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, however, we can move the robot rather than the control panel. Actually, we can move the robot AND the control panel.
We’ve also been working on better stream quality. I’ve already spent some time tweaking settings in Motion (the software package we use to stream), so it seems the major limiting factor here is the WiFi network. We’ve got a pretty powerful Xirrus access point in the control panel, so we bought aftermarket wireless cards for the NUCs, (featured in these videos) which should improve the range and quality of the stream.
So we took the NUC, battery and camera and put them all in a box so we could walk around and test the real world streaming range.
We also ran a streaming range test with no WiFi interference – just for fun. And to get a baseline reading, of course.
In the open (with minimal but still present interference), we got a usable range of 96 metres.