ASP.NET 2

I am reading the book Wrox: Beginning ASP.NET 4.5.1: in C# and VB. Third of the book is now accomplished. I made some shortcuts, because I am interested in databases in the latter part of this book. The book itself is very good. The book is using Visual Studio 2013.  I am using it, although Visual Studio 2015 is available. There should not be any mismatches.

I designed and coded  SQL databases using Client/Server model. Currently all is going to the cloud and ASP.NET is the answer, if Microsoft technology is used. ASP,NET is trickier to program than the Client/Server. I excepted it was easier, but I have now to adjust. I have seen many online database applications based on ASP.NET.

I will get Eddie back tomorrow!

ASP.NET 1

I am also studying ASP.NET. The target is to create database to the Azure (MS Cloud) and possibly website that is connected to Eddie

New Dashboard

Proposed user interface is now renewed:

Straight slider is controlling both wheels with the same power and turn slider  distributes it. It is like steering a ship. Stop button set slider values to zero stopping Eddie.

I have used a lot of time to get one old VB6 program to work. It will possibly benefit Eddie.

I get Eddie in touch after Thanksgiving and then is the testing time.

Some Thoughts and Future Plans

Eddie can now read his USB port fluently. I was stuck with string and character handling. It is different from the technics 20 years ago. Some testing and learning is needed.

Eddie was originally designed and targeted for the Microsoft Robotics Studio that was considered complicated and difficult. I am now keeping things simple. Eddie will read sensors, evaluate next step, go forward etc.. It is not so sophisticated, but should work.

I have an old navigation & position  software and naturally a source code. Converting that to Eddie is a huge challenge. I am going to try. Basically I have to rewrite the whole software, because it was designed with MS Visual Basic with other add-ins. I simply cannot convert it with current conversion tools.

I like to make an indoor navigation system. There are ways to do that. GPS won't work inside, anyway. A Finnish startup company IndoorAtlas has a solution that is based on magnetic anomalies, that exist in buildings because of their metal structures. I worked a lot with magnetometers and their applications. I regret that I didn't invent that:)

When I bought Eddie. I had an idea to create visitor tour robot over Internet. It makes tour  through predesigned paths in a building and yard. Skype technology will be possibly used. So visitors don't need to visit  in a tour place. A big challenge!

Other idea is a land mine detection system that touch a bit what I was doing in past. Or something totally new...

OK, this was a dreaming session and back to work tomorrow to make ground work

User Interface

Here is a proposed user interface with Visual Studio:

This is a starting point and grow, when other features are added. Now it needs code. Currently I can control wheels in the debug mode. 

Kinect XBOX 360 Installation

I tried to install the Kinect XBOX 360 camera to Eddie. It worked earlier. Problem is Windows 10 and hope Microsoft will fix it. The newer model with SDK 2.0 should work, but no plans to buy it. The new SDK won't support XBOX 360. For the time being Eddie is blind and it has to trust proximity sensors.

First C# Test

I can now control Eddie with MS Visual Studio/C#. USB connection works like RS232 Serial Interface! Routines are very same. I worked a lot with serial interface programming twenty years ago and I feel nothing has changed. It is now good to continue. I actually used a C#-code from the Net and then modified it for testing. Anyway, still very long way to go.

New Eddie Control Board Installation

I installed the new Eddie control board and it is working. Wheels are turning and I can read distance sensors with Parallax Serial Terminal. I don't get info from position controllers. I think they are broken. Parallax warned they are sensitive and they have a new redesigned set of them. For a while I am not going to do dead reckoning, so let it be. Quite much work to recall all setups after three years.

New Start

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio  is dead. Microsoft suspended it a year ago and won't support it anymore. Anyway, I am not going to give up. I'm going to "think big". So, the story goes on.

I have a dream building a robot, that uses databases and navigates with maps and geographic coordinates. I will use my former experience in this field and then create something new. Virtual Reality, Internet of Things and Cloud technologies give enormous challenges.

Currently robotic rovers are widely used and there is no pioneer work. I believe the ideas will pop-up. Now it is a learning time and combine the technologies I used earlier in my career. Typically I have been involved building prototypes and make pioneer work and I still love to do it. It is very challenging and needs hard work without counting hours.

I have been a Microsoft guy all my professional life  and I  believe that Microsoft is still innovating, not stuck in past. I have seen new Microsoft keynotes and I have a reason to believe so. Microsoft has now a new free Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition that is at professional level. It will be my tool and I will use C# as a programming language.

Other option is  to use Open Source platforms that are mainly used in robotics. Learning curve is too steep and I would need more time than with Microsoft technology that I have known. Software business is very dynamic and it can be possible that I have to go the Open Source, e.g. ROS (Robot Operating System with Linux). Anyway, the time is not wasted, because the software foundation is pretty same in all technologies.

Let's start with Eddie the robot.