Hi Richard R,

Have you looked at it and the software to see if it may work with the EZB? You know my software skills are null so I have no idea if it is a good thing. I was hoping for something which used the Lidar sensor instead of ultra sonic, but what is your opinion of this unit?

Ron R

This is a great solution to an indoor location system but may take a lot of work to integrate into the EZB controller (if at all). Pricing is very reasonable when compared to Lidar hardware / software that are not very well packaged for easy use.

I guess we need to wait for DJ's plan. I hope it comes soon. The new camera is to be part of it.

Ron R

Unless the software can export position information (like RoboRealm) it will not be easy to integrate into ARC/ezb4.... As Doc mentioned it does look promising and at a reasonable price point to boot ($299 US)..... I think d.cochran would be the guy to ask if integration with ARC would be possible...

I think it looks promissing. From the data sheet, the pc or pi isn't needed once the system is setup. This would indicate that the robot would know the location without needing to use the pc I assume. You have to have at least 3 of these able to have unobstructed view of your robot. The cost of each device is about $50 USD. My modest house would need about 30 of these sensors mounted to walls along with the tracker and router. Add to that power. This all would cost about $2000, but once setup, all robots from that point forward could use it.

Interesting product but I can't promise that it would for sure work with ARC or not.

Good point David.... I was only thinking one room. A whole house would be costly.... Not to mention having these unsightly sonar beacons all over your house. Still, I would consider this for one room (but not the entire house)... DJ's idea about using a single camera up in the corner of the room would certainly be a less obtrusive set up all around and probably much cheaper while requiring less hardware to do larger areas.... I guess we'll see...

Thanks to all. Lets hope DJ's idea comes soon.

Ron R

I am working on this issue right now as a part of my Rafiki project. The concept is to have these capabilities plus a lot more without having an electronics device being placed on a wall.

A Rafiki pod has a great microphone (picks up clearly at up to 25 feet), a speaker, camera, neopixel ring and a low cost single board computer with wifi. This device can connect to other pods and robots to share information. Because it has a camera, it can not only tell where the robot is, but also tell where you are in the house. This allows you to say something like Rafiki, come here, and the robot would know where 'here' is. The speaker in the pod allows Rafiki to talk to the person and the person to talk to the robot even when in completely different parts of a building. Also, because it is wifi, the pod can connect to the internet to get information from services on the internet, or play your favorite playlist in the room or entire house. It also allows people in a house to communicate with each other through an intercom type system or connect to z-wave devices to unlock doors, dim lights, control thermostats or any number of other things.

This is one part of Rafiki that allows it to be a whole house solution to robotics. The picture is of a built prototype. Programming of it has already started. I anticipate that a majority of the programming of this device will be completed in about 2 months. I will post videos when this part of Rafiki is complete.