Remote Control Using Bambuser Video Streaming

Posted on April 20, 2010 by ryan

Building on the video streaming success of the Nrover, we tried something new for Truckbot, by streaming video from the phone via Bambuser to a new remote control web page.

Truckbot watching itself via streaming video

We did this by turning the phone on its side since Bambuser works with the phone in landscape mode, while the Truckbot was designed for it to be in portrait. Then we created a simple HTML page that includes an embedded Bambuser video player, and a Google Talk gadget. We can now type in commands via XMPP chat while watching video streamed back from the robot.

The latency is kind of high at around one second, which makes it a challenge to drive in hazardous conditions like table tops or crowded places. We’re interested in finding alternative video streaming methods  since Qik and Ustream both have about the same delay. Nrover is using a modifcation of Movino, which we’d love to see compiled for Android in addition to what we’re doing on Symbian.

Remote telepresence web client

We’ve posted the source code to the remote control page to save you a few minutes from making your own. It really is easy to get started by running the Cellbots Python app on Android, and then kicking off Bambuser. We’re working on scripting this as well so the robot can initiate video streaming from a remote command. Enjoy chasing your cat!

Posted in Android | 10 Comments

Controlling An R/C Helicopter With An iPhone

Posted on April 19, 2010 by ryan

We have an exciting new Cellbot from Ari Krupnik. He’s using an iPhone and a special app that he wrote to control an R/C helicopter called the iCopter.

iPhone and R/C helicopter

It makes the helicopter extremely easy to fly as you can see in this video, which was just featured in Make Magazine’s blog:

Ari is using a Spektrum radio module in a way that the iPhone’s accelerometers and touch screen replace the typical radio you would use to fly something. This works by turning the sensor and touch input information and turning it into an audio stream that goes out the headphone jack.

Data signal comes out of the headphone jack

The signal then goes into a plastic hobby project box that has a single resistor, a 9V battery, and some header pins to plug into the Spektrum radio. Ari is mounting the iPhone to the case using part of a car mount for a snug fit.

Header pins and the resistor

Ari has some exciting plans for the Cellbot, which will include flying planes in addition to helicopters. The iPhone app could hold and store custom settings for each craft and might one day even take telemetry data back in to close the feedback loop. He’s also exploring an Android version and using the phone’s serial port instead of the headphone jack.

Check out some more pictures of iPhly on our gallery below and check back often for more updates as our Cellbots begin to take flight.

Posted in iPhone | 3 Comments

Nrover in the Rain

Posted on April 18, 2010 by admin

I took the Nrover out for a little spin in the rain today.  Joystick and video feeds here are both over at AT&T 3g network (I am using a Nokia 6210 phone which has no wifi, only 3G).  I am using the wide-angle conversion lens and the simple TCP code (available on the Nrover Software page).

Posted in Nokia | 1 Comment

Stanford’s Robot Block Party

Posted on April 17, 2010 by ryan

Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, held a Robot Block Party in celebration of National Robotics Week.

Bay Area Robot Block Party

We took some pictures from the event to share with you as inspiration. There was a huge variety of robots on display and none of them utilized cellphones and very few even connected with the internet. That’s something we’d love to see change so keep sharing your cellbot projects and encouraging others.

There were some large research robots to check out:

Bosch indoor scanning robot

Plus many more smaller robots, including some from the local Home Brew Robotics Club. These were all due for a cellbot upgrade to become more powerful.

Our full gallery of pictures from the event is below, and we hope it inspires you to make awesome robots and have your own robot block party one day. Be sure to share your pictures from local National Robotics Week events in our discussion group.

Posted in Other Robots | Leave a comment

Using Wide-Angle Conversion Lenses To Improve Camera Field of View

Posted on April 15, 2010 by admin

If you’d like to use your cellbot’s camera to get a good look at what is around the cellbot, you may have noticed that most cellphone cameras have a very narrow field of view, with only about 50 degrees of visibility.  Especially in indoor situations, this is simply too narrow of a field to really let you see.   Here is an example using a Toda-Seiko 0.5x magnification wide-angle lens:

You can see the field of view has pretty much doubled.  Toda Seiko also makes an even wider-angle lens and a fisheye lens that I have not tried yet — the fisheye lens claims to give a full 180 degree field of view!  All of these lenses mount via self-adhesive magnetic rings that you attach around your phone’s camera, allowing the lens to be attached/removed with ease.  Note, however, that if your phone features a protruding lens or doesn’t have a flat surface around your lens, the magnetic ring might not attach well.

Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments