http://tangled-up.net Mon, 26 Dec 2011 20:27:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://tangled-up.net/2011/12/arduino-testing/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/12/arduino-testing/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:57:59 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=8688 Continue Reading]]> On my Mac with OSX Lion, using the Arduino program starting to try and get a simple Serial feed back system with a serial display working. This is the first step in getting the MAX7219-MAX7221 driver . for the motors working

So far the followings steps to De-Tangle this seemingly simple tasks.

1. Update Arduino on Mac
2. Try to get Arduino source at Github (no joy) git clone https://github.com/arduino/Arduino.git stalls
3. Locate some serial examples (found several)
4. built and ran almost works the arduino code is not all up to date, serial.print no longer uses BYTE
Serial.print(254, BYTE); #old
Serial.print(254); #fixed
5. The formatting and command structure is not current for this display driver.
6. found one with a computer to Arduino to lcd using python to update the display. this could be cool because need to drive the motor external first. but the python needs to import serial. this does not work because of Ros path in PYTHONPATH then learned about python pip, sudo pip does not work on my mac at this time.
7. So now I am updating all the ports on my mac, port self update, port upgrade outdated. Taking forever. This means I will need start to learn python, just another language.

But when you get down to it I am constantly fighting to keep using the Mac for all of Ripley’s programming needs. Therefore; I have several VM’s so I can do ROS on ubuntu, Run Stellaris on ubuntu, My Mac has so many personalities, environments, paths and built in tangles that it gets confusing. I have been remaking the wheel and need to just get to work ]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/12/arduino-testing/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/12/merry-christmas/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/12/merry-christmas/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:55:45 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=8686 http://tangled-up.net/2011/12/merry-christmas/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/09/status/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/09/status/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:57:30 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=8680 Continue Reading]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/09/status/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/07/back-from-paris/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/07/back-from-paris/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:03:31 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=135 Continue Reading]]> www.sharprobotica.com. Billy McCafferty has some great resources and comment on how to give a robot a sense of purpose. The French have been planning how to live, eat, house themselves from a blue print written 300 years ago. If we are to create a working robot Open Source language we need to have a reproducible method of assuring the quality, safety, interpretability, code security for all components, and software. ROS is the start of this effort. There is a lot of work to do to make sure every autonomous robot can perform its mission, safely and successfully. After reviewing ROS and where the project is leading I have determined that the low level stuff, packages that get combined into application stacks has a large dependance on the CPU / drivers that the packages communicate with. Which leaves a whole open issue on how to make a standardized driver from any CPU to the ROS communication system. Then how to you test, and certify the base code in the CPU to be mission ready. Finally how do you certify that all the code and devices are fully functional and authentic and the combined systems can be use to safely fly a plane with weapons onboard and be assured it will follow the mission plan or fail to a safe mode to be recovered from. The big mission piece in ROS is the over all mission planing and how the different packages work into a whole system that works as aspected. The PR2 robot hast to have a pretty impressive application stack but I feel it lacks purpose or a ability to work on its own for very complicated tasks. I will start working on the outline of the software certification process and how the blueprint for certification can be used to allow ROS to self configure, test then run all the various components as a whole against a mission plan. Combining the self configuration and then filtering a mission plan will then verify that the pieces are all in place to run the mission on that given platform. Since I am involved with the robosub competition. The certification process will be created around giving RIPLEE a sense of purpose and how to complete a mission plan, given all the components that make up its various system. In a future post I will start putting the concept of a state machine and how to use UML2 to describe a ROS package with all the software to be able to certify and authenticate a package and then how to use the package UML to combine into an application stack usable by anyone on any platform. ]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/07/back-from-paris/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/06/auvsi-in-5-weeks/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/06/auvsi-in-5-weeks/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2011 15:27:53 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=132 Continue Reading]]> RoboSub see you on Saturday the 16th. I am close to adding the power to the framework to see if I have enough power and if any smoke comes out. the next step is the ROS and hooking it into the Stellaris EK-LM3S9862 eval board. I used the end mill recently to trim out space for the cable capping plate. Next step is to start playing with the sonar and audio DSP side of the project. Found some ideas on sparkfun and circuit cellar. I have pretty much everything I need to start playing with circuits in the 50kHz -200kHz. Since the range can be max about 10 meters, I can use higher frequency to obtain better reflection resolution and less echos. The idea of a chirp and how to power what type of speaker to produce the chirp is still being worked on. But I feel the PDVF or a piezo speaker should work well if I can get the microvolt signal amplified over the noise. ]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/06/auvsi-in-5-weeks/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/05/time-goes-by/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/05/time-goes-by/#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 05:24:04 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=128 Continue Reading]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/05/time-goes-by/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/progress/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/progress/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:52:18 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=125 Continue Reading]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/progress/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/another-week-goes-by/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/another-week-goes-by/#comments Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:29:08 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=123 Continue Reading]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/another-week-goes-by/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/slowly/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/slowly/#comments Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:09:10 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=115 Continue Reading]]> DE0-Nanothat is 1/3 the size and 2x the power for $115 with shipping. I have parts to make my own hydrophones. Figured out the Power cabling and starting to cable into the chassis. Waiting on diodes to protect the battery pairs. Have researched some more on a sonar system. Got a Frequency generator $500 to help with the production and testing of the sonar frequencies. Spending money right now, might not have any funds for awhile. So when you have no money you program? Did some more research on depth gauges. I really want to be able to go to any depth, but the right depth gauge that can handle 30,000 meters is almost $1000.00 and makes it the most expensive piece on the sub. So just like the hydrophones. I think I will make my own. But probably will have a limited depth. So lots of people have hacked together simple depth sensors. I figure a bladder to a psi detector. But a quartz crystal must have a pressure effect that would cause frequency drift. Keep looking. [NOTE:] 1ft of sea water is .44 psi 1 ft of fresh water is .4319 psi The programming side seems to have a million ways to go. Do I use source forge, git, subversion. I have gforge but the subversion side does not work. Have Subversion on a server that I will be retiring. I Like my Git repos but both of the IDE do not natural support Git and Git is so Ruby, I am starting to assemble a fair amount of code and need to organize the base code to build from. The trouble is with so many dev kits I want to take part of one and implement in parts of another. Plus from different IDEs and code sorcery was not in one. Keil is $2895 to purchase. Maybe one day. Free is much better. Magazines This months Circuit Cellar April 2011 #249 has a good article UAV pilot, ]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/04/slowly/feed/ 0 http://tangled-up.net/2011/03/sub-system-signals/ http://tangled-up.net/2011/03/sub-system-signals/#comments Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:45:23 +0000 maxwell http://tangled-up.net/?p=109 Continue Reading]]> http://tangled-up.net/2011/03/sub-system-signals/feed/ 0