5 ms·

Cool, but the main problem I have is that I don't have a robot to program and the complexity to build one is way too high for me.

dbcurtis 7y ago
AWS Robomaker gives you simulated Gazebo environments to play with. It aims to be an industrial-strength CI/CD environment for PR testing in simulation before deploying to hardware (where bugs can have kinetic consequences) so it is reasonably featureful. (Not affiliated, just have friends that work there)
joshvm 7y ago
This is built on ROS by the looks of it. Most robotics users run everything in simulations anyway (have a look at UR arms). At a basic level look at Turtlebot. You can add all sorts of sensors, simulate environments and even realistic physics. Even with things like pre-defined movement areas and collision boxes, arm planning software sometimes completely freaks out and produces weird plans that would probably break things. So it's always good to visualise before sending the commands to the physical system. Gazebo is a common environment: https://community.arm.com/developer/research/b/articles/posts/do-you-want-to-build-a-robot https://community.arm.com/developer/research/b/articles/post...
- eismcc 7y ago
  Thank you! I didn’t realize it was that common. Seems very useful for building robot AI without needing to keep your robot safe In the process.
gjkood 7y ago
I used to coach a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team for my son's high school. The main Robotics competition for middle/high schools are based on the FTC Pitsco TETRIX, FRC AndyMark, VEX Robotics Platforms. You can find the majority of hardware and electronics you need for basic robotics from the following sites: https://www.pitsco.com/ https://www.pitsco.com/ https://www.vexrobotics.com/ https://www.vexrobotics.com/ https://www.andymark.com/ https://www.andymark.com/ http://www.revrobotics.com/ http://www.revrobotics.com/ https://www.servocity.com/actobotics https://www.servocity.com/actobotics The high costs come into play when you have to deal with high precision servos with high torque. The Trossen Robotics site gives you an example of high precision servos and pricing. https://www.trossenrobotics.com/ https://www.trossenrobotics.com/ You can find cheaper robotics options at the following site https://www.robotshop.com/ https://www.robotshop.com/ When you run a team you start with a budget in the low Ks and build out the equipment inventory over several years. There is high attrition in many of the electronic parts (Servos, Controllers, Sensors) when you compete. Building basic robots is not complex. Basic navigation using techniques such as dead reconing, etc are not complicated. What is complex is advanced software techniques for navigation, motion planning, etc which rely on some complex math. Have Fun!

dbcurtis 7y ago

AWS Robomaker gives you simulated Gazebo environments to play with. It aims to be an industrial-strength CI/CD environment for PR testing in simulation before deploying to hardware (where bugs can have kinetic consequences) so it is reasonably featureful. (Not affiliated, just have friends that work there)

joshvm 7y ago

This is built on ROS by the looks of it. Most robotics users run everything in simulations anyway (have a look at UR arms). At a basic level look at Turtlebot. You can add all sorts of sensors, simulate environments and even realistic physics. Even with things like pre-defined movement areas and collision boxes, arm planning software sometimes completely freaks out and produces weird plans that would probably break things. So it's always good to visualise before sending the commands to the physical system. Gazebo is a common environment: https://community.arm.com/developer/research/b/articles/posts/do-you-want-to-build-a-robot https://community.arm.com/developer/research/b/articles/post...

eismcc 7y ago
Thank you! I didn’t realize it was that common. Seems very useful for building robot AI without needing to keep your robot safe In the process.

gjkood 7y ago

I used to coach a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team for my son's high school. The main Robotics competition for middle/high schools are based on the FTC Pitsco TETRIX, FRC AndyMark, VEX Robotics Platforms. You can find the majority of hardware and electronics you need for basic robotics from the following sites: https://www.pitsco.com/ https://www.pitsco.com/ https://www.vexrobotics.com/ https://www.vexrobotics.com/ https://www.andymark.com/ https://www.andymark.com/ http://www.revrobotics.com/ http://www.revrobotics.com/ https://www.servocity.com/actobotics https://www.servocity.com/actobotics The high costs come into play when you have to deal with high precision servos with high torque. The Trossen Robotics site gives you an example of high precision servos and pricing. https://www.trossenrobotics.com/ https://www.trossenrobotics.com/ You can find cheaper robotics options at the following site https://www.robotshop.com/ https://www.robotshop.com/ When you run a team you start with a budget in the low Ks and build out the equipment inventory over several years. There is high attrition in many of the electronic parts (Servos, Controllers, Sensors) when you compete. Building basic robots is not complex. Basic navigation using techniques such as dead reconing, etc are not complicated. What is complex is advanced software techniques for navigation, motion planning, etc which rely on some complex math. Have Fun!