UweP
The VR Rover - VR Robot For Meta Quest 2
My project is now ready to present it to you.
The VR Rover
VR Rover with 3D stereo camera, live voice chat, exchangeable battery system, onboard PC and Meta Quest VR App.
I wanted a platform to test and get familiar with ARC/EZB/VR. Unity was also new to me, my distant goal is to convert my inMoov to ARC/EZB/VR.
VR Rover hardware
The basis is the Rover Roli from ez-robot, I have changed/installed everything:
Exchangeable battery system 18V/5.2 Ah, more information here: Rover-Roli-on-steroids-battery-extension
3 x step down converters (18V to 7.5V ECB, 18V to 12V PC, 18V to 5V Stereopi and Fan) Voltage divider (EZB analog port) for battery monitoring 2x USB relay to turn on/off EZB and Stereopi via batch script Link
onboard PC (SBC) Chuwi Larkbox with docking station Link
2 buttons (EZB analog ports), one to switch off the system, one reserve, 2 USB 4 port hub
live voice chat with conference microphone/speaker eMeet Link
StereoPi V2 with HDMI to USB Capture, I still had this lying around Link Stereopi Link Capture
and most importantly -> lips
However, 2 USB cameras are also possible
VR Rover software
The basis is the skill Dual-Camera-Servo-Server
I created the VR Meta Quest app myself, it can work with both stereo streams, SideBySide (e.g. StereoPi) or 2 USB cameras, this can be set in the app setup.
I also created a Windows program for the live voice chat function, this runs parallel to ARC on the MiniPC (SBC), it can be used to communicate in real time via the VR Rover and the Meta Quest (requires Visual Studio 2019 Redist).
In SideBySide mode I still have the second video stream free, here I transfer the radar skill for a picture in a picture If you use the mode with 2 USB cameras and only one USB camera transmits, you can also display a picture with the second video stream.
For transferring ARC skill content, DJ created two new skills, thank you very much! Robot-Skill-to-Camera Screen-To-Camera
The HUD overlays can be placed and scaled freely, the video screens can be resized. The digital clone of the VR Rover can also be displayed and freely scaled and rotated (SideBySide only).
Previous experiences/insights
PC Chuwi Larkbox, this little guy is really powerful for its size, disadvantages are the price and the fact that you can only turn it on with the button. There is no way to switch it on, e.g. when there is a power supply (bios).
The Rock Pi was far too weak to meet my needs.
Rover Roli, a good platform with plenty of space for your own ideas, the chain drive is a disadvantage for me, he doesn't like carpet at all, wheels might be better here.
What's next?
Lidar, I already have it here... Integrate arms, control via controller ... Animate the digital clone of the VR Rover in the app to the current servo positions, I still have to see how I can get the current servo positions to Unity.
Here you can download the VR app and the chat program:
- VR Rover APP and VR Rover Windows Chat
STL files: https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Miscellaneous/Adapter_plate_Einhell_battery--5d506d23-a6d6-423e-ae1f-d883eec71eee https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Miscellaneous/Ventilation_grille_front_Rover--57350c9b-7963-4fc3-b300-e6a986710063 https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Miscellaneous/PC_Dock--dbe0390e-fcd7-4342-9564-49f29311727c https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Miscellaneous/SpeakerHolder--772c0077-b79e-403f-aa69-6edf847e35e7 https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Sensors-Cameras/StereoPi--edb28a31-28ff-451d-bedc-6f9624a74acc https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Sensors-Cameras/Stereocamera_rig--f0adc1f0-9df2-4d50-8588-e9670093b89b https://synthiam.com/Community/3DParts/Miscellaneous/Lips--e2f6f647-aaf2-4829-8fb4-122f0ab73c50
UweP
I was trying to make it a robot project, but sorry, that sucks. I did everything twice, but I couldn't save it in the end, the selected start image was always deleted ...
Ohhh, its an analog to digital converter, that makes a bit more sense.
Hi Winterrrrrrrrrr,
the EZB 4 has also analog Ports:
The ADC Analog Ports are labelled A0 through A7, and run down the right side. https://www.ez-robot.com/learn-robotics-ezb-smart-robot-controller-overview.html
@ DJ thanks ....
Hi Winterrrrrrrrrr, To add to what you found out and what UwrP said;
The analog ports signal pin reads voltage. It can be used to watch voltage changes in devices and switches. Personally send a voltage feed from a power pin on the ADC port (regulated by the EZB to 3.3 volts) through switches (open or closed) and back to a signal ADC pin . When I activate the switch, the signal pin reads the voltage change. I have scripts that watch that ADC port and will run when they see the change.
The only problem I've had was when a switch is normally open, there is a voltage build up (static) and the reading will float high. To solve this I install a10k Pull Down resistor between the signal pin and the ground pin near the ADC port I'm using.
Here's a link to the very hard to find EZB-4 datasheet located deep in the EZ Robot website. I don't know why but it's always been hard for me to find. It has lots of very good info that is good to know about the EZB: EZB - 4 Datasheet on EZ Robot website
Very cool stuff. Have fun!!
oh yes, I also had to search for a long time to get all the information together. On the one hand i use the analog ports to monitor my 18V battery, on the other hand for the buttons.
These two threads helped me a lot:
voltage divider: https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/Automatic-Battery-Charger-Docking-6103/comments Post #95
button: https://synthiam.com/Community/Questions/Pull-Down-Resistor-3472
Dave, I didn't know that link either, thank you very much, very helpful ...
@dave, you can also view the datasheet and stuff on the Hardware page on Synthiam. All the supported hardware is listed nicely on the left menu in the support section. Here's a direct link: https://synthiam.com/Support/Hardware/EZ-B-v4
@DJ, Thanks. Your site is set up a lot better to find stuff then EZ Robot's.