Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Propeller and iphone — Parallax Forums

Propeller and iphone

Rob7Rob7 Posts: 275
edited 2011-02-01 13:07 in General Discussion
Interesting weekend,

Whell I did it again ! I dropped my phone. This time it does not work to well.
So, went out to by a phone and the iphone was there, a giant display staring me in the face.
Well to make a long story short, I bought one!
Great device, The wierd thing about it was that I was thinking in the back of my mind "if the Propeller chip could do that !!!"
I dont yet know if the propeller can, but I have a question too all the fourm members.
Has anybody· played with the accelerometer tilt function to change the screen say holding the screen then rotation it 90 deg and having the screen follow it ?
I was thinking about a propeller project like this, "Hmmm"
·A colleague sent me this interesting link, enjoy http://www.edn.com/article/CA6463808.html?nid=3351&rid=158661008

·Rob7

Post Edited (Rob7) : 9/11/2007 2:31:24 PM GMT

Comments

  • DgswanerDgswaner Posts: 795
    edited 2007-09-14 17:55
    I thought it would be cool to use the bluetooth or the web capabilities to operate or check on the status of a bot via an Iphone. you could even have a live video feed. Imagine that your security bots alarm goes off in the AM you grab your Iphone which is already alerting you of an issue. you take a look at the bit's nigitvision camera from your Iphone find out that the dang dog set off the security bot again. but I wouldn't mind because it gave me the opportunity to look at the iphone one more time.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    A complex design is the sign of an inferior designer. - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
  • Rob7Rob7 Posts: 275
    edited 2007-09-15 03:10
    Dgswaner,
    That's a great idea !
    I have not thought of that in that term.
    Just a simpler method, See the video feed on your iphone and mabe navigate form your phone. I have seen some similar posts about controlling your Beo-Bot with your phone but I don't think anybody has completed this project as of yet.

    Rob7
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2007-09-15 05:33
    The now defunct gadget called the Gizmondo had a demo game available that utilized the built in camera to change the games viewpoint, as you moved the unit you "walked" around a maze of tunnels cool.gif
  • DgswanerDgswaner Posts: 795
    edited 2007-09-16 00:50
    WOW!!! my Brother just showed me his Iphone! I talked myself out of wanting one!! not any more. I couldn't believe how well the internet worked on the phone. a Iphone controlled bot is totally possible, I think I would make a page with larger buttons just for the Iphone tho. wow I want one! and now they are $200 cheaper! I wish I had a rich uncle that would hurry up and die!

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    A complex design is the sign of an inferior designer. - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
  • Rob7Rob7 Posts: 275
    edited 2007-09-16 03:13
    large buttons would be good, the first step would be to communicate thru bluetooth.
    Then some simple commands, (go foward, back, stop, left, right).
    I need to get the prodocal to work first.
    Hmm' This might take some time.

    Rob7
  • DgswanerDgswaner Posts: 795
    edited 2007-09-16 20:25
    it would require more hardware, PINK and RF transmitters but the same set up could be done via the web.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    A complex design is the sign of an inferior designer. - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
  • GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
    edited 2007-09-16 21:24
    Rob7 said...
    Has anybody played with the accelerometer tilt function to change the screen say holding the screen then rotation it 90 deg and having the screen follow it ?

    Don't use an accellerometer for this, but go for a Gyroscope instead.

    With an accellerometer you need to know the starting orientation to calculate the 'now' orientation when the device is moved.
    A gyro will always tell you your exact orientation, without any messy calculations...

    Or course, adding an accellerometer means you can add 'bounce' to the picture... smile.gif

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Don't visit my new website...
  • bontoybontoy Banned Posts: 1
    edited 2011-02-01 00:30
    great info and i enjoy reading it,.
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2011-02-01 02:06
    Philosophically the iphone has no place here.

    The Prop, the Parallax forums, the OBEX, various companies providing hardware, like GadgetGanster, are all based on openness. Open source software, open hardware designs, open PCB layouts etc. There are hundreds of contributed projects to the Propeller and other forums all free for use, free to study and free to distribute.

    Then there is the iPhone, closed source, and a hundred bucks to even develop an app for your own phone. No free way to distribute your efforts. Worse still, no free way for users of your code to make and distribute their modifications and improvements.

    Nice gadget and all, and if you are prepared to live with restrictions OK. But an Android or other OS based device would do all you need for phone to Prop working without the expense and more importantly the restrictions.
  • wjsteelewjsteele Posts: 697
    edited 2011-02-01 03:26
    Actually, Gadgetman, you have that backwards. A Gyro only gives you turn rate... the accelerometer will actually tell you where the ground is by detecting the specific G pull in that direction. An accelerometer will always show you 1 g pull in the direction of the Earth, unless you are in an airplane (which the pilot is trained to fly the plane in a coordinated manner which simulates 1g on the bottom of the plane.)

    The Gyro will have no initial reference because it can only tell you when it is turning (or resisting a turn, technically.)

    For a good example of using the Propeller with Accelerometers and Gryos (and Compass and GPS) check out my Wingman. (http://www.virtualhud.com/VirtualHud/Wingman.aspx) It combines Gyros and Accelerometers to detected the accurate attitude of an aircraft and displays it, similar to what the Rob7 was asking for.

    Bill
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-02-01 13:07
    @Dgswanner: I have successfully controlled my boe-bot (enabled with a Propeller chip instead of a BS2) with my iPod (same as iPhone) using 2 Xbee modules, a PropNIC module from uController.com, and 2 Propeller protoboards. One of the propeller protoboards was used as the robot brain itself, so it doesn't really count. I basically interfaced the internet to the controller with the PropNIC, and wirelessly interfaced the controller with the robot with the Xbee modules. The webpage was on a local LAN network so you couldn't use an iPhones 3G, just the WiFi. The controller module obviously had to be plugged into an Ethernet port. All you had to do was type in the IP of the controller module (which you specify) into the iPhone's web browser and, there you have it, full GUI robot controls. The only disadvantage is that there is a noticable pause between when you press the button on the iPhone and when you see the result on the robot, maybe about 1 second, but it's not enough to ruin the preformence.

    I've also made a WAV player this same way, which also works great.
Sign In or Register to comment.