So I've been busy with my MSc
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Sorry I haven't had that much to contribute lately, but I've been doing real work instead ;-) Anyway, I thought you might like to take a peak at a small by-product of my work over the last year and a half - this is a map of one of the floors of the building next to (and above) my lab (caution! 4813x4168 image!)
This is all done with kD-Trees and a bunch of linear algebra on the software side, the hardware side uses a Hokuyo laser scanner and an Inertial Measurement Unit (integrated gyro, accelerometer and 3D compass) all mounted on the top of a radio control car. The map can be built in real-time and shows me a nice position of the car on it as it drives around, so I can easily tell what still needs mapping =)
I hope to be back with something to liven up the rumble soon!
That sounds cool! And pretty fun. =) So the car navigates itself, too? Do you do any pathfinding like with graphs or just trace your way along walls?
Btw, what kind of R/C car is it? Just curious. I was into R/C cars quite a bit when I was really young. (Like too young to build my own cars, just tagging along with Dad and older brother and racing.)
I have some simple wall following in, but right now the car is manually controlled. My project is more based on getting good maps out of it.
It's a pretty tough 4WD thing with knobbly tires. Overkill, but it means that some time in the future we can switch to 3D mapping and send it anywhere.
What brand / model is it? This conversation got me looking at the modern RC10's from Team Associated. :-) But maybe I'm just assuming it's a "real" / expensive R/C car since I remember you were into R/C helicopters too.
Yeah, it's the expensive, modular type. I would estimate it cost ~$300, but the lab owns it, not me. I'm not sure on the brand, I can check when I go in next year =) I actually mostly do quadcopters and planes as well as some DIY things, including all of the embedded programming and electronics for driving motors and speaking with gyros and accelerometers. Fun stuff, but it sucks time and money! I'm also looking at 3D printing, but that can wait until I graduate.
