About Joseph Swanson

Math dude by education, software developer dude by trade, blogger dude by hobby, robot dude for the win.

Triple Monitors at Work

It kills me a little bit inside every time I boot into Windows at work. Just a little bit. It seems like Microsoft is following Canonical’s lead, by introducing an Ubuntu-like hover bar deal to the taskbar in Windows 7. I won’t bother myself with figuring out who is doing the aping…we’ll just leave it at that.

Anyhow, the first real impressive feature I have found with Windows 7 is seamless handling of multiple monitors.

three monitors on windows 7

+3

Getting triple monitors was *nearly plug and play. A few resolution tweaks and a reordering was all it took.

For what it is worth, that monitor placement is strategic. Suffice to say my view is much, much better now. (shutters)

IOIO Servo Project Recap

So, good news and bad news in regards to my IOIO servo controller project.

Good: I have published my code to GitHub. See…

IOIO sample code

git stuffs

Bad: Ytai, the creator of IOIO itself, let me know that my code is in need of an overhaul. Big time.

I am experiencing too much lag…losing a ton of time in the writing phase of my app. Expect an overhaul of said code, in preparation for my next project.

I have seen some activity on both of my apps on the Android Market. I feel some moral obligation to fix both apps, cite some versions, etc. This one could take some time, but should result in a pretty sweet project. On a strange note, Ytai has a sample app that handles the analog input that I need for my next effort. I should be able to stand up a project before too long…pretty pumped.

Anyhow, check that code if you are bored. Really bored. I will update when I get some decent code committed…until then…

IOIO Servo Controller

I just doubled my Android Market presence with one fell swoop. IOIO project number two is in the books: IOIO Servo Controller.

IOIO Servo Controller

servo in altoids can smells like altoids

This project is a one-off of the PowerSwitch Tail relay project I have out in the wild. I took the button out of the mix and implemented a slider bar…removed the relay and am now driving a hobby servo.

IOIO Android app

brand placement

Displayed is the relative level (zero to one) of the slider, the slider itself, and a shameless plug. The onboard LED also fires with a brightness relative to the slider position…which I implemented in the coding and sort of left in there.

The basic concept was to get the PWM output configured correctly, in order to control the servo positioning…the slider function is pretty much just the stock slider from the Android Development docs, widened a bit for the sake of video capture. The rest was just mashing around the code I had out there…not too bad.

Check the thing in action:

This project is available for download in app form on the Android Market. Right next to my other guy…search for IOIO. I will toss the code on my GitHub account as well. Fun project…I may branch and see If I can do anything cool with a few servos. We’ll see.

Shoot any comments to joe(at)swantron(dot)com. I can help with any setup issues, if they may arise. Good luck…

More IOIO Headers

Proof of concept stage has passed…we are full on code cleanup and prep for video on the servo project…

adding more ioio headers

project time...

I should have the app polished and on the market Saturday afternoon. Tune in.

IOIO App Redux Time

I put together a simple proof of concept using a slider to control a PWM pin out…simple is an understatement.

pwm app ioio

booooooooring

Nice, right?

In doing this, I did a fresh download of the IOIO example apps, as I had gutted the Blink example for my 120V relay app. It turns out that there is a fresh firmware version…I grabbed the new IOIO library that is associated with that. So, my proof of concept doesn’t function…I tested it with an LED to no avail.

So, I have a few items to address before I push out another project

  • Update firmware | flash V3 to my IOIO
  • Update my IOIOPowerSwitch App to contain IOIOLib V3
  • Update READMEs / Github / Android Market to cite firmware version
  • Update proof of concept to same specifications
  • _
    It should go smoothly, after the first bullet-point is in the books. Stay toooned.

    Nursery Furniture Assembly

    As I mentioned in the post that precedes this one, I have been assembling things on a larger scale lately. Well, larger scale for a smaller scale person…getting the nursery ready, namely. Both the crib and changing table came together nicely. Enjoy some pics and protips.

    Protip: Although the product may merely require “a screwdriver” for assembly, this will take all day. You will want an electric drill.

    building changing table

    here we go

    Right after the unboxing phase of this project, I found myself en route to Lowe’s. Not going to happen manually.

    Protip: Lithium Ion battery technology is vastly superior to other cordless drill battery types. Take my word on this.

    With long spans, tight threads, and two hands, it may be tough to get joints lined up. No problem…

    Protip: Shim during assembly to level stuff.

    building baby furniture

    balancing act

    There are all sorts of pieces in a kit of this size. Plenty of items with which to level other items. With curved edges on these pieces, I found myself using unused parts and towels to prop thing up, etc. Which leads me to…

    Protip: Assemble loosely, level, tighten.

    changing table done

    ^____----- mom taking picture

    That sucker is so level, we have simultaneous picture action. +1 photogenic.

    On to the crib…assembly was similar, but quicker. Same protips, with the addition of

    Protip: Prepare tools ahead of time.

    crib assembly

    (window)

    You sure wouldn’t want to find yourself with warm OMLs, a dead battery, etc. Sort of along the same lines as ‘measure twice, cut once.’ Only, more important.

    So, the paint on those walls is new as well. This room is getting close to done…with three months to spare. Hopefully it turns out well…especially as there is no chance that the crib will fit through the door in an assembled state. I have a feeling it will be just fine.

    Output Lull

    Not sure where this picture came from exactly…trying to get video working via Cheese on Ubuntu is my best guess.

    bad lab

    bad lab

    It has been sitting on my desktop for a while, ready for something. There it is ^

    My new job has kept me busy for the last three weeks. FWIW, RightNow Technologies is a great place to be…check them out by all means. I have been putting together baby furniture like a boss, expect a post on that soon. Had a few gotchas to share. Katie is still doing well, and things are falling into place; we may have a daycare picked out, which will be nice to have in the books. Exciting stuff…ready for this little girl to show up.

    Project wise, I’m going either one of two ways. I still have a boat-load of white LEDs to put to use. I am either thinking of banging out a quick Arduino (sorry for the neglect, little guy) project on that front, or trying to do some metering with the IOIO. I thought about doing a quick Ping sensor project for the IOIO as well, but figured that may turn into another multi-month ordeal. Might tackle some LEDs…debugging LEDs is pretty much a binary process. Works or does not work.

    Time will tell. But until then.