rbonari
I am very interested in Ezrobot Products, especially the Roli Rover. I am looking for and have been for some time, an economical security type robot for home use where I can control the base over the internet and control the camera pan/tilt functions over the internet and stream live video streaming over the internet using my Samsung Galaxy S4 over their 4G network. what came close was the Brookstone Rover Revolution Robot. However they didn't allow it to be accessed over the internet. I have a couple of questions regarding the Roli Rover specifically. Will this Rover be able to traverse over a carpet (not the shag type)? Also I was wondering what the capability of the pan/tilt system is? What is the pan range and the tilt range. The pan range isn't so critical as the robot can be driven to also pan the camera. What is a bit critical is the tilt range. Can the tilt mechanism be raised enough to be able to look up at windows and doorways, etc.? Also your robots seem to have some high power computing power and was wondering how the video stream is over the internet say using my Samsung Galaxy S4 over the 4G network? Again seems like the main computer is pretty heavy duty. Seems it off loads motor control and other robot control functions to the PIC32 processor. Also what is a typical delay or latency over the network with a video stream of say 240 X 320 resolution and possibly higher. Is there a way I could test this out without first purchasing the complete robot? also is there much latency in the actual control or driving of the base itself. It would also be nice if you could view the video stream at night. Are there any plans to add some IR LEDs to the camera or around it for use at night or in dark areas. Seems that this could be added fairly easily and would add an important function to the Rover. Also maybe a different camera could be added to your selection of add-ons to be purchased from your store. Also, is it necessary to buy the complete Roli Rover Kit all at once or can you purchase it in pieces as you can afford it? Would like to start out with computer/camera module first and then order the other pieces as time and money permits. I am assuming that with just the computer and camera modules I could check out some of the video issues for myself before jumping in all the way. However I am hoping there has been enough experience with the video streaming over the internet and control of the robot over the internet by the user community to give me a sense of how good the performance is and what I can expect. Thanks much and looking forward to your reply/replies......Rick Bonari
Oh geez, you're right Alan - i totally forgot about the clip'n'play adapter. The screw will be much more secure. yeah here's the revised list...
Seems I could start with EZ-Bv4 and camera with battery and charger and along with ARC software I could check out the capabilities of the camera including color/shape recognition aspects of camera as well as video streaming capabilities over my 4g network using my samsung galaxy s4 cell phone. I could start out with these items and then continue on with other purchases. Would this plan of attack work? Seems like it should. Thanks for the great support and quick answers. A future product for EZROBOTS might be a stand or mounting piece for any robot to have a platform to add EZROBOT pieces easily without having to use hot glue. Could maybe have different size mounting platforms, etc. For different size robots. Any thoughts on this? They could be very basic. Thanks again....Rick B.
i think that you're on the right track. Might be best to start with the Developer Kit, as it's the best deal. You get the controller, camera, bunch of servos, battery holder, sensor, screws, etc...
With regards to the development kit I have a couple of questions. What is the power shell? Seems kit comes with 6xAA battery holder. Regarding the 6xAA battery holder, does it come with a cable that plugs into the EZ-Bv4 controller? Also how much would the plastic camera shell cost for the camera? Seems it would be more economical in the long term to use the LiPo Battery/Charger. Does this require the LiPo Battery Harness to use the LiPo Battery with the development kit? Thanks again for all your help and great support ! Rick B.
the power shell is what the ez-b connects to for power
there is a cable that connects to the controller for teh battery
plastic shell for the camera is affordable. use the Contact Us during the day to speak with james and arrange the camera shell to be added to the purchase
the lipo battery harness is not included with the development kit. however, you can add the lipo battery and harness to the development kit for longer battery life expectancy
there's a pretty detailed video about the developer kit on it's product page. give that a preview to see what's in it.
otherwise, if the clip'n'play parts are more appealing to you, consider getting just the ez-b v4 and camera combo with a lipo battery and adapter for the time being to experiment.
TheTechGuru mentioned some methods to access the EZ-Bv4 over the internet. The second method seems to be the one I would probably use. I understand that this is not an actual stream but several .jpeg images played one after the other. How much does this typically slow down the streaming video response? In the first method why can't different ports be used instead of 23 and 24. I have an IP Webcam that will assign an IP address after scanning the network. Then all I have to do is forward the IP address in my router settings, along with the two ports for video and control that I can change in the software setup if need be. Also if using port 23 & 24 causes so many issues with security why were they used and why can't the ports for camera and control access be changed or selected by the user. Method two seems to be similar to my IP webcam but not sure why it is .jpeg images played one after the other and not the actual stream. Also concerned if the stream that is viewed with method two is degraded greatly from when you use methods one and three. Also why not change the ports that are being forwarded in method one to something again other than 23 and 24? Also is the stream response greatly degraded using method two vs methods one and three. Trying to get just a relative idea of the differences in lag between the three methods -- network speed, etc not withstanding. Thanks again for all your help ! Rick B.
Please organize your questions in points and not paragraphs. It's difficult to read a paragraph full of questions. I easily get lost in the giant paragraph full of question marks and lose track of what questions i'm responding too. Thanks in advance!
So if you're asking why some features don't exist - i can introduce you to the incredibly complicated process of product development and invention. Specifically, break-through invention that doesn't exist anywhere else on earth. And to follow up that story, I can introduce the concept of product revisions and updates - and what that means. Perhaps you're under the impression that the earth was indeed created with cars, hot water, the internet and medicine. Since you asked, here's how product development works...
The EZ-B v4 is split into revisions between the two hardware pcb's. The bottom pcb is the brain. The top pcb is the communication. Unlike anything else ever designed for robotics, the ez-b is different. It is not a computer. It is not a raspberry pi. It does not run a bloated OS like linux. The EZ-B is a custom designed wifi enabled i/o controller. It acts as a wireless i/o extension to your computer, phone or raspberry pi, etc..
The EZ-B v4 already has a few revisions, each with a bit more features. Every feature in existence is not added on the first product release. If that were the case, there would be no products on earth. This is because features take time. The EZ-B, as you know it today, has been in development for 7 years. So, the features you are reading about and questioning and researching has taken 7 years (approx 2,555 days, or 61,320 hours, etc) to create.
The point is, in retrospect you can ask a lot of questions. You can ask why it doesn't have legs or pour you a glass of water. But the answer is, it's already one of a kind and the technology to create it took many years.
Now, does that mean it's the end? No... there is a next version, which some beta tester people have today. And for others, it will be released in a few months. The new version of the ez-b has a feature like you inquired, such as changing ports. It also has a hundred other features. When will you get it? Someday... but right now you have access to the current ez-b
. There will be an upgrade option to the next version, when it's available.
So, is port 23 a problem? No. it's as much a problem as using any other port. Because here's the scoop: if you're using a network security program that is disabling port 23, then it's disabling other ports as well. Thinking "some ports are safer than others" is what got the network security world in trouble in the first place!
i.e. is your home's front door more secure than the back door? Think about that for a minute...
I had already covered how the video compression works in a previous response to you. The compression is dynamic based on average image sizes over time to maintain a data size within desired scope. The compression self adjusts. The most recent version of the camera adjusts more than the last version. The most recent camera (with the rgb bootup led) image size and other features is designed specifically for vision recognition. It was not designed for you to take family photos of birthday parties.
If you want a camera for your eyes, buy a GoPro. If you want a camera for computer vision, buy ez-robot. Yes, there's a significant difference. Because what is nice for your eyeballs to look at is not what is nice for computers to recognize vision. Your eyeballs want soft colors with dynamic contrasts and earthy colors, etc, etc, etc.. Your computer vision algorithms want raw realistic cold colors and contrast.
Instead of overly complicating things... accept that much like your computer, phone, tv, car, hot water, etc.... it all works? Well, so does ez-robot.
Sometimes you just have to have faith in products. There's tens of thousands of these ez-b's in the world across over 100 countries - if you get one, cool... if you don't, you will
PS, forgot to add that you can always customize the entire ez-b v4 with the OpenIoT project here: http://synthiam.com/Products/ARC
Many people have, such as @techguru.