Welcome HR-OS1 Beta Testers! Introduce yourself

[kgranat]

Welcome beta testers! We appreciate your initiative to becoming one of the first users of the HR-OS1 platform. We'll be using this subforum to show off progress, ask questions and discuss the HR-OS1 platform. We'll also be making announcements about the development of the HR-OS1 here. We're encouraging all beta testers to create a forum account and introduce themselves on this thread.

Even if you're not one of the original backers who purchased the first 50 HR-OS1 units, we still encourage you to introduce yourself and post here if you'll be working with the HR-OS1 framework and are building your own HR-OS1 clone.

[kgranat]

So I'll get us started! I'm Kyle Granat, one of the engineers here at Trossen Robotics. I've been working on documentation and bug-fixes for the HR-OS1 (you'll probably be hearing a lot of my voice if you're watching the getting started videos). I've been testing on both the Edison and Raspberry Pi CPUs. Here are my two robots, yet to be properly named.



I'll be working on some of the Node.js project, and on the side I'm really interested in integrating the Pixy Vision Camera into the HR-OS1 framework. I'll also be taking the HR-OS1 to events like the Mini Maker Faire in Chicago. I've got a video of the HR-OS1 doing some test poses here.

[KurtEck]

Hi I am Kurt Eckhardt, I am a retired Software Engineer, who still enjoys writing code, playing with electronics and enjoys learning new things.

For several years now, I have been known up here mainly for playing with Hexapods (Phoenix code base) as well as playing around with electronics. I have been know for trying out a board or two

I became interested in the HR-OS1 project as I thought it would be a great place to learn some new stuff. Not sure yet what all I will be doing with it, but do hope that I will be able to make a few minor contributions to the code base.

This should be a lot of fun!

[bstag]

Hey I am Jason, I have been involved in robotics in one way or another for 20 years. I have a strong foundation in ROS and a few other robotics software platforms. I normally focus on slam based applications for robotics for the dallas personal robotics group competitions. I also go to many schools, makerfaires, various stem like events and show children the evolution of robotics and how it effects their daily lives. I try to make it fun and interactive sessions in hopes on encouraging the young minds to get into the field in one way or another. I plan on using the hr-os1 in this type of thing heavily since i do not have access to a nao or something like it.

[LloydF]

Hi, I'm Lloyd, A retired Engenering tech, and lets just say i have worked with vacum tube computers. ;-)
Hay, Kyle. I tried to compile the Framework on a rasbperry pi 2 and got a PS3Controller.0 fatil eror, maybe a bluetooh dependency. Might need a Image file to flash to a SD to get started with the pi's ? Sorry for getting ahead of myself, just don't have many Xmas in April events left in my life LOL.

[KurtEck]

Hi Lloyd, not sure maybe should go on other thread:

But reading the info in: https://github.com/Interbotix/HROS1-...aspberry-Pi%29

It looks like they have an image with everything in it. Not sure if they have put this image up anywhere yet.

The custom Raspberry Pi Image we use has all dependencies for the Framework pre-installed. We will have noted on builing an image from scratch in a future article.

I was able to build the framework on Edison. It would be nice to know which version they recommend, as again it implies some special version that supports the PS3. Hopefully it can be a stock build with maybe a few libraries installed.

For the fun of it, I may also look into begin able to cross compile it on my PC using Eclipse as this should also give me full source code debugging over wifi. May try the same with RPI2, or may instead go to using WinGDB to do this.

Kurt

[AlSierra]

Hi everyone,

I'm Alfredo. Tried my hand with Robotics in the 90's but had to give it up due to life's happenings. I have been waiting for something like this for a long time. 5 1/4 floppy stepper motors were just not cutting it. I opted for the Pi as it is more familiar to me.

Kyle, Nice job on the setup videos for the pi and the motors.

[oesile]

Hi all,

I am Eliseo. All my life the robots have been my passion but I was just playing with lego mindstorms and never have done something really cool. So, this is my first robot, am really excited about it!

see you around!

[panthallion]

hi, I'm Jonathan... Passionate about robotic, a bit new to these type of advanced robot but I embrace it. I've just finished building my 1st HR-OS1 yesturday with Rpi2 and i'm realy glad of the result.

hi Kyle, does the PS3 remote controller provided is pairable on the Rpi2 ?

Thanks

[Mike.]

Hi, I'm Mike.

I'be been working as and electrical engineer for an aerospace company for the past 16 years. I have no experience with inverted pendulum humanoid robots like this, so I'm looking forward to learning a lot. I was introduced to the Darwin Op operating system while visiting the Kennedy Space Center in FL. They had a demo of the HR-OS1's bigger brother playing soccer and chasing after anyone with the proper color shoes on. Fascinated by the technology, but disappointed in the price, I was happy when I discovered that Trossen was bringing us a less expensive development platform.

Initially, my plan is to just assemble the HR-OS1 and learn the Darwin Op system software. I have reviewed the software briefly and it looks like it will be straightforward to modify. Eventually, I would like to have my HR-OS1 learn to walk. Others have used machine learning to teach hexapod's to walk and even evolve virtual creatures. I'm inspired by Karl Sims and Thomas Geijtenbeek and believe their work can be leveraged in the physical space. I don't think the AX-12's would take the abuse of the evolutionary process of refining node weights, so my plan is to simulate the the network in software first.

I'm attempting to do everything in freely available Linux software. Currently, I have a model of the HR-OS1 created in FreeCAD and reorganized based on jointed units. The model needs to be updated to the latest chest form factor and electronics. All of the pieces have been exported as meshes and manually processed in MeshLab. I have COM's and inertia tensors for all of the plastic Biloid parts, the metal frames, the HR-OS1 plates, and the AX-12A's. The plastic Bioloid parts and the AX-12A's have been loaded into Gazebo and act appropriately when the physics simulation is run. Now that I have the metal frames, plastic plates, and PCB's I'll weigh them and finish loading those parts into Gazebo. Once the model is complete, I will use a neural net in GNU Octave to command the Gazebo simulation.

My biggest hurdle right now is time. It will take some time to accurately weigh the parts. In addition, I expect the shear number of parts and pieces will be too much for Gazebo to computationally handle. Each screw, nut, plate, etc, has its own inertia tensor. These tensors will need to grouped together in space-fixed units and be pre-mathematically translated from their local coordinate axis to the center of mass of the space-fixed unit (aka a forearm and hand).

I hope someone out there is working on a Baymax skin, because as soon as my boys see this humanoid walk I'm confident they will be constantly requesting me to suit-it-up. Maybe I will get a wildhair and draft up a Tomy Omnibot 2000 skin for it... man, I really wanted one of those as a kid!

Mike.