text: Sharpee's Space: 2013
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 8:38 PM 1 comment:
  Beautiful Flying Robot
  Just wanted to share what I consider to be an amazing effort of robotics. The robotics researchers at UMD have perfected the ability to fly a self-contained robot using mechanics of real birds.
  I have been watching various groups over the years experimenting with similar designs that either could only flap their wings in tandem or prototypes that were attached to an external power source.
  Watching other birds in the video interacting with it is truly impressive!
  http://singularityhub.com/2013/05/14/video-shows-robo-raven-diving-spiraling-flipping-and-getting-attacked-by-a-hawk/
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 10:03 PM No comments:
  Hybrid and Electric Cars -- Are they worth it?
  Since the introduction of Hybrid cars in the US market with the Honda Insight in 1999 and release of plug-in electric car GM Impact EV1 in 1996, I have long considered the benefits of owning one. The promise and perception of high MPG and helping the environment has been extolled for years since. Does this really add up to being beneficial to owning one?
  Fuel Savings (aka Save me money):
  In order to understand the fuel savings we need to factor both the initial and recurring costs of operating the car. Lets model out two choices available on the market today for my 50 mile daily commute:
  35 Electric miles = $1.50 http://gm-volt.com/chevy-volt-faqs/
  15 Gas miles = $3.70 @ 37 Mpg = $1.50
  $3 * 5days * 52 weeks = $780.00
  50 gas miles = $3.70 @ 31 Mpg = $5.96
  $5.96 * 5 days * 52 weeks = $1550
  Recurring: $770/year
  Obviously the plug-in EV gets better recurring costs, but factor in the initial price difference of $22,000 and I would need to drive the Chevy Volt for over 28 years to start saving money!
  According to Wiki North Carolina electricity comes from 62% coal fired plants, so lets look at the environmental impact for both of the cars listed above:
  Carbon produced from operation:
  35 Electric Miles = 120Kwh per charge * 62% * 1001g Kwh Coal CO2 = 74474g C02
  http://www.mychevroletvolt.com/first-chevy-volt-electricity-bill-pge
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas#Carbon_dioxide_emissions
  15 Gas Miles = 423g / mile = 6345g CO2
  http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/documents/420f11041.pdf
  Total = 80819g * 5day * 52 weeks = 21,000Kg
  Carbon produced from manufacturing Lithium Ion Battery
  Total = 352Kg / 5year lifespan = 70Kg
  http://solar365.com/green_cars/electric_cars/lead-acid-and-lithium-ion-batteries-in-electric-cars
  Carbon produced total
  21,070Kg
  50 Gas Miles = 423g / mile = 21150g CO2
  Total = 21150* 5 day * 52 weeks = 5,400Kg
  Volt 21,070Kg vs Veloster 5,400Kg for the year == Shocking isnt it! The car obviously burning fossil fuel is far less harmful to our environment.
  I am publishing this out to the internet in order to get feedback to help catch any errors in my logic and will happily adjust anything that is brought up. However it seems quite clear that buying a PlugIn Hybrid car in NC is a huge logical mistake.
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 8:17 AM 1 comment:
  Just stumbling around the WWW this morning and ran across this cool little Flash based audio sequencer called "ToneMatrix" created by Andre Michelle:
  A melody that I created this morning:
  http://tonematrix.audiotool.com/_/400.0.40.0.209.0.20.0.8g.0.18.g0.0.g0.255.20
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 9:05 AM No comments:
  We are pleased to announce the 1.0 release of Pytomation.
  Pytomation is an extensible open source automation system written in Python. It's uses include home automation and lighting control but is certainly not limited to those functions.
  Pytomation features include:
  - Written in Python (Multiplatform)
  - Unique language to describe devices and actions.
  - Smart objects: Doors, Lights, Motion, Photocell etc.
  - Regular python programming in Mainloop for more complicated control.
  - Easy interface to web browsers and other technology.
  - Time of day on and off control.
  - Delays for time off.
  - Idle command, device will return to "idle" state.
  - Map one command to another with optional source and time.
  - Good hardware support with more coming.
  - Very easy to add new hardware drivers.
  - Local Telnet and Web access.
  - Good documentation complete with examples.
  Pytomation currently has support for the following hardware interfaces
  with more planned in the future.
  - Insteon / X10 (2412N, 2412S)
  - UPB (Universal Powerline Bus) (Serial PIM)
  - JDS Stargate (RS232 / RS485)
  - Weeder Digital I/O board (Wtdio/RS232)
  - W800RF32 X10 RF receiver (W800/RS232)
  - Arduino Uno, digital and analog
  - Z-Wave (Aeon Labs) DSA02203-ZWUS
  - CM11 X10 control
  - Others as requested.
  Download links and documentation are at the bottom of the web page.
  Please use the mail list for help at this time, information about
  subscribing can also be found on the home page.
  Downloads, docs and mail lists http://www.pytomation.com
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 6:49 PM No comments:
  Labels: Linux, Pytomation, Tech, Ubuntu
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 12:07 PM No comments:
  Lowes Smart Home Product - IRIS
  Last Summer Lowe's introduced a new smart home product called IRIS. I am an avid supporter of Home Automation projects and the price point for an ethernet device that does z-wave and zigbee for $99 was too compelling so I bought one.
  Looking to integrate this hardware into my existing Pytomation / Misterhouse home automation system, I decided to see how "open" they are about third party integrations.
  What I have found is that they have a REST based API available from their own servers in the cloud, however, I could not find a way to access this device locally within my own network.
  I spent an hour or so sharking the device to see what was available and here are my results:
  The device is created by AlertMe (has their MAC vendor address)
  It has TCP ports 80 and 111 open (neither one of them does standard HTTP on it though) Unknown protocol.
  It communicates with imgserver.irissmarthome.com for firmware updates on HTTPS
  It communicates with hubserver.irissmarthome.com for general communication on HTTPS
  It appears to run Linux 2.6 based on nmap -O
  It appears to have support for SafetyNet protocol (UDP port 4000) Dont know much about it other than is supports secure connections for embedded devices on ethernet.
  I have heard that it has a TTL serial port on the board, but login password is unknown.
  Unfortunately for now, there does not appear to be a way to interface with the hardware component directly (and without their monthly fee). This would leave my system to the mercy of internet connectivity to their cloud infrastructure and the lag associated with it, so I have decided to halt any further development with the devices.
  Posted by Jason Sharpee at 2:08 PM 6 comments:
  Labels: Linux, Pytomation, Tech
  Install Ubuntu on Rockchip MK803-III ARM MiniPC
  My daughter and I are beginning a quest to build a new robot based on a Neato XV11. Part of the "brains" of this machine will be a $60 Rockchip MK803-III RK3066 mini-pc. It ships with Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" pre-installed, however, for the purposes of this project I will need a Linux Kernel and User-space that is far more capable.
  A developer by the alias "AndrewDB" has taken the time to configure a kernel, assemble a filesystem, and test it all for the RK3066 common platforms. This is what I will be using as the platform for my software development.
  Steps to install Ubuntu 12.10:
  Root the Android Installation:
  The way I have found to get this done is to install a new Android ROM. I have choosen to use popular ROM by the developer with the alias "Finless" called "UG802 Finless ROM 1.6 'custom' JellyBean" Obtained Here
  The instructions of that thread pertain mostly to installing this on the UG802 based device with a ICS ROM already installed. I suspect due to the 802-III already having JB on the device there is a crucial step that is missing:
  There is a step in the ROM installation where you need to be able to put the device into Flash Mode. The supplied RKFlashTool with that ROM does not work on our device to do that.
  You will need to additionallty install the RKBatchTool.
  If selecting the "Reboot To Flash Mode" button fails (as it did for me), run the RKBatchTool, and click the "Switch" button.
  The device will reboot and go to a blank screen and the RKFlashTool will then find the device correctly. Continue following the instructions from the Finless ROM.