Semi-OT... robotics...

[David A. Sinck]

\_ SMTP quoth Bob George on 4/4/2001 22:07 as having spake thusly:
\_
\_ <jiva@devware.com> wrote:
\_ 
\_ > Anyone besides me taken a recent interest in robotics?  ie:
\_ > Battlebots/etc stuff?  Anyone know of a phoenix area robotics club?
\_ > Anyone know of any stuff for Linux on robotics?  Anyone interested in
\_ > getting together and building/battling with bots in Phoenix?
\_ 
\_ My kids and I are fans, but not doing anything as yet. We're toying with the
\_ Lego Mindstorms stuff, but that's it so far. Love to see something live
\_ though!

I've been kicking around the thought of making my '72 Rivi into a
'Beowulf Buick'.  Put a couple of ccd cams out the front, and do real
time image acquisition and steering.  Tie in a GPS, cameras pointed at
the "stop (light|sign) areas" and pretty soon, you login and it drives
you to work.  Or the stammisch.  You'd need root to get past the
speedlimit (also acquired from signage)....

I've mostly held off because I trust the power to be 'clean' and
'reliable' in the Rivi like I trust windows to stay alive.  Oh, and
there's that whole cooling thing too.  Um, vibrations also...the 455
doesn't rumble without cause.  :-)

Think of all the fun you can have with Port Sentry and would be
thieves, particularly with a voice synth module.

David