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Thu, 14 Sep 2006
test versions of SRV-1 firmware and SRV1Console using new protocol ...

We've posted a new version of SRV-1 firmware and the SRV1Console for testing. The new code supports the new handshake protocol, described in http://www.surveyor.com/SRV_protocol.html, and can be downloaded here -


This is a test version of code, and is not a release candidate, as there are several known problems:
  • we're having some problems with character loss in the java serial interface, and had to slow down image transfer rate by about 20% to compensate. we had this problem in early versions of SRV1Console, so hopefully we will track it down soon, but in the mean time, the frame rate is slightly reduced
  • the camera interface is again being fussy, so the frame capture rate is lower than it should be. once we figure out the java serial interface issue, we'll focus on this
  • the telnet network interface (for WiPort) is not 100% at the moment. problems seem to be related to the character dropping noted above
Other than that, the code seems to be stable, but we need others to verify that. The most noticeable benefit of the new code is the handshake protocol which seems to largely resolve the problem of lost motor commands, but there are other benefits, including significantly easier integration with other base station control programs, and a set of commands that lend themselves to controlling multiple robots simultaneously.

We will likely add a few more commands to the protocol definition, including direct motor control (in addition to the steering commands), so we're probably 1-2 weeks away from a formal version release. In the mean time, we're hoping to get some feedback from testers, and will set up a topic to discuss this on the Surveyor Robotics Forum.

Posted Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:08 | HTML Link | see additional stories ...