Eddie / Arlo
goupil35000
Posts: 10
Hello,
We bought 2 Eddie platforms. We want to buy others Eddie platforms ... But it seems we can't buy Eddie now ... just Arlo.
My questions are these ones:
- are the platform compatible in software (so if we develop for Eddie, is the code working for Arlo) ?
- what we have to change if we want to transform the Eddie platform to an Arlo platform ?
- we want to use ROS in the near future. Are these 2 platforms compatible with ROS ?
Thanks for reply.
We bought 2 Eddie platforms. We want to buy others Eddie platforms ... But it seems we can't buy Eddie now ... just Arlo.
My questions are these ones:
- are the platform compatible in software (so if we develop for Eddie, is the code working for Arlo) ?
- what we have to change if we want to transform the Eddie platform to an Arlo platform ?
- we want to use ROS in the near future. Are these 2 platforms compatible with ROS ?
Thanks for reply.
Comments
The short term answer is yes, you can build more Eddie's, Longer term there will be changes.
The Eddie Control Board with Power Cable has a limited stock from our last build.
We are in the process of developing a new control board that has a lot more capability, but it will not directly support some aspects of RDS, as we (at least I'm) are not sure what the future of RDS is going to be - ROS compatibility is something that perhaps Jessica can chime in on.
As far as the mechanical aspects of the platform are concerned, the two are very similar - with Arlo having some enhancements over the Eddie drive system. Although Arlo's top speed is about 75% of Eddie's, there is far less backlash (1/8" or so), the deck is the same diameter, but there is more usable surface area due to the manner in which the motors are mounted. The lower backlash really helps when combined with the encoders (included in the wheel kits).
Arlo has two Motor Kit options: Traditional machined aluminum (like what Eddie has), as well as a lower cost HDPE version - less payload capability but still up over 20 lbs - plenty for many applications.
-MattG
As Matt mentioned, the Eddie Control Board is on it's last build, and will not be available after we sell out of current inventory.
I am not too familiar with ROS but the new motors should, in theory, be compatible with the new motors. ROS support is maintained by an outside community, and custom firmware had also been written.
Hopefully that helps a bit.
Cheers,
Jessica