Sunday, July 1, 2012

We have movement folks...

So I finally got my autonomous robot code working! I would call this an alpha prototype, but it seems to work pretty well running around my kitchen. Take a look at the video below to see the DJ Ginobot in action.

This is an early prototype, but I am very pleased with my progress so far.  Eventually, I would like the robot to be scanning more frequently, so that it does not have to stop as much.  I am also having difficulty with the wheels turning at the same speed due to motor incongruity.  The best solution for this is encoders, which are a bit pricey.  However, for this project, they may not be necessary.

An idea that popped into my head yesterday about how I can take this project to the next level.  I have been reading about using MatLab to do mapping of space.  I could use my robot to perform mapping functions and send them wirelessly to the computer.  I could then use MatLab to interpret that data and make a map for me.  Imagine using this robot in a burning building where the firefighters don't know where to go.  They could send in the robot to map inside of the building for the firefighters outside.   Maybe this will be my next portion of the project.

Working with Google's Cartographer SLAM Package

At my current position, at Canvas Construction, I have worked with a number of SLAM and localization packages. In the past few years, my wor...