the color channels to different values, though the rainbow chase does look plenty vibrant!
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:58 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Power use of LEDs - some observations
Replies: 2
Views: 9033

Power use of LEDs - some observations

I wrote a simple Rainbow Chase routine (attached), and tried it with different brightness values (max for rgb value), checking the current reading. I find that the perceived brightness doesn't really increase that much past 50, but a lot of NeoPixel demo code does crank the values up to 255! So it m...
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:38 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: SOLVED: Navigation (gyro and accelerometer) not working?
Replies: 4
Views: 11695

SOLVED: Navigation (gyro and accelerometer) not working?

Apparently you need to call the NavigationXY() or SimpleNavigation() functions to update the accelerometer and gyro functions. ============================================== I'm trying the accelerometer and gyro functions in the Navigation tab, and it seems to not be working. While running the sketc...
by gpvillamil
Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:25 am
Forum: Spirit Technical Discussion
Topic: Base sketch won't upload
Replies: 11
Views: 19881

Re: Base sketch won't upload

Yeah, what Erik says.

Try removing any non-Arduino drivers, and do a clean install of the Arduino IDE. Verify that you are using the correct COM port. (Open the Device Manager, plug in the the rover, and see which COM port appears.)