Stretch in Code

david

Piwars Coding The basic principal behind all 4 versions of Tito (including stretch) is they use a similar code structure. There is one main thread (separate program) that controls the motors and constantly loops reading controller state. This means no matter what is happening, nothing can interrupt or block  the motors from being disabled by the ps4 controller #SafetyFirst. This thread also deals with the main menu and can start and stop a completely separate “Challenge” thread. Got it?  Main Thread (Launcher) Basic Challenge Thread Each challenge thread (rc mode, over the rainbow etc) MUST expose a set of common methods that will be called by the Launcher. E.g. Run()… Read More

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Piwars 2019 – Early Start

david

After analysing previous years results and issues, I already have ideas for the next Piwars (*assuming there will be one).I really want to get the Pi in between the chassis plates as 2018’s version had it exposed on top. During testing it would wheelie and endo onto its roof putting the Pi and its GPIO pins at risk. That’s why we hastily 3D printed a clip on roof. It was ugly, but served its purpose well. Stage one was to find out how to move the Pi. In v3’s configuration, there wasn’t enough room. However, we noticed the ground contact points on the tires weren’t square. In fact the it… Read More

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Piwars 2018 Summary

david

Tito v3 is the third iteration of Hitchin Hackspaces robot entered into Piwars. Each year we try to improve upon our previous efforts (sometimes successfully) but we definitely learn something each time. This year we have stumbled onto a winning combination of powerful and extremely quick motors from Pololu, paired with 2x pwm 12amp continuous motor controllers to push everything to its limits. Put simply, its narrower, stronger, more powerful, more reliable and better looking that Tito v2 that it replaced. As you can see from the video above, Tito3 can spin on the spot very quickly (note: playing in the dirt was a LOT of fun). The basic concept… Read More

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