The first sign of this type of code appears in Blink Without Delay on the Arduino site. Global variables are used within the loop() function to to avoid the need for a separate loop. My code does something similar but on a grandeur scale:

The code


/*
* Divider
*
* Basic principal is the system has a position and where it wants to get to.
* It divides the difference by the 'divider' until it gets within the 'fuzz' of the
* desired value.
*
* This is designed to allow multiple servos to move to a desired location at
* the same time. The benefit is the system isn't caught in a loop so the desired
* position can be changed.
*
* For testing, the desired location 'going' is received via Serial.
*
*/

int curPos[2]; // current position
int i_going[2]; // desired position
int difference = 0; // holding value for the difference from position to going
int fuzz = 2; // degree of accuracy for checking the value
int divider = 3; // the divider used to calculate the gap to shorten (higher number is slower)

void setup()
{
// begin the serial communication
Serial.begin(9600);
curPos[0] = 0;
curPos[1] = 100;
i_going[0] = 100;
i_going[1] = 0;
}

void loop()
{

// check if data has been sent from the computer
if (Serial.available()) {
// read the most recent byte (which will be from 0 to 255)
i_going[0] = Serial.read();
}
curPos[0] = movePos(curPos[0], i_going[0]);
curPos[1] = movePos(curPos[1], i_going[1]);
}

int movePos(int pos, int going) {
if (pos (going+fuzz)) {
difference = ceil((abs(going - pos)) / divider);
pos -= difference;
Serial.print("position is now: ");
Serial.println(pos);
}
return pos;
}

The meaning

Quite simply, the code uses a function to move a value closer and closer to it’s destination with each passing. I use a divider (in this case 3) to make the transition smoother. The server will move one third the distance to the destination with each pass. Now this code is just a test scenario, and displays the values of position out to serial. But quickly it could be adapted to handle an array of servos. I might even post that code when I get there!

First steps in Roomba serial

Starting at the website for Hacking Roomba got me just to the point of confusion. Seems I needed a little background help before I dove in (and I’m not about to buy the book, for I have the internet at my disposal). First step is building the cable to connect to the Roomba. It is a 7-pin or 8-pin mini din. But what pin connects to what on the Arduino? Good question, and it took some experimenting to solve. Here is a map of the pins as seen on the connector (male side)
Larger image

So after some testing, pins 1 and 2 are voltage and plug into the Vin on the Arduino. Either one, doesn’t seem to matter which (maybe both?) but I got one working. The other half is that pins 7 and 8 (on the 8-pin plug which I used) are ground. Again, only one seems to be necessary and that plugs into one of the GND plugs on the Arduino.

Now the fun stuff? A little in Serial: TX and RX stand for Transfer and Receive. The TX on the Arduino is SENDING information so that needs to be the RX on the Roomba or pin 3. RX on the Arduino is receiving and goes to pin 5. And the DD (I don’t know what that means) goes to pin 6.

I did manage to get my Roomba rolling with this new found knowledge. Beware, it will not stop unless picked up. However, I could not get any sensor data from the Roomba into the Arduino. I see this problem has happened to others. Something to do with the refresh on the sensor update function. More experimenting will be required but may be out of my league.

Next steps

My next step will be to attempt to add my own sensor and control the Roomba with that. I think I’ll add a light sensor and maybe hack into some of the Roomba sensors directly if possible.

After the fact

I recently found this link a manual for the roomba serial spec. Looks very promising. Also, setting the delay to 64 seems to give better results on the Roomba sensor. Still not 100% though.

Well my nomadic friend, I am here to help. This is not a new problem, nor is there a quick one stop solution. Each environment requires a different combination of solutions. But working remotely is definitely not a lost cause. In fact, it’s rewarding beyond your wildest dreams!

People

Communication is without a doubt the key to success for any business. The first step is getting used to not seeing the person you’re communicating with (unless you have the luxury of video conf, which I don’t and wouldn’t want). Get used to showing your emotions by typing them. Yes, even in business this is very important. When a person is wondering if you’re scalding mad or being sarcastic, a simple “j/k” or a wink is all you need to clear the air.

Programs like Skype http://www.skype.com/ are popping up too. They provide telelphone like service all over the world for pennies a minute. Mind you, quality isn’t exactly what I would like in a phone call. You might consider a VOIP solution like Vonage for a bit more money. With Vonage, you get a phone number that people can call you too.

MSN or some other type of instant messaging tool is required. The down side to MSN is it’s not secure and doesn’t come with a lot of great features. Campfire http://www.campfirenow.com/ is a 37 Signal project that may do the trick if you need a bit more security and features.

Email is incredibly important on the road. Especially in places where internet access is brief and expensive. I’m hooked on Exchange, because it stores my tasks and calendar in one place like outlook. I don’t like it cause is MS and my Mac FireFox doesn’t work GREAT with it. But oh well, I’m still a 50% PC user for now. You’ll definitely want something that’s secure and has descent web access.

Lastly, the crackberry. I’m not a user, and hopefully never will be. But my customers understand that there’s a reasonable time period before I will return a call. In the 24 hour range usually. But if you need quicker response and are hanging in an area that supports them, they could be a great way to stay in touch.

Managing projects with my clients and team is always a challenge. Geeks of design and code medling with customers is always fun. We’ve been using Basecamp lately with a lot of success. It gives the customer access to their projects to see what’s happening. While other team members can collaborate accross distance and time zones. The beauty is even our not-so-technical designers can use the features (which are nicely limited).

Data logistics

My biggest hurdles lately have come from my data storage. I have a few gigs of client data stored in a central location. I can make a VPN connection to my network, and share the drives that my data is stored on. This prevents duplication of data while maintaining some security. I can also make remote connections to machines on my network if I need access to certain programs. The draw back is I need an active connection to work.

An alternative is grab the files that I need to work on and store them locally until I get back to a connection. This usually involves a full dump when I’m back which sux. There are sync programs out there, but I’ve never been too impressed. I usually get agry and just live with lost changes.

Some have found carrying a USB backup (4gig or so) can help, I prefer to minimize the extra digital devices that I cary.

Wifi locators can be helpful. They’re the size of a key chain and tell you the strength of the wireless connection in the area. But again, just extra stuff to carry.

An online subscription to O’reilly Safari http://safari.oreilly.com online books so I don’t have to carry any books around with me. Great service, worth every penny!

That should get you to the point where you can safely work off site. Try to test your system before you’re too far away to tweak anything. Then take off for a short period and see how work goes. Some clients are fine with it and won’t even notice, others will hassle you about lack of service. Call forwarding is a great way to give the illusion of being in an office. See if it’s worth it. You might lose a few clients, but in the big picture you’ll gain a whole lot more. Enjoy!

since… well… forever, people have been treated like toasters. the assumption has been, if something needs to happen from someone, they need a direct order. like an order you give a toaster. nothing less will do. and this is good, if you want someone not to kill, you say, don’t kill. simple.

but it actually doesn’t work… ever

the problem is inherent is that people aren’t motivated by direct commands like computers and toasters. people are motivated by hunger, greed, curiosity, empathy… you get my drift. every once in a while, the command will match what the person is doing and credit goes to the command. for instance, a boss says ‘write this report’ the boss thinks she’s good at giving commands, in reality the employee is motivated by food and shelter or something of the sort. the command was really just a detail filler and could have been ‘if you want to eat this month, you are going to have to write this report’.

this is the same reason prohibition never really panned out (leap.cc), why the drug trade runs rampant with billions of dollars funding the opposite, and why people speed… it’s illegal to speed, that’s a fact. does that enter into the mind of a person when they’re breaking the law? no. no one really cares what is legal and what isn’t. it’s the fine or jail time or crashing their car that motivates a person’s behavior.

there’s a city in sweden (i’ll have to check my sources on that one) employing a philosophy called Shred Space that is doing away with major rules of the road. the only rules left are commonly accepted guidelines for everyone. ‘yield to the right, pedestrians have the right of way’. that’s all. most would imagine chaos would ensue after mere minutes. i will argue the alternative.

without rules, people will be forced to think for themselves. ‘is this a good idea?’ ‘will this bring me to my motivations?’ and if there is any way possible to have socially enforced behavior ‘hey man, that’s not cool that you’re in a rush and honking at everyone’. it might actually work. the unfortunate side effect, a lot of bosses might realize they sucked. live and learn

i’m not saying this cause i think the web is weak, i’m saying this cause i think we’re weak. what are the great developments of the 21st century? where are the incredible advances in user interface that these machines so desperately need? oh right, we ignore them…

we become stuck with what ‘works’ and never move past it. the qwerty keyboard was built to inhibit efficient communication and even 133 years later, we still use it… the mouse was mass produced because out of the options at standford in 1980, it was the best (well yeah, the alternative was a chin pointer!). the best thing since the mouse? they put a wheel on it! WOW

so then when can we expect to see the great leap of user interface on the web? we probably missed it because we were too lazy to give it a chance…

so please, post the user interfaces that have been missed, send them out. the mouse is only intuitive because we’ve been trained how to use it.

some good interfaces i’ve found

• ThinkMap visual thesaurus
• Go2Web20.net

their buses smell like bumper cars, that static smell… bumper buses is where this is going i think

but most important, wow, they have really cool buildings and streets… and stores of course… my hotel even has a starbucks in it… THANK GOD!