We've launched an exciting new project of our own! Introducing the Kickstarter app for iPhone!

Funded! This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 31, 2012.

Oculus Lives

Update #4 · Jan 25, 2012 · 2 comments

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

Comments

    1. Rca_machining.small

      Creator Colin Adamson on January 25, 2012

      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.

    2. Missing_small

      Creator Chris Spencer on January 25, 2012

      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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Funding period
Dec 17, 2011 - Jan 31, 2012 (45 days)

Rca_machining.medium

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