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Windows-based Robot and Development Platform
Monsieur La Vigne writes "I found this Robot running Windows, based on a STM 486 chip, and 802.11 connectivity. Apparently, the critter has a C++ , Matlab (?) based SDK and some proprietary bus for extension. Not sure what it does, but it looks cool. Has anyone ever heard of these guys or seen the SDK? Seems ripe for a linux port!" It's a little bit expensive.
From the home page, it seems that the development environment runs on Windows, but nowhere does it imply that the actual thing runs on Windows.
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It says...
"Wany Robotic Software Lab for writing custom applications and
3-D simulation in Microsoft Windows.
It does not say that it runs on Microsoft Windows.
From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
The article says, that the development was done on Windows. not that the robot itself is running on Windows.
Combine this with the fact, that they're using Matlab and C/C++ and this means that they're using the great API Matlab has, for tuning Matlab code in C++ and vice versa. They're also using Matlab for the reason that it's _the_ application for simulation and generally scientific computing from a whole range of sciences.
What I don't get is, why don't they use Matlab in Unix? A Unix version exists, costs the same, but I've never seen a simple copy of it ever. And I've been using Matlab for 6 years now...
/. Where the truth
There is an optional "Pekee Expert Programming Kit" with these features:
* Reprogram the Pekee motherboard's Mitsubishi micro-controller
* Programming card
* Serial cable
* Flash application (updates, direct access to M16C)
* Mitsubishi M16 compiler (4 month evaluation version)
Though I found nothing that says you get source code or documentation about interfacing to the hardware.
Anybody up to porting a linux kernel? You have 4 months to get it done!
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." --Napoleon Bonaparte
So it should be pretty easy to use. Plus, it seems to be able to plug in up to three cartridges. (The camera comes on one and the 802.11 wireless module comes on another, but that still leaves one for you to use for whatever) And it looks like you can buy blank boards to test your own cartridges on.
Cogito ergo sum in Slashdot.
My fault.... here a (hopefully) more reliable source. The Press Release from Sony.
But I've to admit that the availability is a bit lacking. In other words, nearly no one gets his hands on this.
Never seen it in action with my own eyes.
At a robotic symposium in Fukuoka, a demonstration was planned, but to my regret it was canceled.
I've only seen a presentation by Masahiro Fujita, a senior manager for this project from Sony and a still standing model.
Googleing for the type "SDR-4X" seems to be more productive.
"Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
there is an excelent clone of matlab under GPL. it is called "octave". octave does not have all feautres of the later matlab version.. but those are mostly not necessary for numeric simulations anyway... i love octave...
Have a look at Evolution Robotics. They sell hardware that gives wheels to your laptop. It also comes with software, unfortunately Windows-based (they also have a Linux version but they don't ship that).