EZ-AI development is on hold right now, well kind of...
We are in the process of working with some services that will allow the capabilities of EZ-AI to be far better than what they currently are. These include Wolfram|Alpha and IBM BlueMix/Watson. Speech Recognition will be performed through Nuance Cloud services. Advanced vision features will be available through OpenCV. A quick search of these services will allow you to see the end goal of what we are doing. These will be in the Rafiki project which is the primary focus at this time for CochranRobotics. We will release a limited use version for free which will replace EZ-AI. All of the current features of the EZ-AI database will be available through the new version. All of the services provided by EZ-AI will be available through REST queries and exposed services. This will allow plugins to ARC to be able to use these services.
There has been a huge amount of changes to what is possible since I first started working on EZ-AI. This huge shift of improved technologies has made it necessary to rework EZ-AI so that it can continue to grow and mature.
We are also toying with the idea of allowing programmers to write their own business logic layer within Rafiki. This would allow a programmer to be able to use the core services of Rafiki/EZ-AI and write their own applications with the data that is returned. It will probably be a while before this is implemented, but it is something that we are trying to make happen.
I have probably said too much, but wanted to give you all a picture of what is happening and why EZ-AI isn't being worked on directly. We hope to have our new AI available around the end of the year. There are multiple developers working on this while I find come up with solutions to other problems that arise.
As far as Rafiki goes, the pods are functioning great and additional code/abilities are being added almost daily. The models for the pods are being tweaked to expose the HDMI and usb ports and network port to the outside of the case. This will allow someone to connect a mouse, keyboard and monitor to the pod and use it as a computer if they would like. The Rafiki Bot is about 1/3 of the way printed. I am making modifications to the models as needed and reprinting some of the parts as needed. There will be 6 subsystems on this robot. 3 of these subsystems have been written and are ready to use. The other 3 subsystems cant be worked on until more of the Rafiki Bot has been printed. The 3 that are not complete are all very similar for motor control. I hope to have these ready in a couple of weeks. I should be able to show a demo of the Rafiki Bot in about a month, and then all of the robot programming starts. I will work on the charger base shortly after the robot has been completed and the pods are all working with all of their functionality.
One more thing on EZ-AI... As a part of this rewrite, you will just need to have Java installed on your computer to install and use EZ-AI. The days of the huge install will be behind us so it should make it far better in the long run. The other thing that this allows is robot platform independence. I will be working on modules in ARC to allow the features of EZ-AI to be accessible far more easily. This will probably not be worked on until December at the earliest.
Okay, going back to my robot cave. Have a great day all.
I understand. I had a part printing for about 8 hours and the hot end clogged on me the other day. I spent this morning replacing the hot end assembly on my printer to get things going again. It is a pain to do but should last through the build of another Rafiki again. I need to soak the other hot end in acetone for a while to see if I can free the clog. Hopefully it isn't trash.
Hello Dave, I will be placing an order for EZ Robot parts soon. Do you have a rough list of EZ Robot components needed for Rafiki yet? I assume the new version of the EZB, once it is released, will be needed. I have some items now and want to see if I can use them (compass, cables, servos).
Ron
I show part 2 in the shell file fitting on my heat bed. It will take about 19 hrs 15 minutes , with brim, 1.2mm layer height 15% fill. Sounds ok ? (I changed the wall and infill. Will it be allright ?, or does it really need to be heavier?) It does fit on my Hictop (200 x 270) but not on My Borlee (200 x 200). I will try to see what fits on the smaller print area because it is the most common size bed, and let you know. I will begin tomorrow or Monday.
I use a power adapter, a power base, a 4 in 1 sensor and the EZ B.
When the new 1/2 comes out I will use it with one of the new com boards.
On part 2, it is probably the largest piece and will give you a good idea if your printer is going to have issues with printing the parts for Rafiki. I printed my last one at .2 mm layer height 15% infill. On this one I will print all of the parts except for 2 of them at .3 mm layer height.
The reason that I don't think it will matter is that after the parts are fitted, you will have sanding and filling to do anyway, so layer height really isn't going to do much in the end.
I am using Cura ver 15.04 on both of my machines. Temps are 225/80, and I will use .2mm 15% also. The top and bottom are 1.2. I think this will be strong enough. My only fear is layer cracking due to the size of the shell parts. If I get any cracks, I hope they stay small. I will increase the brim from what I am using now to keep from having any first layer issues and good adhesion to the glass.
I am near the end of the Base files and so far they came out ok. My slicer screwed up the top of the hook on one of the parts but it is only the hook. Once they are done I will sand and fit them and wait for the motors. I may have to modify the battery tray if my battery doesn't fit, but not by much. I also want to add a battery strap in case it ends up loose. The 20 ah sealed batteries are 7.1" x 3" x about the same height, which may be a future option. The cost is considerably lower than your production spec. battery. I will let you know how I make out.
Sounds good. I have also thought about a strap but haven't needed it with this battery due to its very tight fit in the base.
If you have any issues with printing the shell, let me know and I will cut down the large/tall pieces to fit more printers. I have been wanting to do this anyway.
Let me know how part 2 in shell1.zip goes. It will let me know if I need to do this or not.
Also, I really don't sand down the base. It is completely hidden so I don't worry about it much. I have thought hard about making cold cast parts after this one is completed which would be based off of one that is very smooth. It is a ways down the road though and it might not happen. It just all depends on if I can get all of the other things finished and this one printed and assembled.
I really need about 4 more 3D printers for the next 6 months. That sure would go a long ways toward getting everything done that I want to get done.
I used brims to try to eliminate loosing the bond to the glass so I just need to clean them up. I would still consider a strap in the future for the battery, just in case. My plan was to make a small notch in part 9 and 12 and slide a piece of 3/8" or 1/2" Velcro hook side under the base and up and around the ends of the battery. Then close it with a 5" piece of the Velcro "fuzz" side to strap it in. I may use the sealed battery down the road which will require a modification to 9 & 12 and the strap anyway.
I will print part 2 first and let you know how it comes out.
velcro is a good option. Let me think on this a bit. I may need to modify a couple of parts in the base to allow a velcro strap to be used.