Archive for category: Sensors

  • Coming soon from Mindsensors

    Coming soon from Mindsensors

    NXT, Ramblings, Sensors June 30, 2011 16:05 15 comments

    NXShield for Arduino This shield is designed to fit on an Arduino. It will have 4 NXT motor ports, 4 NXT sensor ports and several RC servo motor ports. It allows you to use the I2C port on the Arduino. However it will have only a single I2C bus.  That [...]

     
  • Kinect SDK is Finally Here!

    Kinect SDK is Finally Here!

    C#, Programming, Sensors June 16, 2011 21:00 1 comment

    The Kinect SDK is here and the tutorial series of basic fundamentals on it also arrived: The Kinect SDK Beta download: [LINK] Installing and using the Kinect sensor: [LINK] Camera fundamentals: [LINK] Skeletal Tracking fundamentals: [LINK] Audio fundamentals: [LINK] Depth data directives: [LINK] Via [Kinect Hacks] Now I can finally [...]

     
  • Improved Thermal Imaging

    Improved Thermal Imaging

    Experiments, NXT, ROBOTC, Sensors June 16, 2011 16:53 15 comments

    After the initial post about my thermal imaging system using the Dexter Industries Thermal Infrared Sensor, I made some improvements with both the speed and accuracy of the whole thing. I made the sensor sampling interval time based, rather than encoder value based.  This proved to be a lot better [...]

     
  • Bring on the Heat: Thermal Imaging with the NXT

    Bring on the Heat: Thermal Imaging with the NXT

    ROBOTC, Sensors June 12, 2011 22:10 11 comments

    Having spent most of yesterday hacking and optimizing the firmware for the new Dexter Industries Thermal IR Sensor, I thought I would go ahead and make something fun with it today. I built a pan and tilt rig for the sensor with a great deal of gearing down to allow [...]

     
  • Lookin’ Hot: Thermal Infrared Sensor

    Lookin’ Hot: Thermal Infrared Sensor

    Sensors June 9, 2011 21:08 2 comments

    Hey baby, you’re on fire!  No really, you are, I can tell with my new Thermal Infrared Sensor from Dexter Industries. This sensor came in the mail today, it’s Dexter Industries’ latest sensor, the Thermal Infrared Sensor. I haven’t had a chance to play with it yet but I have [...]

     
  • Disco Inferno Part II

    NXC, Sensors June 9, 2011 04:24 1 comment

    Sidneys1 has come up with an improved version of my own Disco Inferno, written in NXC. His article has a great explanation of what PWM is and how it works. So if you’re keen to know the finer details about how RS485 can be used to control the brightness of [...]

     
  • Disco Inferno

    Experiments, Sensors June 7, 2011 21:51 2 comments

    Sometimes an idea comes into existence and you wonder why the heck nobody else came up with it. My good friend Laurens Valk was working on a robot for one of his classes and asked me if there was a way to PWM the pins on the sensor port, dig0 [...]

     
  • Released: 3rd Party ROBOTC Driver Suite V2.0b2

    No rest for the wicked, although they have been taking it a bit easier. In any case, I present my latest creation: version 2.0 beta 2 of the Driver Suite. Not as many changes as for beta 1, as you’d expect. Highlights for this version include: I changed the min, [...]

     
  • Just Cruizin’: Microinfinity CruizCore XG1300L

    Just Cruizin’: Microinfinity CruizCore XG1300L

    Sensors May 25, 2011 20:14 2 comments

    I’ve wanted one of these sensors since the day I first saw it on the Hacked Gadgets website. It’s the Microinfinity CruizCore XG1300L. It’s a ridiculously accurate and low drift inertial measurement unit, or IMU. Some of the features include: Measures rotational speed and angle Measures tilt and acceleration Can [...]

     
  • Mindsensors NXTRelayDriver

    Mindsensors NXTRelayDriver

    Sensors May 24, 2011 17:46 no comments

    If you’re a fan of the NXT as a programming platform but would like to control something beefier than just an NXT motor, you used to either have to resort to using relays or concoct your own controller board to handle the extra current. The latest offering from Mindsensors, the [...]