Register for the AVC - Plus a Couple Other Things!
A reminder about the AVC, a new tutorial, and SparkFun in 3D!
3-24-2010 : Another good storm hit last night. We have shut down SparkFun for Wednesday morning. Please be patient while we try to come back online.
The Autonomous Vehicle Competition is quickly approaching (April 17th, 2010) and plans around the office are really starting to heat up. We're getting pretty excited - and we hope you are too! If you are planning on attending the event, either as a competitor or a spectator, please register! It will help us get an idea of how many people to expect so we can plan seating, potential concessions, and generally get a feel for how crazy the day is going to be. Can't wait!
Next we have a new tutorial from Ryan, SparkFun engineer. Ryan has created a tutorial entitled "Playing WAV Files with a DAC" (catchy, isn't it?). This tutorial will guide you through using an Arduino main board, a AD5330 breakout board (8-bit DAC), and a microSD Shield to make a slick device to playback uncompressed audio files. Nice work, Ryan!
Last, but not least, SparkFun 'Ographer (yes, you read that correctly - he's a videographer/photographer - just plain 'ographer) Rojas has created a 3D rendering of the SparkFun office to be used on Google Earth. It has been submitted to Google, and hopefully it will be accepted in the next few days!
The model is live in Earth! Nice job on the model Rojas!
For those who don't know already, Google Earth has a built in flight simulator or you can take the Monster Milk Truck for a spin around the building. :-)
May i bring Opportunity "The Mars Rover" to AVC since it is now autonomous?
"Software uploaded this winter is the latest example of NASA taking advantage of the twin Mars rovers' unanticipated longevity for real Martian test drives of advances made in robotic autonomy for future missions."
Now that's what i call wireless bootloading...
Forgot the link : http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20100323.html
The Arduino WAV playback is pretty cool! :] but with an 8-bit DAC your s:e ratio is gonna be close to 50dB. I.e., very very noisy :(
Once his work becomes part of Google Earth's map, he can add 'cartographer' to his 'ographer resume.
If you are registered to compete at AVC, should we also fill out a registration (including the showcase part), or is that a given if your competing?
No need to register if you're competing as you've been effectively registered for quite a while now. I'll get some language added to the registration page confirming that.
I'd add a couple of DIP headers up on the roof, just to personalize your building :)
Heh. Too bad I'm not in the AVC. I might "fly" my 'bot around your building in google earth.