Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arduino infra-red (IR) remote control

 

 

 

watch this 

Next up, you need an IR Receiver. I use the RadioShack 38 kHz IR Receiver Module (part number 276-640). This costs $4, and it’s in almost any RadioShack I’ve ever been to (even the small ones that look like they only sell cellphones and toys). I know, I know – RadioShack has a reputation for selling shoddy parts, but whatever. I’ve only been burned once, and it’s worth it for the instant gratification of getting what I need without waiting for shipping.

Next, you need a solderless breadboard. I recommend the Arduino Protoshield, but since I haven’t assembled mine, I am using my breadboard (RS part number 276-169). I’m not sure if this is still for sale, so please let me know if you have any luck getting one.

Finally, you’ll need some small wires, some LEDs, and some resistors. Get two LEDs (the cheapest you can find), two 10K-ohm resistors, and a 220 ohm resistor.

Oh, and you’ll need a remote control. I’m using the Sony RMT-V202. This is up to you, and I can’t promise that my code will work unmodified with any other remote. However, I can tell you that my code is an excellent starting point, since it will give you all of the IR timings that you need to understand what your remote is “saying.” Remember how the video had a “debug mode” for looking at the timing of the IR pulses? This is your key to adapting the code to any remote, whatsoever.

ir_decodepde.zip

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPhero ROBOTics

Sphero is a completely new type of gaming system. It’s the world’s first robotic ball that you control with a tilt, touch, or swing from your smartphone or tablet. You can drive Sphero, play tabletop and multiplayer games, hold Sphero in your hand to use it as a controller for on-screen gameplay, learn basic programming, and even explore augmented reality.

http://www.gosphero.com/apps/

checkout VIDEO Sphero from Sphero on Vimeo.

 

 

Sphero is like nothing you’ve seen before. It’s the world’s first robotic ball gaming system that you control with a tilt, touch, or swing from your smartphone or tablet. You can even use Sphero as a controller for on-screen gameplay. Sphero delivers a unique mixed-reality experience with single and multi-player apps that let you engage in the virtual world and play in the real one.

 

GUY BEHIND IT   Ian Bernstein       iterviewed   about it in  robotic-podcast.MP3

          

Ian Bernstein is cofounder of Orbotix which produces Sphero, a small ball-like robot which can be controlled from your smartphone. Launched one year ago, the robot has been hugely successful and is now available in the Apple store, Brookstone and Target to only cite a few. Key to their success has been a growing community of users writings apps for and making videos of their robots. Demonstrations include swarm control using the kinect or swimming Spheros augmented with “fish tails”. Bernstein has been a hardware tinkerer and robot enthusiasts since age 12 when he attended the International BEAM Robotics Games (see Mark Tilden ROBOTS interviews from 2008 and 2012). He then studied at New Mexico Tech and Colorado State University, all while working at Road Narrows Robotics

FINCH ROBOT

The Finch is a new robot for computer science education. Its design is the result of a four year study at Carnegie Mellon’s CREATE lab. The Finch is designed to support an engaging introduction to the art of programming. It has support for over a dozen programming languages and environments

HARDWARE

  • Light, temperature, and obstacle sensors
  • Accelerometers
  • Motors
  • Buzzer
  • Full-color beak LED
  • Pen mount for drawing capability
  • Plugs into USB port – no batteries required

Currently Supported Languages or Environments

OPEN BTS

What is OpenBTS?             

OpenBTS is a Unix application that uses a software radio to present a GSM air interface to standard 2G GSM handset and uses a SIP softswitch or PBX to connect calls. (You might even say that OpenBTS is a simplified form of  IMS that works with 2G feature-phone handsets.) The combination of the global-standard GSM air interface with low-cost VoIP backhaul forms the basis of a new type of cellular network that can be deployed and operated at substantially lower cost than existing technologies in many applications, including rural cellular deployments and private cellular networks in remote areas.

OpenBTS is distributed in two forms:

  1. The public (“P”) release. The public release is distributed under  AGPLv3 with copyrights assigned to the  Free Software Foundation. The public release is a subset of the commercial release intended for experimentation, education, evaluation and proof-of-concept projects.
  2. The commercial (“C”) release. The commercial release is installed in Range Networks products under a mix of GPL and non-GPL licenses. Range Networks also offers a customer portal for commercial customers where source code is available for the GPL components of the OpenBTS installation. The “C” release provides additional features for security, scalability, expanded capacity and the operation of multi-BTS networks. The “C” release is intended for users
    • who need to provide cellular service in industrial, government or commercial applications,
    • whose intellectual property policies or business models are incompatible with A/GPLv3 or
    • who require commercial support, network monitoring or other professional services.

How do I get started?

There are two ways to get started with the public release of OpenBTS:

  1. Get a development kit. You can buy one online  here. This is probably the best choice for users who want to experiment with the public (“P”) release of OpenBTS in a desktop setting, without a lot of additional up-front effort. The current development kit consists of
    • a Range Networks RAD-1 multi-band digital radio, including a software-trimmable 52 MHz TCXO clock generator and
    • a mini-ITX PC with the latest public release of OpenBTS pre-installed in both source code and binary form.
  2. Get a full-scale basestation. Range Networks produces several GSM basestation models based on the RAD-1 radio hardware and the commercial (“C”) release of OpenBTS. These units are available in single- and multi-ARFCN configurations, at power levels ranging from 100 mW to 50 W. Any of these units can also be used to run the public release. This is probably the best choice for users who want to use OpenBTS for normal communications, who want to experiment with OpenBTS in full-range configurations or who require commercial support or other professional services. For more information on these products, contact Range sales.
  3. Roll your own. The public release of OpenBTS is compatible with several digital radio products from  Ettus Research, requiring varying degrees of hardware modification and yielding varying degrees of performance. For more information on the “roll your own” approach, please see the  public wiki hosted at GNU Radio. However, please follow the build instructions on this site as they have slightly changed in P2.8. Note: The “C” release of OpenBTS will not work with non-Range hardware.