Skype and BoeBot(with Xbee Again)
DiablodeMorte
Posts: 238
Yes, Yes I know I have a BoeBot w/ Xbee topic/post, but I felt this was such a huge step forward that it deserved it's own topic/post.
For a quick background go look at: http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=245289
Here's the new/kinda new stuff:
PLATFORM:
The platform is a stock Serial BoeBot that I won at a robotics camp I attended this summer.
MODIFICATION:
The modifications are a XBEE Series 2 Zigbee Module by Digi/MaxStream and a web camera($20 logitech camera)
WHAT'S COOL:
SKYPE!!!! This robot is entirely controlled over a skype connection. For those of you that read my Skype application post this application is not quite as complex as the one proposed there(all the commands are hardcoded for the moment). The way the control works: A user initiates a call to me on skype. When the call is automatically accepted by the application they are propted to logon. They do so by typing "/rcon logon password." If they got the right password they are logged on and gain full control. They can now issue 3 new commands: Help, Move, and Queue. Help command helps the user understand Move and Queue. The Queue is my pride and joy. In short, it allows the user to input a string of commands and then issue them all at once. If the user wants the queue system they type "/rcon queue on" if not they leave it off or issue "/rcon queue off". "/rcon queue status" gives the user the current state of the queue system(on/off). When the user is good and ready to control the 'bot they then issue the move commands. "/rcon move forward/backward/right/left". Forward and Backward move the bot forward/backward for 1 second. The left and right commands move the bot forward for .5 seconds(about 90 degrees). If the queue system was on during this time they can now issue "/rcon queue list" and they get a list of the queued commands. When they are ready to execute the queue they type "/rcon queue execute." They bot they goes through the queued commands. If they queue was not used the bot follows the commands as it gets them. Again, all this control is done through skypes' chat window!
PROBLEMS:
I ran into a few problems with this stage of the project: There were really two main problem areas: Skype and Visual Basic. Since I fixed all the errors w/ the xbee in the first stage of the project, I ofcourse got alot of errors in both VB and Skype. Skype for some reason had decided that my application was the spawn of satan and for that reason would only passingly connect to it. After fixing that there were a few minor problems with the sending of base skype API commands but they were fairly easy to iron out. My next batch of problems occured in visual basic. I stil havn't solved all of them, but alot of problems in visual basic seem to stem from my massive nested IF statement. I'm probably going to clean it up tommorrow.
PICTURES:
Attached
SkypeApplicatioNScreen.PNG = Screen shot of the skype application. The Infinity sign there is replaced with the amount of time left per command. It counts down from say 1 second to give the robot time to move before the next command is issued. The controls under it are for manual ma
IMG_1651.jpg = View of the BoeBot w/ Xbee w/ Camera
VISUAL BASIC CODE:
Coming soon. See http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=245289 for old code
BASIC CODE:
See http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=245289
Regards,
Diablo
P.S. I need people to test my system, so if you have skype, and you are free sometime sunday(today for some people[noparse][[/noparse]est]) shoot me a PM and we can try to work it out.
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Current Projects:
Robot Control Via Skype API - Dev Stage(50% Complete) - Total(25%)
Robot Localization Via Xbee's - Research Stage
IR Tracking with Propeller - Research Stage
Post Edited (DiablodeMorte) : 1/27/2008 6:36:26 PM GMT
For a quick background go look at: http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=245289
Here's the new/kinda new stuff:
PLATFORM:
The platform is a stock Serial BoeBot that I won at a robotics camp I attended this summer.
MODIFICATION:
The modifications are a XBEE Series 2 Zigbee Module by Digi/MaxStream and a web camera($20 logitech camera)
WHAT'S COOL:
SKYPE!!!! This robot is entirely controlled over a skype connection. For those of you that read my Skype application post this application is not quite as complex as the one proposed there(all the commands are hardcoded for the moment). The way the control works: A user initiates a call to me on skype. When the call is automatically accepted by the application they are propted to logon. They do so by typing "/rcon logon password." If they got the right password they are logged on and gain full control. They can now issue 3 new commands: Help, Move, and Queue. Help command helps the user understand Move and Queue. The Queue is my pride and joy. In short, it allows the user to input a string of commands and then issue them all at once. If the user wants the queue system they type "/rcon queue on" if not they leave it off or issue "/rcon queue off". "/rcon queue status" gives the user the current state of the queue system(on/off). When the user is good and ready to control the 'bot they then issue the move commands. "/rcon move forward/backward/right/left". Forward and Backward move the bot forward/backward for 1 second. The left and right commands move the bot forward for .5 seconds(about 90 degrees). If the queue system was on during this time they can now issue "/rcon queue list" and they get a list of the queued commands. When they are ready to execute the queue they type "/rcon queue execute." They bot they goes through the queued commands. If they queue was not used the bot follows the commands as it gets them. Again, all this control is done through skypes' chat window!
PROBLEMS:
I ran into a few problems with this stage of the project: There were really two main problem areas: Skype and Visual Basic. Since I fixed all the errors w/ the xbee in the first stage of the project, I ofcourse got alot of errors in both VB and Skype. Skype for some reason had decided that my application was the spawn of satan and for that reason would only passingly connect to it. After fixing that there were a few minor problems with the sending of base skype API commands but they were fairly easy to iron out. My next batch of problems occured in visual basic. I stil havn't solved all of them, but alot of problems in visual basic seem to stem from my massive nested IF statement. I'm probably going to clean it up tommorrow.
PICTURES:
Attached
SkypeApplicatioNScreen.PNG = Screen shot of the skype application. The Infinity sign there is replaced with the amount of time left per command. It counts down from say 1 second to give the robot time to move before the next command is issued. The controls under it are for manual ma
IMG_1651.jpg = View of the BoeBot w/ Xbee w/ Camera
VISUAL BASIC CODE:
Coming soon. See http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=245289 for old code
BASIC CODE:
See http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=21&m=245289
Regards,
Diablo
P.S. I need people to test my system, so if you have skype, and you are free sometime sunday(today for some people[noparse][[/noparse]est]) shoot me a PM and we can try to work it out.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Current Projects:
Robot Control Via Skype API - Dev Stage(50% Complete) - Total(25%)
Robot Localization Via Xbee's - Research Stage
IR Tracking with Propeller - Research Stage
Post Edited (DiablodeMorte) : 1/27/2008 6:36:26 PM GMT
2816 x 2112 - 1M
579 x 504 - 73K
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support