SparkFun Electronics Commentsurn:uuid:214d0e4e-f1b1-d287-ce26-ac5b4c9f82492024-03-28T08:35:29-06:00SparkFun ElectronicsOutBackSolarCars on AVC RecapOutBackSolarCarsurn:uuid:0ed6cd0c-74ae-6b1c-d6ad-7e0480825b112011-01-26T22:32:19-07:00<p>awesome!</p>
ScottH on AVC RecapScottHurn:uuid:ed51b600-f8fe-6110-efd2-03f226c1eca92010-06-01T17:50:56-06:00<p>I've finally gotten some free time and I've posted the specs of my AVC entry to my blog. Maybe if there's interest I can put a Kalman filter tutorial together.<br>
<a href="http://scottrharris.blogspot.com/2010/06/overdue-avc-specifications.html" rel="nofollow">http://scottrharris.blogspot.com/2010/06/overdue-avc-specifications.html</a></p>
RoHS on AVC RecapRoHSurn:uuid:c3d8cdc6-711a-3445-8d93-f0752437a6c62010-05-05T11:09:55-06:00<p>if you are looking for the recap video it can be found here:<br>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVoeSaefO-w" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVoeSaefO-w</a></p>
HelicopterGuy on AVC RecapHelicopterGuyurn:uuid:6560275e-2650-7862-062a-f76c93cab50b2010-04-26T22:09:50-06:00<p>Sorry, if you can't view that page, you can see it here <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztIU1JtrOp0" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztIU1JtrOp0</a></p>
HelicopterGuy on AVC RecapHelicopterGuyurn:uuid:56e98b0a-97ca-aa1c-f344-c3969164cd232010-04-26T07:30:22-06:00<p>I've thrown together some of the footage from the AVC. It's quick and dirty, but at least it's up. Unfortunately, I didn't get the little girl who almost got kneecapped by the plane landing. I was so close to her that she is actually under the frame of the shot. Those of you who were there remember it.<br>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1444529996727" rel="nofollow">http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=1444529996727</a><br>
Enjoy!</p>
project240dotnet on AVC Recapproject240dotneturn:uuid:e9d99ba9-c2c0-ea7c-9305-9c635b820a242010-04-23T10:52:08-06:00<p>I just posted a video of most of the ground robots in rounds 1 and 2:<br>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP631YC_jMk" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP631YC_jMk</a><br>
BlueBoonDock also posted quite a bit of video from the event, conveniently separating and labeling each run:<br>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BlueBoondock" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/user/BlueBoondock</a></p>
HelicopterGuy on AVC RecapHelicopterGuyurn:uuid:cc1acbb0-ee50-7183-8b00-3794caaebe112010-04-22T22:13:59-06:00<p>I think I may have most of AutoCrusher - as sung by Vlad - on tape. Going through my footage now, but due to scheduling (stupid work!), I probably won't get it posted until at least Sunday. I'll post the link here when I do.</p>
bluerwhite on AVC Recapbluerwhiteurn:uuid:aea6e59c-38ce-df05-2329-957cafcfdb212010-04-22T18:34:07-06:00<p>There are more details on BlueBot at <a href="http://www.bluerwhite.org/tag/sparkfun/" rel="nofollow">http://www.bluerwhite.org/tag/sparkfun/</a>.<br>
Let me know if you have questions! BlueBot will be back next year.</p>
followr on AVC Recapfollowrurn:uuid:73143129-ec33-1f84-c972-50d03e0f12df2010-04-22T01:26:10-06:00<p>That's a really nice write-up--good work on the photo captions too, my favourites were "Testing obstacle avoidance steering response is a bit of a hand-waving exercise " and "Elmo, in a fury of road rage, takes out another competitor. Nate is called in to calm him down." :)</p>
followr on AVC Recapfollowrurn:uuid:b8d144b5-3bba-ca18-3b16-0afcbd26397b2010-04-22T01:13:57-06:00<p>You might have some luck looking at the recorded live stream:<br>
<a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6246660" rel="nofollow">http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/6246660</a><br>
I found that link via the main page:<br>
<a href="http://www.ustream.tv/channel/autonomous-vehicle-competition" rel="nofollow">http://www.ustream.tv/channel/autonomous-vehicle-competition</a></p>
patrickmccb on AVC Recappatrickmccburn:uuid:af42e34d-ba0c-2494-dbe0-7852a0bc90552010-04-21T16:30:26-06:00<p>I could not come but watched it live. Looked like people had a lot of fun. This inspired me to build my own AGV and hopefully will be able to share it and maybe one year i will be able to come live. Almost have all the parts i need to begin, should be fun.</p>
stilldavid on AVC Recapstilldavidurn:uuid:a552a187-9904-4c07-ffc1-c896fc2dfae22010-04-21T15:53:22-06:00<p>Please do keep us updated and be sure to post a link back with any details. I'm interested in the EKF especially!</p>
project240dotnet on AVC Recapproject240dotneturn:uuid:69e2e323-4a2d-11c1-ea66-79266966a1742010-04-21T15:38:28-06:00<p>Agreed on the band sentiments.<br>
One of my life's biggest regrets is not having recorded that <em>epic</em> song "AutoCrusher". Making up lyrics in real time according to the behavior of the robot is unparalleled in awesomeness.<br>
The drummer/singer/Vlad quipped after AutoCrusher finished the run "I hope someone recorded that". It was at that time that I realized the folly of my filming forgetfulness. Sure it's great to just sit back and enjoy your surroundings, but some things <em>need</em> to be recorded.</p>
Landon on AVC RecapLandonurn:uuid:1a4a8325-94b6-e420-b43a-5fe3c9a7a5cd2010-04-21T15:26:25-06:00<p>Some were asking for writeups on vehicles - what was used, how was it built. Here's a swing at that from Team Buzzcut: <a href="http://bit.ly/buzzcutavc" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/buzzcutavc</a><br>
To everyone at Sparkfun, thank you for a very fun day. It was great and we can't wait to do it again next year - improvements already in progress.<br>
The band was pretty hilarious...so over the top they wrapped around to the bottom again :-) Seriously, the band added a lot of fun.</p>
TimWhite on AVC RecapTimWhiteurn:uuid:c849afef-ceef-2ea4-1dfc-316d7301c1b72010-04-21T15:14:30-06:00<p>My father, my son, and I all had a great time.<br>
Thanks so much to the SparkFun staff for being SOOO NICE. The food vendors were good, the band was hilarious, the whole spirit of the event was just super.<br>
Getting my box from SparkFun today with a new GPS...we won't just be spectators next year! :)<br>
Thanks, SparkFun!!!</p>
project240dotnet on AVC Recapproject240dotneturn:uuid:4c107acf-120d-d097-247e-943af959d6152010-04-21T14:56:44-06:00<p>Here are some thoughts on the development of my vehicle and the competition:<br>
<a href="http://www.project240.net/auton/avc2010/sparkfun_avc_2010.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.project240.net/auton/avc2010/sparkfun_avc_2010.html</a><br>
The page is still in progress and will evolve over the next week a bit.<br>
Congrats to Team Tobor for winning the ground class. Your robot was remarkably well-behaved, particularly in comparison to our curb-seeking robots.<br>
Thanks to Nate, the SparkFun team, the band, and fellow competitors for a spectacular experience. Echoing what others have said, I'm excited to try again in 2011.</p>
Frencil on AVC RecapFrencilurn:uuid:b5e01876-a661-467b-6cae-e3732a51b82e2010-04-21T13:48:37-06:00<p>Agreed, if anything's gonna fit the bill, it's gonna require some minimal hacking. The idea is to get as close as possible with a light form factor, though, as adding all those hacked bits to make wireless transmission or onboard power work are going to add some weight and drag.</p>
Gintaras on AVC RecapGintarasurn:uuid:e8b118a9-12fb-4ecd-acf1-f4ab5f80e2f92010-04-21T13:35:09-06:00<p>Wait... This is SparkFun! I'm pretty sure we can design our own here in the forums and even sell it so everyone else can get one for their UAV projects. I spent several days looking for one on ebay and amazon, light, long range, high quality video, no such thing!</p>
PaulS on AVC RecapPaulSurn:uuid:a9c45c0a-83a1-c784-2eb1-2bfc4820b2a42010-04-21T13:02:37-06:00<p>Are there worklogs for these robots? How they were build is the interesting part.<br>
I was there for the race though, great time!</p>
Frencil on AVC RecapFrencilurn:uuid:15cd1b8f-8669-2f8a-d096-c2418c1b7e7d2010-04-21T12:59:01-06:00<p>I like this idea a lot but the biggest problem is the video feed back to the ground.<br>
This year for cameras we tried out several models and eventually settled on the <a href="http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16881102023" rel="nofollow">TrendNet TV-IP410 Pan/Tilt camera</a>. It had the range of motion we wanted with some very stable monitoring software that can manage 32 units at once (and worked quite well for our five). The only thing the model didn't have, that we really wanted, was wireless connectivity.<br>
We searched for decent wireless cameras and came up short. There were some stationary wireless cams that looked like they had potential but our emphasis was definitely on range of motion.<br>
If we were to have a non-competing UAV streaming a bird's eye view next year, a decent on-board wireless card is a must where range of motion may not be that critical. Suggestions are welcome for good webcam models that can be adapted to operate on a UAV and reliably transmit their stream wirelessly.</p>
ScottH on AVC RecapScottHurn:uuid:72cfb6e2-4e57-4f6b-4475-b19eaf90ebdd2010-04-21T12:55:34-06:00<p>Thanks for hosting such an awesome day! Team Tobor! will be back next year for sure and with better curb avoidance!<br>
I'll be writing up a description of my car and the Extended Kalman Filtering (EKF) approach that I used on my blog soon. Also, I'll be downloading the sensor data from all of my runs and plotting it to see what the robot "saw."<br>
I cant wait for next year.</p>
JohnAbshier on AVC RecapJohnAbshierurn:uuid:bef3faaa-6b06-22af-9fce-1ad89c39e5292010-04-21T11:45:46-06:00<p>It would be nice to have any links to descriptions of the robots to learn what worked and didn't work.<br>
John Abshier</p>
eewestcoaster on AVC Recapeewestcoasterurn:uuid:35f1758d-50e5-1060-4bd3-a5110407ff962010-04-21T09:19:18-06:00<p>Now THAT's a great idea!</p>
follower on AVC Recapfollowerurn:uuid:cd626dad-40b8-54b9-b2d0-968b02ea241c2010-04-21T07:54:08-06:00<p>Don't forget "Tinkerbell! Tinkerbell!"... :)<br>
The band were great....</p>
AndrewB on AVC RecapAndrewBurn:uuid:f2cb572d-5aac-4676-6dec-a8259542df612010-04-21T02:44:55-06:00<p>Yeah I think something like an easystar or a UAV loitering in a high orbit around the building would make for some good footage of the vehicles as they race around the building. Just set up an ardupilot with a fixed loiter point of a given radius and put a pan-tilt-zoom camera on the bottom with a feed back to the ground.</p>
Andrew on AVC RecapAndrewurn:uuid:fdd87d61-f585-6bb8-ead3-1a83c391bc442010-04-21T00:28:32-06:00<p>Got to make sure the recap video has the Donuts Coffee Muffins song.<br>
DONUTS! COFFEE! MUFFINS! 1234! :)</p>
Netfoot on AVC RecapNetfooturn:uuid:40f55b72-8fda-245e-6aca-8248250b969c2010-04-20T21:06:51-06:00<p>I thoroughly enjoyed following the day's progress on the web feed. Thanks -- it was a lot of fun.<br>
May I respectfully make a few suggestions for next year?<br>
Position a camera over a table or something, and prior to each run, ask the competitors to place their bot/UAV on the table (so we can see it, and them standing behind it) and tell us what it is. "A 1/10th scale Ford Pinto with a clockwork motor, and a homebrew PIC12C508 controller!" Or whatever.<br>
For the UAVs, a manually aimed camera that might show a bit more of the flight than the webcams picked up.<br>
And a FPV feed would be really cool, too, but I don't know how you'd organize that!<br>
Thanks again...</p>
Jeremy4 on AVC RecapJeremy4urn:uuid:2c31df45-8176-9511-2741-fe122559a7a92010-04-20T20:43:12-06:00<p>Ok, I gotta say it. The positioning of the traffic cone in the first picture is...unfortunate. ;-)<br>
It doesn't help that he looks like he is saluting, and is being pulled on a cart by a very focused gentleman in a bright orange sweater looking off towards their intended target...<br>
Sorry, couldn't help it.<br>
Other than that, congrats to all! Looks like a lot of fun, I'll have to try to make it out sometime.</p>
Robota on AVC RecapRobotaurn:uuid:b5231a3d-823f-5b24-8b04-d1c8a7f70ef82010-04-20T17:42:51-06:00<p>Thank you Sparkfun for the wonderful experience, no one else could pull off an event like this one. I was impressed with the energy of the crowd and the skill of the competitors. See yall next year!</p>
Diego Spinola on AVC RecapDiego Spinolaurn:uuid:f2e441d5-0cec-2b64-30e7-474d6608d7512010-04-20T17:25:47-06:00<p>looking forward for the video =)<br>
I want to see Team Robota's landing again! (I was watching via the live streaming)<br>
Now ... I've got an year to convince my girlfriend that the perfect vacation spot in the word is Boulder, Colorado...</p>
jbookout on AVC Recapjbookouturn:uuid:61800590-a635-0fe4-25be-7ec976f815972010-04-20T17:16:22-06:00<p>Would have been an 8 hour drive fore me...had I not done the drive for the failed robojoust I might have come...maybe next year.</p>
HelicopterGuy on AVC RecapHelicopterGuyurn:uuid:9530e5f2-57a9-bf97-82e9-dee681fa850f2010-04-20T17:01:45-06:00<p>It was an amazing day! So much fun, camaraderie, sprinkled with a little "liquid sunshine" here and there. The competitors were great, and the entire SparkFun staff were wonderful. Kudos on a great event. Already looking forward to next years!</p>
ahendle2 on AVC Recapahendle2urn:uuid:1cfbb661-fb8a-9fd7-57b3-94c83f8f26762010-04-20T16:07:44-06:00<p>I wish i lived out there and not halfway across the country... it looks like you guys have all the fun out there :(</p>