Surveyor Robotics Journal

Surveyor Robotics Journal

	email: support@surveyor.com web: Surveyor Corporation rss: Subscribe Archives August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 Februray 2006 January 2006	Tue, 30 Jun 2009 In the works ... We haven't posted much development news lately, but there are several significant projects that should soon see the light of day ... onboard depth mapping for the SVS (stereo vision system) - we have a port in the works of Bob Mottram's Sentience stereo vision code to the SRV-1 Blackfin processors. this is a feature-based mapping approach that computes distances to various object features in the overlapping stereo cameras fields of view. the project is progressing nicely, and we hope to make a firmware update with this capability available soon. GPS + compass + tilt + 8-channel A/D board - we have working prototypes of the new version with uBlox5 gps and new 3-axis Honeywell compass, with I2C interfaces to all onboard devices. once we have nailed down a production schedule for these modules, details will be posted. production prototype photos here (final pcb will be red): optical flow - we have integrated some optical flow functions into the core SRV-1 firmware, and just need to create a graphical display of results and some functions in picoC to access the vector data. this should emerge in a few weeks in a firmware release. autorun function for picoC - we have a tested version of code which enables the SRV-1 to launch directly into a picoC script from flash storage on system startup, and just need to generate a release version of firmware that includes this feature. ruggedized robot base - Inertia Labs has developed several prototypes of larger SRV-1 robot bases with 4WD, planetary gearhead motors, shaft encoders, larger battery, etc. we don't have a production schedule or pricing yet, but these new bases look GREAT, and we look forward to getting them into production. here's a photo of the latest prototype with SVS and pan/tilt head: Posted Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:53 \| HTML Link \| see additional stories ... Sun, 28 Jun 2009 Carnegie Mellon "RoboGuard" "RoboGuard" is a project at Carnegie Mellon University using the SRV-1 Blackfin robot as a development platform for automation of security personnel personnel functions. A variety of sensors have been added to the base SRV-1, including: IR based line following Motion detection Compass RFID reader Battery monitoring The project is can be accessed on Google Code - http://code.google.com/p/roboguard/ Video of a test run is shown here: Posted Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:26 \| HTML Link \| see additional stories ... Thu, 25 Jun 2009 Status of new SRV-1 RCM 20 servos / 16 analog in / 16 gpio / micro-SD expansion board The SRV-1 RCM expansion board has gone into production. An initial batch of 100 boards has been ordered with delivery scheduled for end of July, though 50 boards have already been allocated. Schematics are found here - RCM schematic - part 1 RCM schematic - part 2 RCM schematic - part 3 Preliminary user guide is found here - RCM User Guide The RCM has been priced at $175 ($157.50 to education customers). If interested in ordering, please contact support@surveyor.com. As noted above, only 50 boards are currently available from this initial batch. Posted Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:23 \| HTML Link \| see additional stories ... Fri, 12 Jun 2009 Surveyor + RoboRealm bundle ! Starting next week, we will begin bundling CDROM's with a registered version of RoboRealm robotic vision software at no additional cost (an $89 value) with purchases of the Surveyor SRV-1 Blackfin Robot, SRV-1 Blackfin Camera + Wifi, and SVS stereo vision system from the Surveyor online store. RoboRealm has been customized for the Surveyor robot controllers, and they have introduced a series of tutorials for the Surveyor robots and controllers called "Fun with Surveyor". The tutorials include keyboard driving, joystick driving, chasing a light, chasing a red ball, chasing movement, finding a target, and following lines. Target finding: Line following: Visit "Fun with Surveyor" for more details. Posted Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:00 \| HTML Link \| see additional stories ... Thu, 11 Jun 2009 Some price increases on Monday, June 15 Due in large part to the falling US dollar, we need to make a few pricing adjustments. Effective Monday, June 15, 2009, the following price changes will take effect: SRV-1 Blackfin Robot - $495 (up from $475) SRV-1 Blackfin Camera + Wifi - $350 (up from $325) Other prices are unchanged (e.g. the SVS will remain at $550). If you already have a quote from Surveyor for a future order, your prices on that order will be unchanged. New orders received before Monday will receive old pricing, even if delivery is post-June 15. Also, academic discount rates remain unchanged. If you have any questions about pricing, please email support@surveyor.com. Posted Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:52 \| HTML Link \| see additional stories ... Mon, 01 Jun 2009 We now have a twitter feed twitter.com/surveyorcorp Posted Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:29 \| HTML Link \| see additional stories ...