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Update #7: Wood Robots
Apologies for the delay since our last update; we’ve been busy, diligently doing what we originally set out to do--building robots! It’s taken a bit longer than we thought to get things rolling smoothly, but we’re humming along now. We’ve been shipping basic Oculus kits since last month, and plan to start shipping Oculus bots equipped with OcuLED headlights, starting in about a week. Thanks to everyone who is waiting for one or more of these, for your patience.
The wood (birch plywood) models are turning out great--see photo above. The design requires quite a few minor changes from the ABS plastic, since the wood flexes significantly differently, but we’re pretty happy with them. Who knows, we may even consider offer the material as a standard option... is there a market for wood robots?
Update #6: Headlight Production Underway
We finally received the 1st-off of our production circuit board for the Oculus Headlight Accessory; here is a shot of it:
Production is now underway on these boards. We tweaked the design of the housing to fit, and here is the finished light:
We've dubbed it the OcuLED Headlight, and we expect to have all the components in stock and ready to start assembly in a few weeks.
We've also settled on a final version of the Xtion Sensor mounting bracket, and are starting production on a small run of them:
We're recommending that only developers/programmers outfit their Oculus with an Xtion sensor, for now: Oculus software support for the device is still only in the alpha stage, and ASUS seems to be still marketing the Xtion towards developers only.
If, having heeded this advice, you're still game to slap on one of these sensors, North Americans can pick up the PRO LIVE at Newegg for a reduced price of $160, and they're available worldwide through ASUS dealers. We're offering the bracket for $16. If you've ordered an Oculus and want to add a bracket to the order, to save a few bucks on separate shipping charges, please LET US KNOW RIGHT AWAY and we'll set you up.
Bot Production Update
We're commencing final assembly on basic Oculus bots in the next couple days, and hope to start shipping in a week! Bots with lights, including wooden ones, will be shipping next month.
Thanks,
-Colin
Update #5: Oculus in Production
HOLY COW - the last 2 weeks have been really busy. We've made tons of progress with getting Oculus production underway, and continuing development.
Surveys Sent
We sent out the last of the backer surveys today, to get info like mailing addresses, T-shirt sizes, and email addresses. Please fill it out and send it in as soon as possible. If you're expecting product from us and didn't get a survey, please contact us.
RoboRealm Software Licences
We've given the word to the guys from RoboRealm to go ahead and send out licences, via email, to backers who ordered it with their bot. Some of you should have received it already.
ArduinOculus Shipped
We shipped out ArduinOculus boards today to those who ordered them, actually ahead of schedule! Check our latest news post for more info.
Oculus & Lights Production
Things are going as scheduled, so far, with Oculus production. The OcuLED lights are the time consuming part, as we're waiting on LEDs and PCBs from our Chinese suppliers, and they're still getting back up and running after the Chinese New Year holidays over there. We expect to be shipping completed bots + lights in April, as planned. Basic bots without lights will go out in March, as planned.
Continued Development:
We're working on the iOS remote-control client app; we hope to get a decent app sent to the Apple App Store Overlords for their approval ASAP. It will be free, of course. We're also working on Xtion 3D sensor code-integration, and a final version of the Xtion mounting bracket.
We'll post more news as it happens. Thanks again to all our great backers!
Team Xaxxon
Update #4: Oculus Lives
We're funded! And with a few days to spare -- thanks to ALL of our great backers!!!
We promised a report on our progress with the Xtion 3D sensor, for you advanced backers who want to seriously kit out your robot: see our latest blog post for info and a video. We'll make sure we have an Xtion mounting bracket option ready to go in our online store, before we ship robots to our backers in a few weeks, so those who are interested can have a chance to add it and save on a separate shipping charge.
Also - some more good Oculus press surfaced last week, check it out:
gigaom.com – Kickstarter Effort Turns Netbooks into Robots
springwise.com – Kit turns any netbook into a telepresence robot
crave.cnet.co.uk – Turn your Netbook into a Robot with Oculus Wheelie Kit
We'll report back with an update on robot production, as it progresses.
Thanks,
Colin
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Chris Spencer on January 25
In your sample video, I noticed you didn't mount the Xtion on the servo-adjustable part of the frame, so you wouldn't be able to aim the Xtion vertically the way you can with the 2d webcam. Did you design it that way because there's not enough room, or is the Xtion's field of vision large enough where it's not necessary to give it that extra degree of freedom?
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Colin Adamson on January 25
Went with the simple route of just mounting it statically and pointing horizontally for now -- giving it tilt control would require a larger servo and different pivot location, adding more weight and complexity/cost. We figured there isn't much to be gained from having it be able to tilt, since it has a pretty wide field-of-view as it is, and we think it will be mostly used as an autonomous navigation aid. Pointing horizontally seems perfect for that.
The Xtion base does have a vertical pivot built into it though, so you can manually set it to point up-or-down.
Something else worth noting: the sensor we have is the "Live" version, which has an RGB camera as well as the depth camera. For $150 you can get the depth-camera-only version (the Live version is $200), which might make more sense with Oculus, since it makes use of the existing laptop webcam.
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Update #3: Headlight Hardware, Linux, and PrimeSense
We completed hardware and software development for the Oculus base unit a few months ago, and shipped pre-production units to a few lucky early adopters. The feedback has been really good, so you backers can rest-assured you'll be getting a quality, proven product.
What we've been doing lately is working hard on accessories, and expanding on the software. We've just completed the circuit board design for the headlight, released a software update that includes support for bots running Linux OS, and we're really excited about a new sensor we picked up... read on for more info.
Headlight Accessory
This is our prototype, hand-soldered light circuit that served well, and stood up to abuse for a couple months. We're now confident that the design is sound, so the next step was to design a production circuit board:
We're sending this PCB layout to Myropcb, to get a prototype made. The board is 100% Arduino compatible, communication and power is supplied by USB, and the circuit allows fine-grained intensity/dimmer control for the high power Cree-LEDs.
Software Update
We've just released build #499 of the Oculus Server Software, which you can download from our open-source code site if you want to try it out (it doesn't require the Oculus hardware to run). It includes a few minor bugfixes and tweaks, but the main change is the addition of beta functionality for running on Linux OS. A few Linux installation notes are here.
The Asus Xtion PrimeSense 3D Sensor
Anyone who's been following hobbyist robotics over the past year knows that the Microsoft Kinect has turned the playing field upside down--it's an insanely sophisticated 3D sensor, available for about $150, that enables all sorts of possibilities including autonomous navigation and mapping. Previously, equivalent laser-scanner solutions were in the thousands of dollars.
We've been wanting to mount a Kinect to Oculus, but the odd-looking housing, large size, heavy weight, and 12V power requirement made it impractical for the platform.
Enter the ASUS Xtion Pro, powered by the same PrimeSense technology in the Kinect. It requires USB-only power, and is about half the size and weight of the Kinect. We just picked up the 'Live' version which also comes with an RGB camera and stereo micophones. Here is a shot of it with a can for scale:
Here is a shot of it scanning our Oculus bot:
3D scan is rendered on the left (brighter is closer)--RGB camera on the right. This thing has +/- 1cm depth accuracy at 30 frames-per-second--amazing.
We'll report back soon with some direction as to where we're going in terms of incorporating this as an accessory. We hope to have something ready for sale on our website before we ship bots to backers, so those interested can upgrade if they want without having to pay a separate shipping charge.
Feel free to message me with any questions and comments!
Thanks,
Colin
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Anthony V on February 1
Looks like roborealm support will be forthcoming:
http://www.roborealm.com/forum/index.php…#
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I am hoping they do it soon and that its a solid release from the start. As for the Xtion hardware, I'll be adding it as soon as its integrated and available, just let me know when.
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BTW, the post had a link to more info on the Xtion: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/03/primesense-and-asus-team-bring-kinect-like-wavi-xtion-to-your-h/
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Colin Adamson on February 1
Looks like RoboRealm has it done already:
http://www.roborealm.com/help/OpenNI_Kinect.phpWe're still working on the Xtion mounting bracket and software integration--the bracket should be ready soon. So far can only get the Xtion AND the stock webcam running both at the same time under Linux, on a basic Acer Aspire One. Windows doesn't allow both to run at the same time, I think due to the netbook's single USB controller bandwidth limitations. Linux allows it, but its a bit unstable-- having to put error checking in the code, etc. Looking for a windows workaround too. Stay tuned
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 31.
Pledge $30 or more Pledge $30 or more
You'll get a one-of-a-kind Xaxxon T-shirt, shipping included. Thanks for backing Oculus!
Pledge $40 or more Pledge $40 or more
You'll receive the ArduinOculus microcontroller board: this is the same open-hardware, Arduino compatible PCB found in the Oculus robot, great for general robotics projects. Shipping included.
Pledge $225 or more Pledge $225 or more
You'll receive a fully-assembled Oculus Robot kit, which will have a future retail price of $270. Includes the motorized frame and periscope, charging dock, DC plug adapter set, and software. Includes shipping within USA and Canada, for other countries add $85. (Note: netbook not included).
Pledge $270 or more Pledge $270 or more
You'll receive the complete Oculus Robot kit AND the dual-Cree-LED powered headlight accessory. Includes shipping within USA and Canada, for other countries add $85. (Note: netbook not included).
Pledge $314 or more Pledge $314 or more
You'll receive the complete Oculus Robot kit, the headlight accessory, AND a licensed copy of RoboRealm® computer vision software. Includes shipping within USA and Canada, for other countries add $85. (Note: netbook not included).
Pledge $420 or more Pledge $420 or more
Limited edition Oculus and headlight, with the frame made out of precision laser-cut plywood instead of ABS plastic. That's right - a WOOD robot! You'll also receive the RoboRealm® software application AND the Xaxxon T-shirt. Includes shipping within USA and Canada, for other countries add $90. (Note: netbook not included).
Project By
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Colin Adamson has 19 years of manufacturing and product design experience, a degree in industrial design, and is credited with several patents. He has been programming computers since an early age--including coding raw machine language at age 12 in the early 80s (because Atari BASIC was too slow to make decent video games).
He is also a father, husband, maker, hacker, mountain biker, kayaker, and snowboarder. He can usually be found in his garage-turned-machine shop, writing code, burning his hands with soldering irons, and building bikes.
any updates?
Yes, update: Our goal WAS to ship everything in April--we've shipped all but a handful of the plastic kits to backers now. Production has taken a bit longer than expected, but it’s gone pretty well and we’re happy with the quality.
Fabrication of the birch plywood frames have unfortunately been hit with a delay. After testing a pair of the wood ones for a few weeks, we’ve decided to make a few last minute changes, mainly to the charging/docking contact area, to be confident in the reliability (the flex has to be just right in this area for docking to work every time). We’re just about ready with the revised layout to send to our laser cutter--we hope to have cut parts ready to assemble next week. Testing, assembly and shipping will take 3-4 days; will send out tracking information individually when they ship!