Source code publicized
(This update is a slightly modified version of the update on our blog. We're still trying to figure out exactly what updates to post where, bear with us!)
It’s been less than a week since we launched our Kickstarter and we are already 75% funded! This is mindblowing! Thank you everyone for donating, for spreading the word, and for believing in us - we'll do you proud.
We’ve received a couple of requests about our source code repository and realized we haven’t ever publicly shared the link. Presently the central repository is a collaborative sandbox and full of experimental code (read: don't expect to make much sense of it yet); we will be separating an easier-to-understand release branch out soon. In the meantime, the link for the curious is here: https://github.com/projecthexapod/main
We’ve also had generous offers from remote developers who want to help. Thank you! We’ll be figuring out the right way to incorporate public contributions as we clean up the repository, stay tuned.
In other news, height mapped terrain is now supported in the simulator. This will let us simulate much more complex and interesting situations than we could previously. Here’s a short demo of what that looks like with Stompy walking blindly forward. The ground is red in honor of Curiosity landing on Mars!
The blue lines are a new feature that help us visually gauge the stability of a gait. The polygon on the ground is called the support polygon. The blue line pointing down from the center of the robot indicates the rough position of the center of mass of the robot. The point where the line from the center of mass meets the ground is called the center of pressure. The closer the center of pressure is to the center of the support polygon, the more stable the gait is. If the center of pressure were ever outside of or on the edge of the support polygon, Stompy would fall over.
As most of you will have seen on our kickstarter page, we’ve received all waterjet parts for the full scale prototype leg and test fitted them together (everything fits). Welding starts on Saturday - look for more updates soon!
Thanks for reading, and for spreading the word. You all are making this possible!
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Sep 2, 2012
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- Website: projecthexapod.com
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The Project Hexapod team will take a field trip to the White Mountains, scale them, and shout your name from the top.
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A snazzy "My Other Car Has 6 Legs" bumper sticker, the listing of your name on our web site as a supporter, and the shouting of your name from a mountaintop.
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A wristband proclaiming "FRIEND OF ROBOTS - DO NOT TERMINATE" that clearly indicates your loyalties in the coming robot apocalypse. Oh, and the sticker, name on our website, and shout-out from the top of a mountain.
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Our stylish Robot Evolution supporter T-shirt, plus the loyalty band, the sticker, your name on our website, and the mountain shout.
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You get two shirts! Whether they're both of one type, or one of each type, they are both yours. You also get the loyalty band, the sticker, your name on our website, and the mountain shout.
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A signed photo of the Project Hexapod team standing in front of Stompy giving cheesy thumbs-ups, a T-shirt, the protective wristband, a sticker, your name on our website, and the shout-out.
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10 characters of your choosing (and our approval) are welded onto the chassis of Stompy, and we'll send you a picture. On top of that, you get the signed picture, T-shirt, band, sticker, name on our website, and shouting.
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WILL IT STOMP?! You get to provide us with an inanimate, non-volatile object of your choice (and our approval) and Stompy will crush it mercilessly. We will then post a video of the crushing on YouTube and set it to techno or some such. You also get the cheesy picture, T-shirt, loyalty wristband, sticker, name on our website, and shouting-from-the-mountaintop.
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You gave us $300? Whoa. You, dear friend, get to ride Stompy on one of our demo days. We suggest dressing up in your finest clothes, because this is going to be a grand celebration! We'll also get you the thumbs-up picture, the T-shirt, the sticker, the wristband, your name on our website, and the shouting.
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You're not satisfied with just a ride - you want both a ride, and the chance to either stomp something or write your name on the chassis in metal. Sounds good! At this level, you'll get both a ride and your choice of the $200 levels.
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Rides? Who needs rides. You certainly don't! You get to DRIVE Stompy on one of our demo days. We'll even throw in a training class beforehand! We strongly suggest a mad scientist look for the occasion - a good lab coat is almost required. You'll also get, of course, the cheesy photo, the Evolution T-shirt, the wristband, the sticker, your name on our website, and the shouting. Oh, the shouting.
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You're awesome. You know that? You're so awesome we're going to give you a chunk of our robot - no, you keep it. You earned it. At this level, we'll send you a signed thigh side plate that you can mount to your wall. We'll even give you a ride. We'll throw in the signed photo (which you could even hang by the thigh piece for context!), the T-shirt, the wristband, the sticker, your name on our website, and, of course, a shout-out. Except you know what? Your name will be shouted louder. That's right.
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Hang on... give us a moment... OK, we've collected ourselves. Congratulations! You've reached our sponsor level! You get an A4-sized logo on the robot's chassis - it'll be like NASCAR, only two orders of magnitude slower! We'll also throw in a ride, the picture, the shirt, the wristband, and the sticker. You'll be listed on our website as a sponsor instead of a supporter, and we'll be screaming your name from that mountain.
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You know those Adopt-A-Highway programs? Well, you've just adopted a leg. That's right. Not only do you get your sponsor logo on the thigh of the leg in question, but you get to design a round logo that the foot will stomp into the ground on every step. We'll give you a ride, the picture, the shirt, the wristband, and the sticker. You'll be listed on our website as a sponsor, and everyone will be screaming your name in unison with a wild look in their eyes.
Estimated delivery: May 2013Pledge $10,000 or more
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Uh. Hang on. Give us a minute. You know what? For this amount of money, we'll fly you to Boston (lower 48 states only!), put you up in a hotel room, and take you out on field trips to run Stompy through local rubble piles, scrap yards, and the like. We'll even throw in a free ice cream from J.P. Lick's and a trip to Bartley's Burgers. We'll give you the picture, the T-shirt, the wristband, and the sticker. You'll be listed as a sponsor on our website, and we'll be shouting your name 'till we're hoarse. Please contact us directly at info@projecthexapod.com to arrange the details of this level.
Estimated delivery: Jun 2013
Comments
Creator Project Hexapod on August 10, 2012
Jay - our primary ground sensing will be our compliant lower legs (we're observing the travel of the giant shock absorbers as we step down). We may add specific ground contact sensors that would likely be force sensitive in some capacity (and definitely will if we get funded for a performance upgrade), as opposed to optical in nature - we believe force sensitive sensors will be more robust to all conditions.
The center of pressure/center of mass does indeed update with leg motion, but the gait is symmetric right now so it doesn't really show up.
Creator Jay Bryon on August 10, 2012
Two questions now (you can ignore the duplicate on the youtube page):
One- do you have specific ideas on your ground sensing platform, i.e. video/CV vs ultrasonics or IR?
And secondly, is the center of pressure moving (recalculated) for leg movement changing the moment of the limb weight? I realize it's probably not much, just curious.
Really looking forward to seeing this develop! I hope to someday be able to use the work you do on my own hexapod-of-unusual-size.