Jon's Place

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Roz - Walking Fast and Smooth

So, I've done some optimization of the gait, and Roz now walks a whole lot smoother than before. I'm working on a new sensor head, which contains three Sharp GP2D12 IR range finder sensors, and a Maxbotix sonar. You can see it mounted in the image to the right - I've only got one GP2D12 mounted, but I'll be adding two more, one to each side.

Here's a short video showing the improved gait:



I'm planning on swapping out the Arbotix board for a gumstix Overo Earth, which I happen to have sitting on my desk thanks to my brother Dave. That board will run Squeak, and I've already got the IK and gait code from my friend Mike Ferguson ported into Squeak.

Once that is done, I'm going to consider adding a simple webcam, so I can start doing some very basic visual processing.

I've also got a new leg design prototyped, with a compliant spring. Once I add a sensor to this leg, I will be able to start looking at handling terrain compliance, which will allow Roz to handle uneven terrain (like what you find outdoors).

Lots of things to do, lots of places to go....

7 Comments:

  • Neat leg design. I also find it interesting that you are upgrading the processor so soon. Earlier I had assumed you would run the Arbotix in tandem with something more powerful. I am curious to see how easy it is to interface a Gumstix board with the AX-12 servos.

    I appreciate the updates, keep us posted!

    By Anonymous Noog, At December 22, 2009 at 4:37 PM  

  • Its very easy - I just plug in my USB bus interface board, and talk to the bus directly...

    By Blogger Unknown, At December 22, 2009 at 4:48 PM  

  • That's so easy it almost seems like you are cheating. =)

    What sort of interface will you normally have with Roz? A remote control of some sort or maybe a PC running a console application?

    By Anonymous Noog, At December 24, 2009 at 9:08 AM  

  • Roz is going to be very autonomous. I will have a simple web interface with him, since he will be running a web server, and I can display those pages (at least while I'm at home) on my iPod touch. That will allow me to do simple things like set missions and change settings.

    For more complex things, I will be able to communicate directly (over a socket) from my development machine.

    By Blogger Unknown, At December 24, 2009 at 9:12 AM  

  • Since the Overo Earth doesn't have a wireless NIC built in, what are you using for your network connection?

    By Anonymous Noog, At December 24, 2009 at 9:22 AM  

  • http://www.huv.com/Overo-Wifi.jpg

    That's a Trendnet wifi dongle plugged into a very small 4-port USB hub.

    By Blogger Unknown, At December 24, 2009 at 9:24 AM  

  • Nice work. He responds nicely.

    By Blogger David J Barnes, At February 18, 2010 at 10:10 AM  

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