Penguin interface

saul

How many IO pins does the BoE-Bot CMU Cam need to interface with the Stamp. Also, is there any chance that the Penguin will come with an embedded PSC. This would free up at least one additional IO pin as well as allow users to interface a servo based component.

Mike Green

The Penguin is very compact. There's no room for much of anything more on the PC boards. There are only two servos anyway and an embedded PSC wouldn't help much. Where would you fit any kind of servo-based component? There is one extra I/O pin with a connector providing +5V and ground. You could use the I/O pin used for sound as another free pin, but you'd have to connect to it (not hard).

Chris Savage

Also the weight of the CMUCam would likely be too much for the Penguin to tote.

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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support

Mike Green

Now it might look cute for the Penguin to pull a little two wheeled cart (scaled appropriately) around with a few extra doodads. If the wheels have bearings so they're low drag, you could even put extra batteries on the "caboose"

Ken Gracey

Wait - I'm pretty certain penguin can carry a CMU Cam. Mike Otis of Taiwan says it will carry four ounces without a problem.

- Ken

saul

If the Penguin had a PSC, it would open up 1 IO pin, and also allow you to interface a PING sensor on a servo mount. I know it's not much, but every little bit would help.
But really, how many IO pins does the CMU Cam need? I also have a BoEBot

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Chris Savage

Ken Gracey (Parallax) said...
Wait - I'm pretty certain penguin can carry a CMU Cam. Mike Otis of Taiwan says it will carry four ounces without a problem.
- Ken

Ken,

·· If it's not weight then it would be topsy turvey...At the minimum you would have to dismantle the mounting brackets to try and distribute weight more evenly.· The walking gait may need to be modified slightly too...And let's not forget that the CMUCam will have a hard time tracking while the Penguin is walking.· But I'll tell you what...Let's make things interesting...If anyone here can attach the CMUCam to the Penguin and show a video of it tracking and working I will send you a free BS2px24 (Same BASIC Stamp integrated into the Penguin).· Gentlemen, start your Penguins!

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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support

Humanoido

The CMUcam attaches nicely to the Penguin robot. You will notice three boards that come with the parallax version. These can easily be distributed across Penguin. The tiny camera board stays on top of the the main motherboard BS2px, and one or two boards, one with a socket, and one with a ribbon cable can be mounted lower on the back, in a toting back pack.

The Penguin robot has plenty capacity to carry the CMUcam. I mounted it on Penguin and let Penguin walk around. It did so with no problem. I think the challenge is more in the interfacing rather than the mounting mechanics and weight carry capability. You can use existing Boe software, but must modify it for ports and timing. The BS2px is a very fast processor compared to the BS2 and this changes timing in programs that require it.

As far as seeing when walking, I'd recommend doing the same thing that humans do. Stop briefly to take in the view or study the visual. I don't see this as a problem. You could also slow the Penguin motions enough to stay within a few percent of the frame capture rate. This would give a clear enough image for processing objects.

humanoido