robotmaker
I buy a lot of NEATO XV-11 ROBOTIC vacuum cleaner and take apart and sell the parts mostly the LASER
A looking at the idea that DJ uses to control IROBOT ROOMBA with serial and it can be done the same way.
FEW hack sites has info on the serial commands and they have it controlled by another computer
NEATO XV11 if you read the many reviews on it ,its a lot better then ROOMBA ,one main reason it uses a LIDAR tracking system ,where ROOMBA uses a IR BEACON system
SO it will make a great robotic base,used ones on ebay are about $100
MAY be latter DJ can make a Movement Panel for it,but for now it can be controlled by serial using scripts.
LIKE to hear any good or bad comments on it,and will be looking at the code soon, do need to open it and solder wire to ground and TX line.
For those brave souls planning to use the Neato Lidar in a stand alone environment you are going to need additional components that will provide PWM control of the Lidar motor rpm to maintain a constant speed. Then a program to decode the hex data output from the Lidar unit.
@IEEEbiofeedback,
If you are looking for a GREAT reasonbly priced Lidar Radar, go to:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/I-AM-SELLING-A-NEW-XV-11-LIDAR-LASER-AT-VERY-LOW-COST-/271247546446?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f279d184e#ht_741wt_1247
He was able to use the LIDAR in serial!
If you want questions, you can email to jamericanfreddyATyahooDOTcom
Hope this helps.
Thanks Robot-doc and Rich,
Your suggestion of using EventGhost looks good Rich. I'm familiar with Python enough to pull that together. I found your YouTube video that looks pretty clear.
I'll report back here in the next day or two with my results and what I've learned.
Cheers,
Bill