"I realize that this is a double post but I just wanted to place this in the Hardware tutorials section so it doesn't get lost in the ocean that is the general discussion forum :)"
So I wanted to share that I've had great success with my wireless Xbox 360 controller connected to my laptop via the Microsoft USB dongle. If you want to search for the dongle online unfortunately it rarely comes alone, instead it comes with a controller and is usually called "Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows".
The only down side of the 360 controller is that in windows the trigger buttons control the z-axis which isn't included in ARC, but sometimes when you push them random things happen to your bot, it's quite crazy. I like the trigger buttons, and miss them, they are my fav buttons on the controller probably due to too much Halo.
A HUGE up-side is that if you are running Windows 7 you can hook up a Xbox 360 headset to your controller and have both voice recognition and speech synthesis (through the headset speaker) from large distances. From my laptop my controller was still able to communicate up to 75 FEET or GREATER, probably as far as the bluetooth will go (but not as far as synapse
) At work I've done some real world tests with my Optimus Prime EZ-bot.
So here's a mini tutiorial on getting the wireless 360 controller setup:
Download drivers from here.
Hook up your dongle to the USB port and then after it is recognized press and hold the white button down on the dongle for a few seconds to start the link.
Then turn your 360 controller on (using xbox button) and then hold the sync button button down until the ring of light starts circling and then it should sync up and flash a quadrant. You can actually connect 4 controllers to your laptop if you'd like.
Then wait for your USB/microphone/speaker drivers to load, open ARC, configure your joystick and you are good to go!
So I did a bit of R&D to find an affordable solution for long-range wireless joystick control for remote controlling a robot through ARC (i'm talking like 75 foot range from your laptop/PC) and here's what I've found:
You can buy an OEM version of the Xbox 360 wireless receiver for the PC/Laptop from Deal Extreme or ebay , instead of having to buy the Microsoft official version that rarely is sold on it's own but is bundled with a controller for $60
I did a quick test with the OEM version tonight and it works great. All you have to do is install the drivers from the CD that comes with it. Just plug your receiver into a USB port and wait for the driver wizard to come up. Point the wizard to the CD and you should get this picture:
Select the driver for your version of windows, install it, connect your controller and then boot up ARC's Joystick control and you are on your way. If you already have Xbox 360 wireless controllers this receiver is for you! If not I'd probably recommend the Microsoft version that comes with a controller.
And don't forget that when using this receiver with an Xbox 360 controller you can also plug a headset into the controller which allows it to show up as a USB microphone on your computer. Which would give speech recognition capabilities for Windows 7 users. A wireless microphone is such a BONUS!!!
"And don't forget that when using this receiver with an Xbox 360 controller you can also plug a headset into the controller which allows it to show up as a USB microphone on your computer. Which would give speech recognition capabilities for Windows 7 users. A wireless microphone is such a BONUS!!!"
Sorry to bump an old thread. I recently added the XBOX 360 Wireless receiver. It's working great, I've programmed buttons and all.
Does speech recognition not work with Windows Vista? or is it only a Windows 7 thing?
I can't seem to get ARC to recognize speech commands with the XBOX 360 headset/microphone plugged in.
If I go to "Setup Microphone" through the Speech Recognition panel in ARC it shows activity when I speak but nothing happens command wise. Thoughts?
Anyone?
@Skater_j10 It looks like you are using some transformers parts in that picture. Do you happen to have anymore pics of this? I'd love to see them because I'm a huge TF fan and am interested in what you have here.
Thanks.
Yep, I'm a huge fan as well and I always wanted my own Optimus Prime Robot so I made one with the EZ-Robot platform
I have yet to finish it but I promise I will once things slow down around the shop here.
Check out my previous progress under this thread. There's even a bit of youtube video footage as well.