RogerN wrote:
"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...
RogerN wrote:
snip
So right now it has an airsoft pistol, 1911 style, in the gripper,
I programmed it to point the gun and turn on an output, then it
points the gun down and sits in a rest position, ready to go
again.
How about adding an IR sensor, or video camera to let it track
movement? That would freak out an intruder. Especially if you
replaced the pistol with some real fire power. 
The existing software doesn't seem able to do tracking, you can define
relative positions but they are relative to an absolute position, so they
become an absolute position as soon as they are defined, unless maybe if you
redefine the position they reference, maybe, I haven't tried that out yet.
I was hoping to use subroutines or relative motion, like palletizing, where
I can define an array and perform a pick or place subroutine at an array of
X,Y positions.
So I'm starting to attempt to learn Visual Basic and write my own. So far I
prefer QBasic or even GWBasic to VB. I never they could replace something
like "OpenCom" with 50 lines of code that doesn't run. But once I get the
com port working it should be able to do relative moves. I'm thinking the
vision system could be programmed for output for fast or slow movement for
fast aim and fine positioning. I'd like to get a replica gun that looks
real but won't get me, or the robot, arrested for aiming a gun at someone.
We designed and built an IR based robotic tracker at Microdyne for
the ESA to let them follow their launch vehicles with an IR camera. We
let it sit on our loading dock for a week to test the custom software by
letting it lock onto tucks over a quarter mile away, and down our road.
Then it would home and wait for the next vehicle. It never missed a
single vehicle, and they were well centered in the video monitor. The
IR position sensor & color IR camera were made by our Cincinnati
Electronics division. I haven't kept track, but I wonder how many times
they have used it for an actual launch?
Have you ever tried 'Free Basic'?
--
Anyone wanting to run for any political office in the US should have to
have a DD214, and a honorable discharge.