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WHEELCHAIR INTEGRATION

A project log for IMcoders

IMU-based encoders. IMcoders provides odometry data to robots with a minimal integration effort, easing prototyping on almost any system.

alfonso-troyaAlfonso Troya 10/20/2018 at 08:230 Comments

We are back on track!

Simulations and tests in small robots are fine, but now it is time go bigger and target our final device: an electrical wheelchair!

The chair was bigger than expected and it took the whole living room to set it up. To control the chair we needed some extra electronics, as the manual joystick normally used to control the device must be bypassed to directly control the chair with our software in ROS.

The integration of IMcoders on the wheelchair was a matter of seconds, fortunately the shaft of the wheels were metallic and the magnets were able hold the sensor perfectly.

We never thought that we could have so many problems while testing the system; the bluetooth modules in the IMcorders refused to pair with our computer, the bypass module to control the devices in software was disconnecting the whole time, even the USB keyboard stopped working! 

We spent about 2 hours debugging until we found the source of all the issues. Changing the IMcoders for two new ones (batteries got discharged) and a new USB HUB helped us to keep going.

Here are some videos of the outdoor testing :)

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