Optical Mouse Navigation

[Craig Putnam]

Originally Posted by Gdeaver

... While getting the mouse to talk to the RC is doable, I think where this all will fall apart is in adapting optics and illumination to keeping the mouse a couple inches off the carpet . Can an optic system be adapted to the mouse that would maintain focus as the robot bounces around? The chip is also very sensitive to the wave length , Intensity and angle of the illumination....

I actually have the optics working - at least on a test bed. Focus is a concern, but the purpose is to guide the robot during autonomous mode. I'm hopeful there won't be so much bouncing around during that time that focus would be lost to an extent that seriously hampers navigation. I may be able to get more depth of field if I stop the aperature down a bit. That means I will need more intensity, but I already have way more than I need.

The LED cluster I'm using matches the wavelength requirement of the Agilent chip almost exactly so that's not a problem. I also have the mount for the LED cluster done which will allow us to bring the light in at a fairly low angle. Not as low as it is with a mouse, but it seems to work on the test bed nicely.

I'm assuming the Kronos Dios microcontroller is available from the approved list of suppliers? I have already run afoul of last year's rule R71 with the interface chip I'm presently using (a PAK-VIa from Al Williams, Inc.). That interface chip works fine, but I can't get it from last year's approved list, so (I'm presuming) it's no good to me for use onboard a competition robot. I could hope that R71 gets revisited this year and the possible sources of electronics get opened up, but I can't count on that happening.

Thanks very much for the pointer!