Rapid Prototyping Using the Propeller and bst
rjo_
Posts: 1,825
BradC's work makes it possible to use the Prop to create a rapid prototyping environment that will be really fun to work with...
http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=25&m=298620&p=5
The example that trips my trigger is to use the bst on a mac, which already has advanced image processing capabilities ... and use the results of the image processing to control the Prop using a serial conversation.
For hobby applications this is enough...it means that we can use computer vision to drive our Propbots around and interact with the environment in all sorts of ways[noparse]:)[/noparse] ... but for industrial use it will mean being able to try all sorts of imaging algorithms before instantiating the best solution in hardware.
I'll be using ImageJ from Wayne Rasband at NIH... it is cross platform... anything I do on my Mac can also be done in Linux (except I don't know how[noparse]:)[/noparse]
At this point, I will be using a scripting language to glue everything together... but if any of you Java savants would be kind enough to add a serial port to ImageJ... it would make this kind of thing a lot simpler.
Thank you BradC!!!
Rich
http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=25&m=298620&p=5
The example that trips my trigger is to use the bst on a mac, which already has advanced image processing capabilities ... and use the results of the image processing to control the Prop using a serial conversation.
For hobby applications this is enough...it means that we can use computer vision to drive our Propbots around and interact with the environment in all sorts of ways[noparse]:)[/noparse] ... but for industrial use it will mean being able to try all sorts of imaging algorithms before instantiating the best solution in hardware.
I'll be using ImageJ from Wayne Rasband at NIH... it is cross platform... anything I do on my Mac can also be done in Linux (except I don't know how[noparse]:)[/noparse]
At this point, I will be using a scripting language to glue everything together... but if any of you Java savants would be kind enough to add a serial port to ImageJ... it would make this kind of thing a lot simpler.
Thank you BradC!!!
Rich
Comments
Brad's work will no doubt attract a new group of users to the Prop and will be a welcome addition to current user's resources. What excites me most about Brad's work are the unintended consequences.
I am really not an operating system bigot... all systems have their advantages and disadvantages... and these are context dependent. What one person sees as a disadvantage is an essential feature for someone else.
I am finally comfortable in XP and wouldn't go back to a Mac... just because it was possible.
What I have been mostly missing -- enough to dust off my g5--is the ability to customize the process of development... coming from a Mac environment, I am somewhat spoiled by the easy scriptability of most applications.
I have posted a scriptable user interface for Brad's bstc.osx to Brad's thread. I will be posting details and enhancements to the current thread.
bstOSXui is not an IDE, and so long as Brad doesn't burn himself out, I wouldn't recommend trying to develop a complete IDE along these lines for one simple reason: future compatibility. You can't trust Apple compatibility... the minute you put your industrial resources into developing an Applescript based IDE, Apple will drop support for AppleScript or break it in such a way that all of your customers will be howling. I have a list of products developed over a long period of time, which became legacy apps when Apple simply dropped support for a language or programming utility.
So, if you want to do it right... you need to do it the way Brad is doing it... and that isn't so simple.
On the other hand... if what you want to do is a whole bunch of stuff... like communicating with your Prop over an ethernet link and you don't want to add ethernet capabilities to your prop... or if you want to use complex reasoning to control your prop... far too complicated to write into a spin file... anything that you can't easily accomplish with of the Parallax IDE... the combination of Applescript and bstc is irresistible and more than enough to turn you into an Apple customer again...
The user interface prototype (bstcOSXui) was written in Applescript Studio... took a couple of hours... most of the facilities that you would want in an editor already exist in the example applications that come with Applescript Studio... and the app is automatically scriptable.
I originally intended to post the entire xcode project... but it is too big. If there is any interest, I will break it into segments and post it here.
one little problem: if you aren't familiar with ApplescriptStudio... let me warn you... if you think Parallax's documentation is a little terse or hard to find... you will have a new appreciation for Parallax after you have studied Applescript for a few days[noparse]:)[/noparse]
Rich
AppleScript and AppleScript Studio are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, which possesses a copyright to everything you produce using their examples.