More Mule then Rover?

[Tommy_T]

Hello Forum, This is a first post and as it turns out a first personal project for me.

My First Project: General Lawn care Mule.

P - Programmable
A- Autonomous
C - Controlled

M - Motorized
U - Utilitarian
L - Lawn/Garden
E - Equipment


Project budget $2500.00

Because I still have to work I'm giving myself 1 year to complete the project.

Tasks it most perform
1) carry payload of 150lb (at least 2 bags of potting soil)
2) mow grass (both manually(remote control) and autonomously(with supervision))
3) clear snow for drive and walkways manually(remote control)
4) simple to control (even my 75yr old mother can use in her garden)


The main controller is going to be a net-book PC(or my dual core laptop if needed)
remote control operation will be Bluetooth(wireless keyboard) and WiFi.

Servo control is analog(0V to 5V).
Speed controller RobotQ Ax2550 - (Sabertooth 2x25(for testing) and Peripheral Attachments )
Transducers Phidgets 3/3/3, Phidgets 8/8/8, Phidgets high speed encoder cards(at least 2) ,at least 2 encoders.
Analog output Labjack U3-LV

Test bed will be a used power wheelchair.

While disassembling the test bed I got a look at the drive that came with it (Penny&Giles 50/70 Amp VSI speed control).
And I gotta say it is a sweet drive, and if theres a way of using it I could shave $500 off the budget.
The other sweet thing about that drive is it has built in safety features like battery level inductions, differential
analog monitoring ,analog voltage level monitoring and Motor current monitoring.(shorted or stalled motor can't take out a drive..sweet)

using the P&G drive would remove the need for a Microprocessor as a hart beat also saving $100.

But it has a built in acceleration/Deceleration loops that would cause me issues while under autonomous control.

First question: Has anyone ever tried to remove or change the Speed profiles on a Penny&Giles 50/70 Amp VSI speed control ?.

I goggled it and found references to a Speed profile programmer for Dealers, OEMs and Manufactures, but none for end users.

If I can find a way to use the P&G drive I could slip the below item into the budget. (which would be sweet)
http://www.snowblowersdirect.com/Ari...m=shop+portals



Feel free to correct me when you see I'm wrong.

Tommy