First Run

This is a video of the first run at doing a square this was done just using a timed loop in ROS. calibration of the casters need work

Testing the drive

We now have a basic control of the robot with ROS (ros_serial and new_omni_ros.pde) it responds to cmd_vel and i can drive it in a triangle pattern ie straight for 3 seconds turn about 90 degrees then crab at a 45 degree angle and then repeat. I tried a crab and a rotate at the same time but the drive became unstable. Using the joy stick in ROS is also unstable. using ros_serial seems a bit unstable

Take 2 using new_omni_servo.pde and driver_test.py is more stable and still responds to the above commands but getting encoder values out of the arduino is still on working.

hardware problems that have crept in
steering drive sprockets sloppy
front steering driver to week
drive motors sill driving with 0 vel
need a external reset button for arduino
LED for servo power
move motor power LED so we can see it
steering need to be more snappy and accurate 

Omni and ROS

Today I had omni_bot listening to the ROS topic of cmd_vel/twist we were trying to drive in a square it worked better than expected but still needs work the steering accuracy is to low and the speed is to slow
to do
Steering chains need a tensioner
PID loop for steering (use loop time!!!!)
move cmd_vel publisher to zeno
start base link /.odom publisher

Wiring (or the rats nest)

The wiring is almost complete in that it works as intended but it looks a mess
i need a couple of days for a tidy up maybe its time to use RC style motor controllers and put them next to the motors the single wire would make it look cleaner

Steering Update

After a week off driving and testing most things work as expected crab steering works well with the potentiometers limit of 300 deg and no reverse drive at the moment being the main limit Ackerman steering works to about 22 deg off center, but spin in place results in skidding of the wheels. With the above in mind I changed the steering to independent 4 wheel steering and drive

Torso

Now that the base construction is complete its time to add all the functions back in
like arm movement, navigation and the AI. The previous arm was to low to the ground to be useful so this time we will raise the arm higher in the torso where we will add equipment like speakers , microphones and other parts with out the need to dive into the base

Stage 1 complete

Over the weekend we completed stage 1

• The motors are wired and working
• steering works but still need making more robust
• We had to rewire the encoders to use ports they work but not in the program
• we added the torso mount and the kinect

After a couple of test we were ready for our first run,  Robbie was making good speed with smooth acceleration and no belt slippage   steering is a bit off to the right. The steering encoders are a bit agricultural they need groves to hold the o ring and the correct size o ring. The wiring around the pod bays need to be cleaned up and tied back to stop wires getting snagged. 1 thing i have noticed is the base seems stable when transitioning from forwards to reverse (I felt there might be some wobble in the caster legs).