Plan upgrade

I came across the BeagleBoard a few months ago and I was amazed by its capabilities. It also spurred my interest in Linux development.

So, I decided to use the BeagleBoard to put some raw processing power into my robot. Of the several advantages of this board in a robotic project, I found the following most attractive:

• 720Mhz ARM based SOC(C4 version).
• Only 3"x3" size!
• Can run Ubuntu! (Although, I feel Angstrom is faster given the amount of ram).
• Wireless remote development using an user friendly IDE (I use Netbeans on Windows).
• TI DSP Image processing libraries and all the fun stuff in Linux.

So I ordered one from Digikey and the associated hardware. This guide is a good place to check out while waiting for the board to arrive.

A change of base

I have been busy with my thesis work and other stuff since my last post. There was disappointing discovery a few months ago. The chassis I built earlier couldn't take the weight of two servos, a wireless camera and 11 batteries. The tracks would keep slipping off while turning on carpets :| . Bummer! There went almost a month of searching, waiting for it to arrive and building it.

And so I decided to search for a prebuilt and tested chassis to jump into making things work as soon as possible. I found the RP5 chassis. Its sturdy, comes with 7.2V motors ( = less noise), battery holder and the coolest fact of all - this thing can carry more than its weight, turn on carpets and still keep its tracks on. Plus it comes with these neat accessories to build multiple levels. Here is a pic of it with my boards on.