android controlled rover bot. Can this be done ?

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tolisn

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Hi.
I'm new here and would like to say Hello.
I just bought a regular version of B4A and will start out my programming quest.
By trade I'm an electronics engineer and have no knowledge of programming. Occasinaly I use Bascom basic to control MCUs but that is about it.
Know I want to build a small android controlled rover bot that will have video feedback that will also show in the android device screen
something like that shown in the belowe youtube video
AR-Drone quadrocopter controlled by Android phone - YouTube

Since I'm new at this is it possible for someone to point me is the right direction. Surely it can be done but how ?


P.S. If this is the wrong subforum to post this type of question then please feel free to move it.


Thank you
 
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IanMc

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Anything is possible with B4a :)

Of course building the nuclear reactor and then getting the thing to mars might be a bit of a challenge.

:D
 
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IanMc

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A code snippet? :)

Live video plus controls.... over a wireless connection ...

might take a tad more than a code snippet.

That video you gave a link to, the controlling software looked a lot like the one made by parrot.com for their AR drone.

The guy might have crashed one of those then made his own out of the bits or more likely ... its one of those.

You can download the software for free from google play store:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.parrot.freeflight&hl=en

Not very kind comments though ... press the 'Take Off' button to take off and hit the ceiling :)

The link is done via WiFi and this is a very complex app.

code snippet ;) hehe
 
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tolisn

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I was not implying that a simple code snippet would be a complete program and do it all for me.
What about if a get the video stream from a WIFI IP camera and then overlay the controls on that video and use WIFI (or bluetooth) to send the commands to the micro controller ?

Thanks for all of your comments
 
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IanMc

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By trade I'm an electronics engineer and have no knowledge of programming.
Click to expand...

Step 1) Start off with the Hello World Program.

Step 2) Make live telemetric Android controller with video and overlaid controls application.

Step 3) Take over the world!!!! MUHAhahahahaha!

But seriously, start programming.

It is only after you have done some programming that you will start to glean an idea of what is and what isn't immediately possible for a beginner.

I don't mean to be condescending but If I came to you and said that I'd like to make a micro controller like the Raspberry Pi.

I'm going to call it the Ian Cake.

Is there a chip I can get to do that?

Similar to the Pi it will need to have HDMI, an ethernet port, two host USB controllers, a sound chip and an SD card slot.
Oh and STDIO pins, oh and LEDs for status, oh and the Pi has a couple of extra ports for an LCD display and something else.

We have a cheap IP network camera on our network, you can pan and tilt it, the frame rate is abysmal and everything is pink :)
Another one that we did have on our network before it died went mad and hogged all of the wireless network bandwidth, as soon as someone accessed it everyone else's internet would virtually come to a standstill. The picture on that one was crap too, and pink.

Why is everything pink on those things? The grass, the trees, all pink....

Even the professionally made Parrot AR drone etc. when you see people flying it they don't look at the screen, I think it drops frames every now and then so if you only looked at the screen you'd crash.

Probably good enough for a land rover though.

If I were going to make anything with live video I'd start with that, what is actually possible?
Step back a pace and think, what would give me the most bandwidth that is reliable? Bluetooth or WiFi?
Why did Parrot go with WiFi? .... some tablets don't have bluetooth, also I think WiFi has a much higher bandwidth but how reliable?

Maybe have a play with the apps that are already out there like 'TinyCam' etc. just to get a feel for it.

Have a look at colour cameras that don't show everything up as pink :)

If you can send a stream of video then sending a few commands to control the thing shouldn't be a problem.

From where I stand here though it is a monumental task, however confuscious say that every journey begin with first step.
 
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IanMc

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Does WiFi have a longer range than Bluetooth?

I think it all depends on the hardware.

On my extensive tests they both have exactly the same range and that is to the bottom of my garden :D

There's a new BT standard coming out, v4 and they say in the below article:

The Bluetooth SIG says that Bluetooth 4.0's maximum range is not dependent on the specification, but on the capabilities of the Bluetooth device. That said the Bluetooth SIG suggests a distance of at least 200 feet for a Bluetooth 4.0 device.
Click to expand...

Wi-Fi Direct vs. Bluetooth 4.0: A Battle for Supremacy | PCWorld

But weight shouldn't be a problem as tolisn is planning a rover bot although it may impact on the design of his implementation of the 'sky crane' landing system ;)

Impact being the operative word here :)
 
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mangojack

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lol .. retires with a smile ..
 
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