Hugo is a small side project based on the architecture of Elwood and the framework version used for the Robodrohne. In the first iteration, Hugo is intended to implement the same functions as Elwood. This means the vehicle will be controllable from a first-person perspective.
The following components form the hardware:
- Chassis: Pololu RP5 with battery pack
- Computer: Raspberry Pi with Debian operating system
- Wi-Fi: Phidgets 3702_0 – Wi-Fi USB Adapter w/SMA Antenna
- Power Supply: HiTec BEC soldered with USB plug
- Motor Controller: 1060_0 – PhidgetMotorControl LV – Discontinued
The software matches Elwood’s transmitter in terms of functional scope, except that here we can actively switch the video service on and off. Furthermore, steering is done with the arrow keys. Unlike Elwood, no parameters can be changed. However, there is a new receiver module…
This new receiver module includes an embedded Jetty server. It contains various handlers that provide files and a WebSocket server. This allows for implementing the control application shown below as an HTML5 web app and developing a completely new type of control.
This makes it possible to control Hugo from EVERY HTML5-capable browser. This can include common HTML5-capable desktop browsers (Firefox, Safari) as well as common mobile browsers.
This means we can control Hugo with the iPad, Android phone, etc., WITHOUT writing dedicated apps. If a phone/tablet supports the Gyro API, you can use the position sensors to steer. For desktop browsers, the same method as for the desktop application applies… arrow keys.