Author Topic: Is it a waste to use a Raspbery Pi as the primary computer / controller?  (Read 2450 times)

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Offline greenace92Topic starter

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My aim is to build a crawling robot ( four legs ) that operates on WiFi (initially) and then following its own "exploration protocol"

Anyway, I'm wondering if this is a waste both on power consumption and weight to use an entire computer like a Raspberry Pi.

My aim is to control it via mouse, directional pad and additional keys for other functions.

It would carry a camera (or two for stereoscopic), IR sensors, gps, accelerometers, gyros, and additional components.

Also, I'm new to this, I'd like to know what direction I should take, reading materials regarding Microcontrollers

The goal is to build small exploration drones, that operate autonomously and connect to a local transmitter / receiver which is then linked to a master transmitter/receiver whether a geosynchronous satellite or a large long distance antenna array.

I realize it's ludicrous, out of my reach

I'd appreciate any information

Just for an estimate, a simple four legged robot, maybe 8 to 12 servos, battery, computer, etc... what kind of a price tag am I looking at, bare minimum? I'm not talking a ready to buy kit, I'm looking to build from scratch. I would probably opt for laser cut wood for the body of the robot for prototyping.
My god this site's interface is a nightmare, six security questions? And every time I try to post something there is either an error or I am told "This is a double post" but the message hasn't posted.

Offline mklrobo

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 :) Hello!
Your target goal;
The goal is to build small exploration drones, that operate autonomously and connect to a local transmitter / receiver which is then linked to a master transmitter/receiver whether a geosynchronous satellite or a large long distance antenna array.
Daunting task, to be sure! But not impossible. (lot of work, though)
I would imagine using a Avon II, and Avon mote to construct your idea, for a model.
I would divide up the robots into heirarchies, with different processing power and jobs.
Assign a task commander to a group of manual robots. The task commander reports to the
central control point, which is your laptop, in which has a server that controls your Droid army.
The Gateway at the control point would have Perl, a programming language which could be used
for your purposes. (works well with PHP and Apache) Perl also accomodates dedicate C++
programming.
The robots use the Avon II and Avon Mote for communication and instructions.
The Task commanders need a Raspberry Pi or Beaglebone for more complex
supervising and processing functions, in addition to the Avon II and Avon Mote.
Satellite hookup is accomplished by the computer; any local dynamic control could be
made by a wifi, or app right on your phone. In a crunch, you could digitize a 150 Mhz
signal to pass data, for control.(Ham radio) Focus the goal on the work that you want to do,
and the rest will follow. (programming, building, cost, and server.)
 8) Good luck, keep me posted. ;D ;D ;D

 


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