Video: Driving Miss Daisy...with a Kinect

[Jared Russell]

http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread...2782#post52782

[Travis Hoffman]

I shudder to click this link, anticipating the carnage that lies ahead.

.....the horror! Wait, that was a trailer for "The Thing".

Thanks for sharing.

I presume we are seeing fixed-speed commands - not any analog "go faster....I said faster.....FASTER DANGIT!....Wait!....Slow down!....Slower!....Not the Grandma in the front row!.......STOOOOOOOOOP!" stuff. Right?

Maybe that should be the benchmark for ever using this on a competition field to control a drivetrain. Put a grandma covered in copious amounts of pool noodles and protective gear at one end of the field. Have the robot drive at her at full speed, then turn away at the last moment, do 10 complete circles around her in each direction, and return. If grandma remains upright and/or doesn't run away screaming in terror, then roll with it.

You may substitute any member of the GDC for Grandma, if you like. :-P

I think it would be really cool to see the sensor control an arm to hang tubes - seems like a more natural fit. Can't wait to see the vid for that!

[Jared Russell]

They are analog commands, but we capped the maximum output at 20% (so it's only analog until your arms are 20% above or below horizontal). Functionally very similar since the motors don't begin to move until ~10-15% throttle has been applied.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

I think it would be really cool to see the sensor control an arm to hang tubes - seems like a more natural fit. Can't wait to see the vid for that!

(You Ninja-edited while I was typing my response)

It's coming. I agree that that will be a much more natural fit.

[BrendanB]

Very cool!

How is it practically? Lag time, user error, multiple people/interference, etc?

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Very cool!

How is it practically? Lag time, user error, multiple people/interference, etc?

You can get a sense of lag time from the video (both best case and worst case - Netbeans was just finishing opening up on the netbook as we began this trial and was hogging some CPU cycles; by the middle of the video you will notice latency was in the half a second range).

User error was a bit of a factor. The "stop it right now!" command is basically folding your arms, but you'll notice me reminding the student at one point not to simply drop her arms to her side - that is full reverse! With a few minutes of practice it becomes more natural.

We plan on doing some stress testing over coming weeks to examine the "multiple people/interference" issue, as well as to see if we can further reduce the lag with a more powerful computer.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Very cool!

How is it practically? Lag time, user error, multiple people/interference, etc?

I'd definitely want to see a simulation of the competition experience with background movement, etc. to see how it "rejects" everything but the actual movements of the person controlling it. Don't forget to add the neon shirts, facepaint, glitter, and metallic wigs for a genuine experience. Oh, and flowery foam headgear.

[Cyberphil]

Awesome stuff! 341 never disappoints.

When did you guys receive this, and how many hours did you spend making it work? I am very curious to see the ratio here.

At this point in testing, do you see it as a viable control system for a competition? Or at least for anything in the competition?

[FTC4397]

Originally Posted by SuperNerd256

At this point in testing, do you see it as a viable control system for a competition? Or at least for anything in the competition?

Can Team #0341 post a link to this video?

[OZ_341]

Originally Posted by FTC4397

Can Team #0341 post a link to this video?

Here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OFzdeCfbp4

[FTC4397]

Originally Posted by OZ_341

Here is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OFzdeCfbp4

Thank You

[JesseK]

Kinect has some impressive possibilities for controlling a high DoF arm (think 1731 in 2007, from the "Behind the Design" book) ... impressive, until the driver sneezes. Be careful with that thing! Thanks for the video.

Iteration 2 (IMO) should weed out background noise so that the Kinect doesn't accidentally translate the coach's jumping up and down as a dance the robot should perform.

[Mike Rizzo]

Now drive it doing the Macarena

[Jared Russell]

Here is video of our demonstration of the Kinect at Ramp Riot. It took two tries, but we successfully scored a tube using the Kinect to both drive and operate our arm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSt1ZUmtjI