I’m the Winner of a Dexter dIMU Sensor

December 9, 2011   LEGO Mindstorms, dIMU IMU sensor, Dexter Industries Hardware, LEGO Mindstorms Hardware   No comments
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The Guy NXT door, (Aswin Bouwmeester) had a competition where you could win a LEGO® Mindstorms NXT dIMU sensor from Dexter Industries. It is the same sensor sent to Aswin for evaluation purposes, from Dexter Industries. Aswin recieved it for free for testing, and is probably is the best tested sensor available.

Competition:

Do you have a nice application for this sensor? Submit your plan in a reply to this blog. The most original or inspiring idea will be rewarded with this advanced sensor. I am to judge the submitted idea’s and to point out the winner. If you like a particular submission very much you can respond to this. You might be able to influence my decision

From Aswin Bouwmeester’s Blog page:

I am proud to announce the winner of the dIMU give away. And the winner is Ray McNamara with his Mars Rotacaster rover. This is what Ray is going to do with the sensor.

I’m currently working on my Mars Rotacaster Rover, based on the latest NASA Rovers sent to Mars. Currently I’m using a HiTechnic Accelerometer to keep the Chassis Horizontal at all times, independent of the ‘Roker-Bogie’ Suspension.

With access to the Dexter Industries IMU sensor, I could not only control chassis alignment, but also regulate the heading of the robot travels. The drive/power from the wheel motors could be controlled, in order to keep the robots direction of travel constant, even if the wheels on one side are forced to travel further due to uneven terrain.

I choose Ray’s entry for a number of reasons. His idea uses both the accelerometer, to keep level, and gyro, to keep direction. Also, the robot has an innovative suspension system and it does exists already. So there is a good chance that we’ll be seeing the robot delivering a glass of water over rough terrain without spilling any soon. I’m looking forward to the video. Ray, congratulations!

Please take the time to visit:Aswin Bouwmeester‘s website: “Guy NXT Door. You won’t regret it, as there is barrow loads of quality LEGO® Mindstorms NXT related Information. From Sensor Reviews, Programming Techniques, and detailed How-To’s on getting the best from all your Mindstorms NXT Sensors. There is detail information on Sensor Programming Techniques for NXC, RobotC® and LeJOS Java Languages. I’m very envious of his tutorials and programming prowess.

Now here is what I’ve Won!

dIMU: a Gyroscope and Accelerometer in One

Introducing the dIMU Sensor

  • An accelerometer and gyroscope for the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT, on the same sensor.
  • Measures acceleration, tilt, and rotaton on all 3 axes.
  • Build LEGO robots that can balance, measure acceleration, and know which way is up.
  • Measure static and dynamic acceleration.
  • Accelerometer: Measure up to 8 g’s on all three axes. Measure between ±2g, ±4g, and ±8g.
  • Gyroscope: Measures rate of rotation on all three axes. The sensor can measure ±250, ±500, and ±2,000 degrees per second.
  • See what we’ve done with the dIMU here.

dIMU = Gyroscope + Accelerometer

Check out our website for more information on the dIMU!
The dIMU in Action

See the dIMU in action and watch some videos of it on Youtube.

Laurens Valk’s Segway (Click for Video)
Laurence Valks Lego NXT Segway

Matt Allen’s Segway (Click for Video)
Our mailing address is:

Dexter Industries

Dexter Industries

Stafford, VA 22554


Copyright (C) 2011 Dexter Industries All rights reserved.


 

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