9-Nov-09

Robo-Chopper Interface program available!


The Robo-Chopper is coming along! The team is currently in Phase 1 of development. We have recently finished work on the first version of the Interface, you can download it from the wiki. If you have any comments/suggestions please email me.

V:Visitors, new show on ABC

me: dude so i watched the pilot for this new show on abc tonight
Mike: whats it about?
me: sucking ass
its like the writers decided to make a hybrid of independence day and 24, which was an awful idea
Mike: yes
me: then the jonas brothers and miley cyrus peed on the script.

11-Sep-09

Recently my website has been down due to financial reasons. However, we're back!








I've been doing a lot of work for the Robo-Chopper. Here's a picture of the CAD model for the Test-Stand I'm going to build. Woot for Alibre Express (free 3D CAD software).









I'm pretty much all moved into my new apartment, in Belleville IL. It's kind of big, plus I have room for my office/shop. Which I have quickly littered with sawdust and solder.

By the way, Always Remember.

5-Aug-09

It's been a busy Summer! Besides finishing my Electrical Engineering degree at SIUC, I "participated" in an in-land hurricane, started a new job, and broke up with my girlfriend.

However, the Robo-Chopper is coming along (slowly) but it is, I promise. Right now I'm currently developing the Remote Control Unit (RCU) for the Chopper, which will be a XBox 360 Controller, slightly modified. The RCU incorporates a Propeller (duh), and of course is Open-Source. All my code is on my Google Code SVN, which you can look at from my site. The RCU is being developed for the 2009 Parallax Design Contest, so root for me! It will also be compatible with the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) Protocol too, (eventually), with a SPIN Library developed by, you guessed it, me. When this is all working I'll post it on here as well as the Parallax Object Exchange.

By the way, Danica McKellar, if you ever ditch your d-bag composer husband, I'm available. (Also taking applications.)

Rocket Plane version 3

Put up a site for my Rocket Plane project, you can see it here. Had a very successful test fire of a rocket engine today, hopefully by this weekend at least one plane will be launched. Pictures and videos will be added to that site soon.

Keep working on the Robo-Chopper, working on some DSP for the complementary filter for measuring the angle, using an accelerometer and a gyroscope sensor. There's a lot more work to do with it though, so stay tuned.

Graduated and New Project

So I graduated. Yay.







More importantly, I'm starting on another project with a good friend of mine, Michael Welling. To honor the release of Terminator Salvation, we are making a robotic helicopter.

Yeah it's awesome I know. We are still in very preliminary planning stages but expect some cool stuff out of this.

You can check out our project website. We will also be setting up an SVN for anyone to view, bill of materials and an Engineering Notes page to detail our development work.

SIU Robotics in the Daily Egyptian

SIU Robotics was featured in the Daily Egyptian today.
Daily Egyptian Article

I'd like to thank everyone who is involved with SIU Robotics, we couldn't get anywhere without dedicated people!

Also, the FRC Regional is this weekend in St. Louis. You can get more info here:
Team Website
Blue Alliance Info
Chief Delphi
St. Louis Regional Info