BeagleBone robotic projects : create complex and exciting robotic projects with the BeagleBone Black

Create complex and exciting robotic projects with the BeagleBone Black Overview Get to grips with robotic systems Communicate with your robot and teach it to detect and respond to its environment Develop walking, rolling, swimming, and flying robots In Detail Thanks to new, inexpensive microcontrollers, robotics has become far more accessible than it was in the past. These microcontrollers provide a whole new set of capabilities to allow even the most inexperienced users to make amazingly complicated projects. Beaglebone is effectively a small, light, cheap computer in a similar vein to Raspberry Pi and Arduino. It has all of the extensibility of todays desktop machines, but without the bulk, expense, or noise. This project guide provides step-by-step instructions to allow anyone to use this new, low cost platform in some fascinating robotics projects. By the time you are finished, your projects will be able to see, speak, listen, detect their surroundings, and move in a variety of amazing ways. The book begins with unpacking and powering up the components.This will include guidance on what to purchase and how to connect it all successfully-and a primer on programming the BeagleBone Black. Chapter by chapter, we will add additional software functionality available from the open source community, including how to make the system see using a webcam, how to hear using a microphone, and how to speak using a speaker. We then add hardware to make your robots move-including wheeled and legged examples-as well as covering how to add sonar sensors to avoid or find objects, plus wireless control to make your robot truly autonomous. Adding GPS allows the robot to find itself. Finally the book covers how to integrate all of this functionality so that it can all work together, before developing the most impressive robotics projects: those that can sail, fly, and explore underwater. What you will learn from this book Unbox, power up, and configure the BeagleBone black with Ubuntu Install speech recognition software to issue voice commands to your projects Set up a webcam and a computer vision toolkit for distinguishing objects Communicate with external motors to enable you robotics projects to move in a variety of ways Process audio signals like music or other sounds Add GPS capability to your system so it will know where it is Use the building blocks you have learned to create complex robotic projects that can combine all of these features and more Approach Develop practical example projects with detailed explanations combine the projects in a vast number of ways to create different robot designs, or work through them in sequence to discover the full capability of the BeagleBone Black. Who this book is written for This book is for anyone who is curious about using new, low-cost hardware to create robotic projects that have previously been the domain of research labs, major universities or Defence departments. Some programming experience would be useful, but if you know how to use a personal computer, you can use this book to construct far more complex systems than you would have thought possible. Cover 1 Copyright 3 Credits 4 About the Author 5 About the Reviewers 6 www.PacktPub.com 9 Table of Contents 10 Preface 14 Chapter 1: Getting Started with the BeagleBone Black 22 Mission briefing 22 The unveiling! 24 Hooking up a keyboard, mouse, and display 28 Changing the operating system 31 Adding a graphical user interface 35 Accessing the board remotely 39 Mission accomplished 47 A challenge 47 Chapter 2: Programming the BeagleBone Black 48 Mission briefing 48 Basic Linux commands and navigating the filesystem 49 Createing, editing, and saving files on the BeagleBone Black 55 Creating and running Python programs on the BeagleBone Black 56 Basic programming constructs on the BeagleBone Black 60 Introduction to the C++ programming language 67 Mission accomplished 72 A challenge 72 Chapter 3: Providing Speech Input and Output 74 Mission briefing 74 Hooking up the HW to make and input sound 77 Using Espeak to allow your projects to respond in a robot voice 83 Using PocketSphinx to interpret your commands 86 Providing the capability to interpret 93 your commands and have your robot initiate an action 93 Mission accomplished 96 A challenge 96 Chapter 4: Allowing the BeagleBone Black to See 98 Mission briefing 98 Connecting the USB camera to the BeagleBone Black and viewing the images 99 Downloading and installing OpenCV – a full-featured vision library 102 Using the vision library to detect colored objects 110 Mission accomplished 115 Challenges 115 Chapter 5: Making the Unit Mobile – Controlling Wheeled Movement 116 Mission briefing 116 Using a motor controller to control the speed of your platform 120 Controlling your mobile platform programmatically using the BeagleBone Black 130 Making your mobile platform truly mobile by issuing voice commands 135 Mission accomplished 137 A challenge 137 Chapter 6: Making the Unit Very Mobile – Controlling Legged Movement 138 Mission briefing 138 Connecting the BeagleBone Black to the mobile platform using a servo controller 143 Creating a program in Linux to control the mobile platform 151 Making your mobile platform truly mobile by issuing voice commands 155 Mission accomplished 156 A challenge 157 Chapter 7: Avoiding Obstacles Using Sensors 158 Mission briefing 158 Connecting the BeagleBone Black to a USB Sonar sensor 161 Using a servo to move a single sensor 167 Mission accomplished 172 A challenge 172 Chapter 8: Going Truly Mobile – Remote Control of Your Robot 174 Mission briefing 174 Connecting the BeagleBone Black to a wireless USB keyboard 180 Using the keyboard to control your project 182 Mission accomplished 187 A challenge 187 Chapter 9: Using a GPS Receiver to Locate Your Robot 188 Mission briefing 188 Connecting the BeagleBone Black to a GPS device 189 Accessing the GPS programmatically and determining how to move to a location 201 Mission accomplished 206 A challenge 206 Chapter 10: System Dynamics 208 Mission briefing 208 Creating a general control structure so capabilities can communicate 210 Mission accomplished 218 A challenge 219 Chapter 11: By Land, Sea, and Air 220 Mission briefing 220 Using the BeagleBone Black in robots that can sail 221 Using the BeagleBone Black in robots that can fly 229 Using the BeagleBone Black in submarine robots 235 Mission accomplished 237 A challenge 237 Index 238 Annotation Build your own high-tech alarm system at a fraction of the cost Overview Build your own state-of-the-art security system Monitor your system from anywhere you can receive e-mail Add control of other systems such as sprinklers and gates Save thousands on monitoring and rental fees In Detail One of the best kept secrets of the security industry is just how simple the monitoring hardware actually is - BeagleBone has all the computing power you need to build yourself an extremely sophisticated access control, alarm panel, and home automation and network intrusion-detection system. Security companies make a fortune each year by charging exorbitant fees to their customers. You will learn how easy it is to make an alarm system with Beaglebone. A company-maintained-and-monitored alarm system has its place - your dear old mum is probably not going to be creating her own system any time soon. But if you are reading this book, you are probably a builder or a hobbyist with all the skills required to do it yourself. With Building a Home Security System with BeagleBone, you will learn everything you need to know to develop your own state-of-the-art security system, all for less than a year's worth of monitoring charges from your local alarm company! You will start by building and testing your hardware and open source software on an experimenter's prototype board before progressing to more complex systems. You will then learn how to test your new creations in a modular fashion and begin to utilize BeagleBone. Once your system is built and tested, you will install some of the professional-grade sensors used in modern alarm systems and learn how to use them. You will also discover how to extend your alarm system in a variety of different ways. The only limit will be your imagination. What you will learn from this book Understand the components of an alarm system Build a basic zone 1 alarm system Modify your alarm system to perform complex tasks Build the actual hardware onto BeagleBone Integrate home automation into your security system Protect your network from intruders Keep an eye on your system from anywhere in the world Install and use a range of sensor equipment Approach Building a Home Security System with BeagleBone is a practical, hands-on guide for practical, hands-on people. The book includes step-by-step instructions for assembling your own hardware on professionally manufactured PCB's and setting up the software on your system. Who this book is written for This book is for anyone who is interested in alarm systems and how they work; for hobbyists and basement tinkerers who love to build things. If you want to build the hardware described in this book, you will need some basic soldering skills, but all the parts are of the thru-hole variety and are very easy to put together. When it comes to software, you can just run it as-is, but if you want to modify the code, you will need knowledge of Java and IDEs A practical, instructive, and comprehensive guide to introduce yourself to ROS, the top-notch, leading robotics frameworkOverview Model your robot on a virtual world and learn how to simulate it Carry out state-of-the-art Computer Vision tasks Easy to follow, practical tutorials to program your own robotsIn DetailBoth the amateur and the professional roboticist who has ever tried their hand at robotics programming will have faced with the cumbersome task of starting from scratch, usually reinventing the wheel. ROS comes with a great number of already working functionalities, and this book takes you from the first steps to the most elaborate designs possible within this software framework."Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" is full of practical examples that will help you to understand the framework from the very beginning. Build your own robot applications in a simulated environment and share your knowledge with the large community supporting ROS."Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" starts with the basic concepts and usage of ROS in a very straightforward and practical manner. It is a painless introduction to the fascinating world of robotics, covering sensor integration, modeling, simulation, computer vision, and navigation algorithms, among other topics.After the first two chapters, concepts like topics, messages, and nodes will become daily bread. Make your robot see with HD cameras, or navigate avoiding obstacles with range sensors. Furthermore, thanks to the contributions of the vast ROS community, your robot will be able to navigate autonomously, and even recognize and interact with you, in a matter of minutes."Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" will give you all the background you need to know in order to start in the fascinating world of robotics and program your own robot. Simply, you put the limit!What you will learn from this book Install a complete ROS Fuerte system Create ROS packages and stacks, using and debugging them in real time Create, handle, and debug ROS nodes Design your 3D robot model and simulate it in a virtual environment within Gazebo Use cameras to give vision to your robots, and calibrate and perform Computer Vision tasks with them Use and integrate different sensors like Range Laser, Arduino, and Kinect with your robot Create and adapt the navigation stack to work with your robot Share your knowledge with the ROS communityApproachThe book will take an easy-to-follow and engaging tutorial approach, providing a practical and comprehensive way to learn ROS.Who this book is written forIf you are a robotic enthusiast who wants to learn how to build and program your own robots in an easy-to-develop, maintainable and shareable way, "Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" is for you. In order to make the mos Developer or hobbyist, you'll love the way this book helps you turn the BeagleBone Black into a working robot. From listening and speaking to seeing and moving, we'll show you how - step by step. Overview In Detail Thanks to new, inexpensive microcontrollers, robotics has become far more accessible than it was in the past. These microcontrollers provide a whole new set of capabilities to allow even the most inexperienced users to make amazingly complicated projects. Beaglebone is effectively a small, light, cheap computer in a similar vein to Raspberry Pi and Arduino. It has all of the extensibility of today's desktop machines, but without the bulk, expense, or noise. This project guide provides step-by-step instructions to allow anyone to use this new, low cost platform in some fascinating robotics projects. By the time you are finished, your projects will be able to see, speak, listen, detect their surroundings, and move in a variety of amazing ways. The book begins with unpacking and powering up the components.This will include guidance on what to purchase and how to connect it all successfully-and a primer on programming the BeagleBone Black. Chapter by chapter, we will add additional software functionality available from the open source community, including how to make the system see using a webcam, how to hear using a microphone, and how to speak using a speaker. We then add hardware to make your robots move-including wheeled and legged examples-as well as covering how to add sonar sensors to avoid or find objects, plus wireless control to make your robot truly autonomous. Adding GPS allows the robot to find itself. Finally the book covers how to integrate all of this functionality so that it can all work together, before developing the most impressive robotics those that can sail, fly, and explore underwater. What you will learn from this book Approach Develop practical example projects with detailed explanations; combine the projects in a vast number of ways to create different robot designs, or work through them in sequence to discover the full capability of the BeagleBone Black. Who this book is written for This book is for anyone who is curious about using new, low-cost hardware to create robotic projects that have previously been the domain of research labs, major universities or Defence departments. Some programming experience would be useful, but if you know how to use a personal computer, you can use this book to construct far more complex systems than you would have thought possible. With Boost libraries you can really unleash the power of C++. Learn to build applications faster and better through a cookbook approach that uses tons of recipes to make it all so easy to assimilate and apply. In Detail One of the best kept secrets of the security industry is just how simple the monitoring hardware actually is - BeagleBone has all the computing power you need to build yourself an extremely sophisticated access control, alarm panel, and home automation and network intrusion-detection system. Security companies make a fortune each year by charging exorbitant fees to their customers. You will learn how easy it is to make an alarm system with Beaglebone. A company-maintained-and-monitored alarm system has its place - your dear old mum is probably not going to be creating her own system any time soon. But if you are reading this book, you are probably a builder or a hobbyist with all the skills required to do it yourself. With Building a Home Security System with BeagleBone, you will learn everything you need to know to develop your own state-of-the-art security system, all for less than a year's worth of monitoring charges from your local alarm company! You will start by building and testing your hardware and open source software on an experimenter's prototype board before progressing to more complex systems. You will then learn how to test your new creations in a modular fashion and begin to utilize BeagleBone. Once your system is built and tested, you will install some of the professional-grade sensors used in modern alarm systems and learn how to use them. You will also discover how to extend your alarm system in a variety of different ways. The only limit will be your imagination. What you will learn from this book Approach Building a Home Security System with BeagleBone is a practical, hands-on guide for practical, hands-on people. The book includes step-by-step instructions for assembling your own hardware on professionally manufactured PCB's and setting up the software on your system. Who this book is written for This book is for anyone who is interested in alarm systems and how they work; for hobbyists and basement tinkerers who love to build things. If you want to build the hardware described in this book, you will need some basic soldering skills, but all the parts are of the thru-hole variety and are very easy to put together. When it comes to software, you can just run it as-is, but if you want to modify the code, you will need knowledge of Java and IDEs.

In Detail

Both the amateur and the professional roboticist who has ever tried their hand at robotics programming will have faced with the cumbersome task of starting from scratch, usually reinventing the wheel. ROS comes with a great number of already working functionalities, and this book takes you from the first steps to the most elaborate designs possible within this software framework.

"Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" is full of practical examples that will help you to understand the framework from the very beginning. Build your own robot applications in a simulated environment and share your knowledge with the large community supporting ROS.

"Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" starts with the basic concepts and usage of ROS in a very straightforward and practical manner. It is a painless introduction to the fascinating world of robotics, covering sensor integration, modeling, simulation, computer vision, and navigation algorithms, among other topics.

After the first two chapters, concepts like topics, messages, and nodes will become daily bread. Make your robot see with HD cameras, or navigate avoiding obstacles with range sensors. Furthermore, thanks to the contributions of the vast ROS community, your robot will be able to navigate autonomously, and even recognize and interact with you, in a matter of minutes.

"Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" will give you all the background you need to know in order to start in the fascinating world of robotics and program your own robot. Simply, you put the limit!

Approach

The book will take an easy-to-follow and engaging tutorial approach, providing a practical and comprehensive way to learn ROS.

Who this book is for

If you are a robotic enthusiast who wants to learn how to build and program your own robots in an easy-to-develop, maintainable and shareable way, "Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" is for you. In order to make the most of the book, you should have some C++ programming background, knowledge of GNU/Linux systems, and computer science in general. No previous background on ROS is required, since this book provides all the skills required. It is also advisable to have some background on version control systems, like svn or git, which are often used to share the code by the community.

In Detail

Thanks to new, inexpensive microcontrollers, robotics has become far more accessible than it was in the past. These microcontrollers provide a whole new set of capabilities to allow even the most inexperienced users to make amazingly complicated projects. Beaglebone is effectively a small, light, cheap computer in a similar vein to Raspberry Pi and Arduino. It has all of the extensibility of today's desktop machines, but without the bulk, expense, or noise.

This project guide provides step-by-step instructions to allow anyone to use this new, low cost platform in some fascinating robotics projects. By the time you are finished, your projects will be able to see, speak, listen, detect their surroundings, and move in a variety of amazing ways.

The book begins with unpacking and powering up the components.This will include guidance on what to purchase and how to connect it all successfullyand a primer on programming the BeagleBone Black. Chapter by chapter, we will add additional software functionality available from the open source community, including how to make the system see using a webcam, how to hear using a microphone, and how to speak using a speaker. We then add hardware to make your robots moveincluding wheeled and legged examplesas well as covering how to add sonar sensors to avoid or find objects, plus wireless control to make your robot truly autonomous. Adding GPS allows the robot to find itself. Finally the book covers how to integrate all of this functionality so that it can all work together, before developing the most impressive robotics projects: those that can sail, fly, and explore underwater.

Approach

Develop practical example projects with detailed explanations; combine the projects in a vast number of ways to create different robot designs, or work through them in sequence to discover the full capability of the BeagleBone Black.

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who is curious about using new, low-cost hardware to create robotic projects that have previously been the domain of research labs, major universities or Defence departments. Some programming experience would be useful, but if you know how to use a personal computer, you can use this book to construct far more complex systems than you would have thought possible.

In Detail

One of the best kept secrets of the security industry is just how simple the monitoring hardware actually is - BeagleBone has all the computing power you need to build yourself an extremely sophisticated access control, alarm panel, and home automation and network intrusion-detection system. Security companies make a fortune each year by charging exorbitant fees to their customers. You will learn how easy it is to make an alarm system with Beaglebone.

A company-maintained-and-monitored alarm system has its place - your dear old mum is probably not going to be creating her own system any time soon. But if you are reading this book, you are probably a builder or a hobbyist with all the skills required to do it yourself. With Building a Home Security System with BeagleBone, you will learn everything you need to know to develop your own state-of-the-art security system, all for less than a years worth of monitoring charges from your local alarm company!

You will start by building and testing your hardware and open source software on an experimenters prototype board before progressing to more complex systems. You will then learn how to test your new creations in a modular fashion and begin to utilize BeagleBone. Once your system is built and tested, you will install some of the professional-grade sensors used in modern alarm systems and learn how to use them. You will also discover how to extend your alarm system in a variety of different ways. The only limit will be your imagination.

Approach

Building a Home Security System with BeagleBone is a practical, hands-on guide for practical, hands-on people. The book includes step-by-step instructions for assembling your own hardware on professionally manufactured PCBs and setting up the software on your system.

Who this book is for

This book is for anyone who is interested in alarm systems and how they work; for hobbyists and basement tinkerers who love to build things. If you want to build the hardware described in this book, you will need some basic soldering skills, but all the parts are of the thru-hole variety and are very easy to put together. When it comes to software, you can just run it as-is, but if you want to modify the code, you will need knowledge of Java and IDEs.

Create test suites and automated acceptance tests from scratch Overview In Detail Testing has traditionally been a part of software development, and has always involved a lot of manual effort. It can be automated with Robot Framework, which offers numerous benefits from cost saving to increased quality assurance in the software delivery. This book will help you to start designing test suites and Automated Acceptance Tests. Helping you to get started with automating acceptance tests, this book will provide a detailed overview of acceptance test management practices and principles. You will also be introduced to advanced techniques that you can use to customize the test suite, along with helpful tips and tricks to extend and leverage it in a wide variety of scenarios. Starting with a detailed explanation of the need for automated acceptance test driven development, this guide will help you with an empty test project creation and execution for proof of concept, and validation of installation. This book will also cover the Robot Framework in detail, and will help you test desktop applications using Java Swing. You will gain an in-depth knowledge of tricky activities, such as setting up a test environment and using it with Selenium. You will also learn about other popular libraries, and how to test network protocols, web services, and databases. This book will cover the entire Robot Framework with real- world practical material to make its content informative and interesting. By the end of this book you will be able to write acceptance tests for desktop and web applications, as well as know how to extend acceptance testing in other scenarios that are commonly devoid of tests, and present the results appropriately. What you will learn from this book Approach Written in an engaging, easy-to-follow style, this practical guide will teach you to create test suites and automated acceptance Tests with the Robot Framework. Who this book is written for If you are an automation engineer, QA engineer, developer or tester who is looking to get started with Robot Framework, as well as find a standardized testing solution, this book is ideal for you. No prior knowledge of Robot Framework or acceptance testing is required, although a basic knowledge of Python is required for few sections of the book.

In Detail

Testing has traditionally been a part of software development, and has always involved a lot of manual effort. It can be automated with Robot Framework, which offers numerous benefits from cost saving to increased quality assurance in the software delivery. This book will help you to start designing test suites and Automated Acceptance Tests.

Helping you to get started with automating acceptance tests, this book will provide a detailed overview of acceptance test management practices and principles. You will also be introduced to advanced techniques that you can use to customize the test suite, along with helpful tips and tricks to extend and leverage it in a wide variety of scenarios.

Starting with a detailed explanation of the need for automated acceptance test driven development, this guide will help you with an empty test project creation and execution for proof of concept, and validation of installation. This book will also cover the Robot Framework in detail, and will help you test desktop applications using Java Swing. You will gain an in-depth knowledge of tricky activities, such as setting up a test environment and using it with Selenium.

You will also learn about other popular libraries, and how to test network protocols, web services, and databases. This book will cover the entire Robot Framework with real- world practical material to make its content informative and interesting.

By the end of this book you will be able to write acceptance tests for desktop and web applications, as well as know how to extend acceptance testing in other scenarios that are commonly devoid of tests, and present the results appropriately.

Approach

Written in an engaging, easy-to-follow style, this practical guide will teach you to create test suites and automated acceptance Tests with the Robot Framework.

Who this book is for

If you are an automation engineer, QA engineer, developer or tester who is looking to get started with Robot Framework, as well as find a standardized testing solution, this book is ideal for you. No prior knowledge of Robot Framework or acceptance testing is required, although a basic knowledge of Python is required for few sections of the book.

Why make life difficult for yourself in robotics programming? ROS is a software framework that already supports many functionalities, and this book will tell you everything you need to know to realize its full potential. Model your robot on a virtual world and learn how to simulate it Carry out state-of-the-art Computer Vision tasks Easy to follow, practical tutorials to program your own robots In Detail Both the amateur and the professional roboticist who has ever tried their hand at robotics programming will have faced with the cumbersome task of starting from scratch, usually reinventing the wheel. ROS comes with a great number of already working functionalities, and this book takes you from the first steps to the most elaborate designs possible within this software framework. "Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" is full of practical examples that will help you to understand the framework from the very beginning. Build your own robot applications in a simulated environment and share your knowledge with the large community supporting ROS. "Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" starts with the basic concepts and usage of ROS in a very straightforward and practical manner. It is a painless introduction to the fascinating world of robotics, covering sensor integration, modeling, simulation, computer vision, and navigation algorithms, among other topics. After the first two chapters, concepts like topics, messages, and nodes will become daily bread. Make your robot see with HD cameras, or navigate avoiding obstacles with range sensors. Furthermore, thanks to the contributions of the vast ROS community, your robot will be able to navigate autonomously, and even recognize and interact with you, in a matter of minutes. "Learning ROS for Robotics Programming" will give you all the background you need to know in order to start in the fascinating world of robotics and program your own robot. Simply, you put the limit! Filled with practical, step-by-step instructions and clear explanations for the most important and useful tasks. A concise guide full of step-by-step recipes to teach you how to build and program an advanced robot.""Instant LEGO Mindstorm EV3"" is for both the adult tinkerer who has never touched LEGO before and the experienced LEGO engineer who has evolved from Mindstorm NXT to EV3. If you are interested in entering or advising students in robot competitions such as the FIRST LEGO League, the Wold Robot Olympiad, or RoboGames, then this book is a must for you. Even if you haven't purchased yo