Comments

• Lake McGuire June 20, 2013 at 1:38pm

  TCIII and Tridge,

   

  In the current code, is there a way to make a rover turn more sharply when navigating waypoints?
• Admin

  Thomas J Coyle III June 20, 2013 at 1:24pm

  L1 testing update;

  So far it looks like there still needs to be some improvement in the L1's ability to maneuver through chicanes. In my most recent test the L1 code was not turning sharply enough compared to the non-L1 code. This caused the L1 code to actually make a loop at one of the chicane waypoints to get back on course. As for straight line performance, the L1 code and non-L1 code are neck and neck.

  If I had to choose between the two right now, I would have to go with the non-L1 code. Though I am sure that Tridge and I will work the bugs out of the quick turning (chicane) issue during this week's code hacking hangout and next week's test track testing.

  Regards,

  TCIII 
• Admin

  Thomas J Coyle III June 18, 2013 at 1:39pm

  Hi All,

  I want to let you all know that Tridge and I are working on incorporating the L1 navigation code into the ArduRover2 firmware. I presently have an alpha copy of the L1 code and plan to test it this week and help Tridge iterate the code to a working beta level that members will be able to test out on their own rovers.

  The L1 code is superior to the existing code in that there are quite a few fewer parameters to have to tune to obtain stable rover navigation.

  Also, I am working on Tridge's AruRover2 version of the PX4FMU code and plan to run it on a 1/16 Rally chassis that I have recently put together. I would like to run the Rally chassis in the AVC micro class, but Sparkfun will have to increase the qualifying length of the micro class to 12 inches which is only 2 inches more than the original 10 inches. Most quality 1/16 R/C chassis are around 12 inches anyway.:-)

  Regards,

  TCIII
• Admin

  Thomas J Coyle III June 12, 2013 at 6:11am

  Hi All,

  I have finally arrived back in Ft. Lauderdale from the Sparkfun AVC in Boulder. Fortunately for me the weather was just some occasional moderate rain and a few brief down pours on the way back home.

  The following is a brief overview of our team's performance in the vehicle portion of the AVC:

  Our waypoints were spot on except for the waypoints between corners 2 and 3 where the hoop was located.

  Our waypoints were about 1 m inside the actual course and had there been time to run a practice loop, I would have been able to correct those waypoints before the start of the heats.

  So for the first heat the rover turned too soon at the 2nd corner and ran inside the hay bales that marked the end of the parking lot course. Had the rover not run into the hay bale at the 3rd corner and made the turn, we would have made a complete lap, though we would have been penalized for running inside the hay bales between the 2nd and 3rd corners:-)

  So I corrected the waypoints between corners 2 and 3 during the stand-down between the heats and completed a successful practice run before the start of the 2nd heat. Since I could not see if the rover cleared the hoop, but did clear the ramp, I did not make any additional corrections in the waypoints between corners 2 and 3.

  At the start of the 2nd heat our rover ran straight and true towards the first turn, but was unexpectedly hit by a yellow wayward bug rover that was moving diagonally across the course towards the left side hay bales. The bug hit the right front wheel of our rover, bounced over our rover and hit the hay bales. Our rover took the hit in stride, corrected its course, proceeded towards the first corner, and was the first rover to finish the course during the 2nd heat. We missed the hoop, but cleared the ramp which gave us about 364 points.

  On the 3rd heat I forgot to turn the ESC on so at the start of the race the rover did not move until I realized the ESC was off. I think that we only lost a few seconds at the start and we made up for the late start with a higher cruise speed of 5 m/s instead of the 3 m/s I had initially been running at. I believe that we were either the first or second rover to cross the finish line during the 3rd heat.

  We scored 50 points on the first heat, 364 on the 2nd heat and 368 on the 3rd heat. I increased the speed of the rover on the 3rd heat so we scored more points for being faster over the course.

  In the end we racked up 782 points to take first place in the Peleton class. Our nearest competitor had 759 points.

  I have saved the tlogs and plan to go over them when I get back to Ft. Lauderdale.

  Next time I plan to bring my ArduStation Mega to attempt to verify the obstacle "real" GPS coordinates in relation to the "published" coordinates so that I can make some real time corrections to the course waypoints if necessary.

  Regards,

  TCIII
• Lake McGuire June 11, 2013 at 10:28pm

  Ok, I have 3 issues that I hope you all can help me with.  I'm running an APM 2.5 with a Sabertooth 2x12 R/C for skid steer.  Everything seems to work right when I'm in R/C manual mode.  I have it set up with Aileron for turning and Elevator for forward and reverse.

   

  When I move to Auto mode to go toward a waypoint, I have 3 things that happen:

  1. The rover, which has 4 motors, one on each wheel, begins to shake left and right while making forward progress....  It goes really slow, it's like left side, then right side, etc...
  2. For some reason, it also believes the front is the back and vice versa, so it heads in the complete opposite direction as if the waypoint was 180 degrees from where it's supposed to be.
  3. I also notice that when it finally decides that it's at a waypoint to turn, it only uses one bank, left or right side, to turn.  It would be much more efficient and more importantly, I need it to use both simultaneously.  For example, to turn left, reverse the left side and forward on the right side.

  Many thanks in advance!
• Admin

  Thomas J Coyle III June 10, 2013 at 5:59pm

  @Alan,

  Yes, it was fun and the 3DR crew along with the other DIY Drones members who were in attendance are a great group to hang out with!

  Though it seemed that everytime I thought I had the course waypoints nailed down, I found myself making minor adjustments that improved my rovers performance in subsequent heats.

  Regards,

  TCIII
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  Bot Thoughts June 10, 2013 at 9:49am

  @Tom - me too, hopefully next time. I keep meaning to be able to head to Dark Horse after these things and somehow always get thwarted. :D  Anyway once again Congrats on an awesome achievement, Tom!
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  KM6VV June 10, 2013 at 9:47am

  Sounds like you guys had fun!

  Alan  KM6VV
• Admin

  Thomas J Coyle III June 10, 2013 at 3:30am

  @Michael,

  It was nice to be able to meet you too. I wish that we could have had more time to visit. Hopefully next year there will be more time:-)

  Regards,

  TCIII
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  Bot Thoughts June 9, 2013 at 9:06pm

  Tom, Tridge, and everyone, congratulations!!!  That was an awesome showing. And, great to finally meet you in person, Tom! --Michael