I just got my first raspberry pi (model 2) in the mail and I have been playing around with it. Has anyone done anything interesting yet with a raspberry pi and their hexy? I’m interested in hearing some possible ideas.
I’ve been working on a Hexy + Raspberry Pi + USB bluetooth dongle + Wiimote project. Currently I can rotate the head with the Wiimote as a proof of concept.
Currently my problem is figuring out how to power the pi from a battery pack.
Interesting. I have a Raspberry Pi also, and was considering using it to control the higher functions, like pattern recognition and decision making, and using Servator or some other microcontroller to store the movements and control the servos.
This would also allow the use of super-cheap wifi and bluetooth dongles, widely available for the Pi.
There are a number of ways to communicate. I was considering USB, or just using the serial communication pins. You can use Firmata or some other protocol, but to start I was just going to have the microcontroller poll for characters sent from the host, and take action based on those characters. Sort of like the old Hayes modem AT commands.
For power, I’m getting the impression that seperate power sources for the brains and the servos might be a good idea. For batteries, I’m considering one rechargeable 9v battery for both the Servotor and the Pi. There might be some way on the Pi to disable the graphics chip to reduce power consumption.
Can anyone estimate how long this will last compared to the AA rechargeable batteries powering the servos?
[quote=“Hellboy”]Interesting. I have a Raspberry Pi also, and was considering using it to control the higher functions, like pattern recognition and decision making, and using Servator or some other microcontroller to store the movements and control the servos.
This would also allow the use of super-cheap wifi and bluetooth dongles, widely available for the Pi.
There are a number of ways to communicate. I was considering USB, or just using the serial communication pins. You can use Firmata or some other protocol, but to start I was just going to have the microcontroller poll for characters sent from the host, and take action based on those characters. Sort of like the old Hayes modem AT commands.
For power, I’m getting the impression that seperate power sources for the brains and the servos might be a good idea. For batteries, I’m considering one rechargeable 9v battery for both the Servotor and the Pi. There might be some way on the Pi to disable the graphics chip to reduce power consumption.
Can anyone estimate how long this will last compared to the AA rechargeable batteries powering the servos?[/quote]
This does not answer your question 100% but does give some power consumption info ( raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewt … p?p=164893 ). Makes me think about getting a raspberry pi A next time too.
[quote][i]Here are some numbers taken from Model-A and Model-B RPs.
Measurements were taken using one of these:
msoon.com/LabEquipment/PowerMonitor/
For these tests there was no display connected unless stated.
352mA - Model-B running stress test (for ARM)
330mA - Model-B idle
143mA - Model-A running stress test (for ARM)
118mA - Model-A idle (with HDMI connected)
110mA - Model-A idle
107mA - Model-B after "sudo halt"
106mA - Model-A, ARM_freq=300MHz (and for all below)
93mA - as above + SDRAM_freq=100MHz
93mA - Model-A idle, GPU_freq=100MHz
90mA - Model-A idle, GPU_freq=100MHz, Vdd=1.0V
80mA - Model-A idle, as above, + SD-card pulled
(power peaks as card is polled)
33mA - Model-A, after “sudo halt”
(you obviously need to multiple by 5 to get power in mW)
Hope that helps,
- Rob.[/i][/quote]
Currently I have a raspberry pi model b running python & opencv along with a webcam to perform face detection. When a face is found the raspberry pi will send the command to wave to the servotor board. I am powering the PI with a 5v 3300mah li-ion battery pack & using 5 AA niMH 2450 mah batteries for the servos. My plan is to continue working with opencv to detect a tennis ball & to have the robot track & interact with the ball. The possibilities are truly limitless thought it could be configured to find multiple objects also.
There’s a Kickstarter project that is designed to power the Pi on the go - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/130607437/smart-power-base-initial-production-run
Not sure if it’ll do the job for the Servotor32 though.
I saw that! I’m glad to see it’s getting some movement and looks like it will easily be funded. I might need to look into getting one since the Pi is going to be integral to my Hexy going forward.