New brain implementation

I tried implementing a robot brain in Java, but I couldn’t get that working due to problems using the Java Native Interface to play nicely with the native serial port communication code.  I tried C#, which worked…marginally.  After using MyEclipse, I really don’t like Visual Studio as an IDE.

So I’m back where I started…using Python 2.5 to write the Brain for PK-1.   The reason for this is because I wanted to take advantage of Python’s awesome 3D library VPython.  So I spent a little more time on it, and was able to get the two way RS232 conversation happening between a Python program and PK-1’s RS232-emulating Bluetooth tranceiver.

So the code is being written now… PK-1 will turn on, explore his environment, and the Python Brain will construct a 3D model of the world as PK-1 sees it.  It should be pretty cool.  I’ll post screenshots when it’s ready for testing.

So, I’m building an army of killer robots.  So far, I’ve developed Prototype K-1.  He’s a Parallax BoeBot with the Ping sensor and a couple IR sensors.

Here’s PK1 looking sharp. 

Prototype K1 with new sonar sensor

I set up another BS2 stamp microcontroller to try to use PK1’s Ping sensor to do some sonography…sonar imaging…scanning of just any room I was in, or of any objects…but the resolution was so low that the image was unrecognizable.

Now I’ve acquired a Compass sensor and a Bluetooth transceiver.  The compass sensor is going to be used to assist with locomotion and navigation…so that it will be easier to execute commands such as “turn 30 degrees left” or “turn 90 degrees right”, and to be able to execute them accurately. 

The purpose of the Bluetooth transceiver is to allow Prototype K-1 to wirelessly communicate with a laptop or any other computer device running a brain program in a higher level language than what PK1 runs on his BS2 chip.   My plan is to write a program using C# .NET that will collect sensory data from PK1’s  components and organize the data into a higher level schema, which can be used to make more intelligent, higher level decisions.  It will be much easier to work in C# to create a system of higher complexity, and leave the programming on the BS2 chip (which is done in a language called PBasic) to only concern itself with manipulating hardware and communicating with the brain.

 

Prototype K1 with new bluetooth transceiver

 

 

I’ve got the basic “hello world” functionality for the bluetooth tranceiver, meaning that the C# program and microcontroller can enjoy a two way conversation.  the bluetooth tranceiver emulates standard RS232 serial port communication. 

so now that I’ve got all the hardware and hello world up and running…I just have to program it to actually….”do” something….