So what can it do?  It can measure pressure from 0 to 400 Pascal (1 to 58 PSI) with a 1 Pascal resolution.  It will do 15 samples per second, so that’s fast enough for almost all purposes.  You can retrieve the pressure in the three most commonly used pressure units: kilopascal , millibar , and pounds per square inch. Internally the sensor uses Pascals.  You can get the absolute pressure but it can also measure relative pressure using an arbitrary pressure you define yourself, nice!  The high resolution (1 Pa) “raw” pressure data can also be accessed through a separate set of registers.  It also fits very nicely inside a Technic frame, so you can easily build it into your models.

I’ve been playing with this little beauty and I modified the Pneuma-Snatcher to make use of it.  I added a Magic Wand as a pressure indicator, I think it looks pretty cool.  The program currently running is what I use when I am giving demos at events.  The robot doesn’t move around so it can’t kamikaze off the table either.  The pneumatic valves are moved using the Valve Kits, which, in turn, are controlled with a Servo Controller.  A driver for this sensor has been written and will be part of the next release of the Driver Suite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkLJ_yBGAKc

This sensor will go on sale by the end of next week and should retail for $39.95.  You’ll be able to order it from here: [LINK].

This morning I play around with it a bit and it worked very nicely.  I’ve taken some screenshots of how I created my first program.  It takes just 5 easy steps.

The startup screen allows you to set your project’s name and a short description.  You can also select how many controllers you’re going to be using.  You can also specify a version, which is very useful.	This part requires you to use ROBOTC to create the initial pragma lines, which are then interpreted by the program.  It would be cool if all of this could be done from inside Teleop Catalyst without requiring copying from ROBOTC.

This part is very cool, you can add your own functions and initialization code.	Awesome, you can click on a button and assign code to it when it is pressed or held continuously.

The final step allows you to save to a file or copy it all to the clipboard, or both.	I picked the copy to clipboard.  The code looks really tidy.

The generated code looks like this:

#pragma config(Hubs,  S1, HTMotor,  HTServo,  none,     none)
#pragma config(Motor,  motorA,          M1,            tmotorNormal, PIDControl, encoder)
#pragma config(Motor,  motorB,          M2,            tmotorNormal, PIDControl, encoder)
#pragma config(Motor,  motorC,          M3,            tmotorNormal, PIDControl, encoder)
#pragma config(Motor,  mtr_S1_C1_1,     motorD,        tmotorNormal, openLoop)
#pragma config(Motor,  mtr_S1_C1_2,     motorE,        tmotorNormal, openLoop)
#pragma config(Servo,  srvo_S1_C2_1,    servo1,               tServoNone)
#pragma config(Servo,  srvo_S1_C2_2,    servo2,               tServoNone)
#pragma config(Servo,  srvo_S1_C2_3,    servo3,               tServoNone)
#pragma config(Servo,  srvo_S1_C2_4,    servo4,               tServoNone)
#pragma config(Servo,  srvo_S1_C2_5,    servo5,               tServoNone)
#pragma config(Servo,  srvo_S1_C2_6,    servo6,               tServoNone)
//*!!Code automatically generated by 'ROBOTC' configuration wizard               !!*//

/**
 * Project Name: Xander's TeleOp Bot
 * Description:  This is my test teleop robot
 * Version: 1
 *
 * This teleop file was generated using Teleop Catalyst for RobotC Version 1.3.1 beta on 1/16/2012.
 * Learn more about Teleop Catalyst at: http://ftc.kcastromechs.org/catalyst
 *
 * Feel free to modify this code as much as you'd like, as long as you keep this comment
 * block, in its unaltered form, somewhere in your code. Thanks!
**/

//// Include Files:
#include "JoystickDriver.c";

//// Function Prototypes:
// Initialize function (auto-executed when teleop period begins):
void initialize();

// "Event Handlers" for gamepad 1:
void g1_btn10_t_handler();

// Execute function(s) for gamepad 1:
void g1_btn10_t_execute();

float deadband(float power);

// Your custom functions:
void doSomething();

//// Global Booleans:
// Booleans for Gamepad 1:
bool g1_btn10_toggledOn = false;
bool g1_btn10_flag = false;

/// Joystick values:
float g1_joy1_y1;
float g1_joy1_y2;

/// Variables for driveSwap, slowDown, and deadban features:
float deadbandValue  = 10;   // Deadband is a "neutral zone" where nothing happens.
float slowDownFactor = 1;    // May be used to reduce the speed of the robot/increase sensitivity.
float joySwap = 1;           // May be used to swap the driving direction of the robot. 1 means forward = forward, -1 means forward = backwards

task main()
{
   initialize();   // Run the initialization code.

   while (true)
   {
      getJoystickSettings(joystick);

      if (joystick.UserMode == true)
      {
         g1_btn10_t_handler();

         // Update variables with joystick values:
         g1_joy1_y1 = joystick.joy1_y1;
         g1_joy1_y2 = joystick.joy1_y2;

         // Update the power of the drive motors with that of the joystick values:
         motor[M1] = (deadband(g1_joy1_y1/slowDownFactor)*joySwap);
         motor[M2] = (deadband(g1_joy1_y1/slowDownFactor)*joySwap);
         motor[M3] = (deadband(g1_joy1_y1/slowDownFactor)*joySwap);
         motor[motorD] = (deadband(g1_joy1_y1/slowDownFactor)*joySwap);
         motor[motorE] = (deadband(g1_joy1_y1/slowDownFactor)*joySwap);
      }
   }
}

void initialize()
{
   /*
      Everything in here is executed at the beginning of the teleop period.
      When the music plays, this stuff happens!
   */

   StartTask(playThemeSong);
/*
The line of code below starts a new task.
The "task playTemeSong" task will run at the same time
as the "task main" task. That way, you can drive your
robot and play the theme song at the same time!
*/
}

float deadband(float power) {
   if (abs(power) < deadbandValue) {
      return 0;
   } else {
      return power;
   }
}

void doSomething()
{
   // this does nothing!
   return;
}

void g1_btn10_t_handler()
{
   if (joy1Btn(10)) {
      g1_btn10_flag = true;
   } else if (g1_btn10_flag) {
      g1_btn10_flag = false;
      if (g1_btn10_toggledOn) {
         g1_btn10_toggledOn = false;
      } else {
         g1_btn10_toggledOn = true;
      }
      g1_btn10_t_execute();
   }
}

void g1_btn10_t_execute()
{
   if (g1_btn10_toggledOn)
   {
      PlaySound(soundBeepBeep);
   }
   else
   {

   }
}

// That's it! Enjoy, and good luck!  

Looks pretty good, eh?  Anyway, you can download Teleop Catalyst right here: [LINK].

Hi all,

We’ve just released ROBOTC 3.05. Head on over to the download pages to download the latest version!

Change log:

NXT:

1. Allow “File Management” window to play multiple sound files and not just a single file.
2. Fix bug in implementation of NXT intrinsic function “I2CGetSensorInfo”.
3. Holding down gray EXIT button on NXT will now eventually power off the NXT.
4. Re-enable support for “sendMessage” on NXT.
5. Updated FTC Joystick Driver to include diagnostics and added a critical section around the “no joystick data” fields to prevent false starts.
6. “DrawEllipse” was broken for emulator. ‘short’ variable was overflowing; ‘long’ was needed.
7. Constant for total number of motors for Tetrix was incorrect (too small). Result is some user defined names for 12V Tetrix motors were not being defined. Applies when Tetrix motor controller was configured on sensor port S3 or S4. Now Fixed.
8. Included range checking on game controller joystciks to fit in one byte. Few users reported errors about seeing 2-byte joystick values.

VEX:

1. New Automatic Firmware Updater for VEX Cortex – Choose one menu option and ROBOTC takes care of the rest (putting into bootload/downloading both master and ROBOTC firmware)
2. Updated installer to automatically install the VEX Cortex drivers and Prolific USB-to-Serial Drivers upon install.
3. Updates to the RVW Natural Language files to include remote control and microcontroller button commands.
4. New standard model files for PLTW Testbeds
5. By default “Com Port lists” will not include all serial ports. They will only the ports that match the current platform/use selection. A registry preference (“Advanced Environment” tab) can be used to restore to the current (3.04 release) of including all ports.
6. Updated Error Messages for Firmware/Program downloads.
7. New Sample Programs for 4-motor joystick control.
8. Added new variable “bStopTasksBetweenModes” to allow VEX users to disable the allTasksStop function from running between autonomous and teleop modes

General/Other:

1. Compiler was not generating error when “typedef” variable was used in an expression. Fixed.
2. ADD “__NAME__” to preprocessor predefined variables.
3. Fix code generation bug for “const string” array variables. Compiler would incorrectly use empty string instead of reference to array variable in constant pool.
4. Rightmost character of block of italic formatted source file had “slant” clipped by the background of the next block of text. Fixed.
5. Expand opcodes for “shift left/right” to support ‘long’ variable as shift size amount.
6. Fix definition of “degreesToRadians” intrinsic. It was not working when the parameter was a numeric constant

2011 was a big year for my blog and NXT-sensor land.  I moved from a hosted WordPress blog on wordpress.com to my own one on HostGator.com.  I’ve never been happier about a hosting company.  We had some major issues with our previous one (Hostway) which hosted my wife’s site.  Now both her sites and this one live on a Hostgator server, somewhere in a Florida Data Center.

2011 also brought us some really cool sensors:

• Dexter Industries released the WiFi Sensor, Inertial Motion Sensor, Thermal Infrared Sensor and the NXTBee
• Mindsensors released their Touch Panel, NXTRelayDriver, Pneumatic Valve Kit, NXShield-D, NXShield-M and the Teemino.
• HiTechnic unleashed their SuperPro Prototype Board and Barometric Sensor
• MicroInfinity came out with the CruizCore XG1300L
• Not a sensor but still worth mentioning are the awesome Rotacaster Onniwheels which finally made it to production.

So, 12 sensors in 2011.  Will 2012 bring us 13 new ones?  I already know of a couple of things that are in the works and I think you’ll like them!  So keep coming back and I’ll be sure to keep you informed on the latest and greatest in NXT sensors in 2012!

Just want to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas or whatever it is you’re (not) celebrating.  I hope you have a great time with your family and friends and may 2012 bring you all the things you need and some of the things you want!

I received my HiTechnic SuperPro Prototype Sensor in the post yesterday and it’s epic.  It’s epic for a number of reasons:

• It has more inputs and outputs than you can shake a stick at, both analogue and digital.
• It can 6 digital strobe outputs (great if you want to start your own disco or see which of your friends has epilepsy).
• Has a LOT of RAM and program flash memory.
• 1MB (!) of flash memory, which presumably, you can use for data logging.
• It can be programmed with SPC (SuperPro-C) using a test release of BrixCC.

The last point is of course the most awesomest (look it up, it exists) of the whole thing.  I’ve managed to make it work now with a test build of BrixCC which even comes with a cool little simple terminal so you watch it output text.  John Hansen, sir, you rock!

I’ll be putting this baby through its paces over the next little while.  I am not sure what I’ll do with it yet, but I am sure it’ll come to me.  For now I will leave you with a screenshot of my very first program, what else, a “Hello World”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX7PAEHgwCs

Just a quick note to let everyone know I’m off to the FLL regional finals today in Eindhoven. Got my robots packed and ready to go.
This is also a test to try out the WordPress app on my phone. if the post ends up looking rubbish at least you’ll know why!

Does a 3rd party 3rd party driver make it a 4th party? I’m not sure, you decide.  In any case, my good man Gus at HiTechnic has provided a very nice driver for the new HiTechnic Super Pro Board.  Thanks for that!

I also added a driver for the totally awesome Mindsensors Touch Panel sensor and their very versatile Sumo Eyes sensor.  Big thanks to Mindsensors for providing me with the sensors!  The Touch Panel driver still needs a bit of work; I need to add the ability to calibrate it and allow the gesture code.  I’ve made a start but I’m still trying to figure out exactly how they work.  I tried calibrating it once and that really messed it up.  A simple factory reset fixed it, of course, no permanent damage was done, just some mild panic on my side and me thinking I had killed my panel (I was not a happy camper, trust me!).  Deepak from Mindsensors had a quick fix which was actually in the docs, if I had bothered to read them a bit more carefully. Note to self: Read The Fine Manual!  Oh and don’t calibrate the panel, it’s really not necessary.  Trust me.

Changelog

* common.h: added better round() function
* DIMU-driver.h: fixed signed to unsigned conversion
* LEGOUS-driver.h: fixed boneheaded I2C address error
* Added MSSUMO-driver.h for Mindsensors SumoEyes sensor + test program
* Added MSTP-driver.h for Mindsensors TouchPanel sensor + test program
* Added HTSPB-driver.h: for HiTechnic Super Pro Board + tonnes of examples
* HTMAG-test1.c: cleared up some things in test program

Where can I download it?

You can get it at the usual place: [LINK].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BDjZYGHupE