Mindstorm NXT + Eee PC = Good Times
I am finally making some progress on my robot. I decided until I get more time to play with I would drop back to using a Mindstorm NXT kit for the robot base. That coupled with the fact Harvey Norman here had 4G Eee PC’s for $347 this weekend sealed the deal.
The robot will be using the NXT as only an interface from the motor’s/sensors to the Eee PC. I have been playing with RoboRealm (website) for the last few days and I have to say “It’s Awesome!” RoboRealm will be the actual control system (that and some VB scripts) and will connect to the NXT over Bluetooth. I have only gotten as far as taking the red object tracking example, changing it to a blue object and using the Lego_Nxt control module. This week will hopefully be more research on the software.
I was toying with the idea of using the Eee PC’s webcam as the input for RoboRealm (even though it is 0.3MP it still gives a decent picture) but decided to keep the Eee PC closed and use a HNC Webcam I picked up from Harvey. It is a 1.3MP (native, not interpolated!) el cheapie camera that cost me $29. Of course at 1.3MP it does only a few FPS but at 352×288 it is reasonably smooth. The Eee PC will be controlled over a wireless link using VNC. Eventually that will not be needed as the system will become autonomous.
Below are a few pictures of the setup.
