With the robot (or at least the internal components) now portable, we could run a number more interesting real-world tests. We know from Aaron’s two previous tests that we can run the robot for around 1.25 hours with everything hooked up and running, so today we decided to do yet another range test. This time,...Read More
Today we enter a new era of robotic communication! We’ve got the control panel and the robot talking directly with the robot using WebSockets. To do this, Ryan set up a WebSocket server on the robot using Python. The server waits for messages from the console. On my end, the client/control panel connects to the...Read More
The casual reader may recall that we recently printed some test belts using the new NinjaFlex (See Aaron’s blog post here). This was our first time printing with the new filament, so we wanted to run some tests to see just how much the belts could take. NinjaFlex SemiFlex is a specially formulated thermoplastic polyurethane...Read More
The S.A.R.T Interface has two new highly requested features! Snapshots The snapshots feature allows the user to take a snapshot of the camera’s view at any point. The screenshot is then instantly downloaded to the connected client thanks to a simple PHP file. Movies The movie feature is slightly different. It runs the Motion command makemovie,...Read More
Last Thursday, Aaron, Ryan and I went to Jaycar to purchase some supplies, including heat shrink, switches, DC plugs, XT60 connectors and solder – all important parts in our new power delivery system! After some testing over the next couple of days, we put together these two circuits. The XT60 connects to a LiPo battery and...Read More
After our redesign brainwave, Aaron and I immediately set about modifying our current prototype. Once we have everything in the robot, we can decide just how much length to shave off. Our current estimate is at least 2cm. The first step was to rip out the 3D printed standoffs. Once the NUC has been rotated,...Read More
Aaron and I had a long discussion about the robot design this morning, and we conceptualised a new orientation for the Intel NUC to allow room for the batteries and voltage regulator while still making the robot overall a bit smaller. The current robot may be slightly too long, and half of the I/O is...Read More
Ever since I created the S.A.R.T interface, there’s been one thing that bugs us constantly, and that’s having to refresh the page to load the stream every time we restart it. Refreshing the whole page has other unwanted effects, such as closing the SSH connection, meaning you have to log back in if you were...Read More
The final pieces of the control-panel-puzzle are in place, with the arrival of our new UPS and monitor. Over the past few days, we have assembled the control panel and even started testing it too. Aaron and I first prepared the case by giving it a good clean – over the past few weeks a...Read More
With the robot well under construction, we’re soon going to need the S.A.R.T Control Panel in order to test it. With that in mind, I marked out holes for fans, cables, the power button and the power LED. After lunch, Aaron and I went to the applied tech department to cut out the holes....Read More
