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All the design files for the NAV200 USB interface are available here: usb-interface.tar.gz. This includes the AVR firmware, CPLD code, schematic, board layout, gerbers, bill of materials, and a demo program. The code is intended to be built in Linux. It depends on libusb. It should be portable to Windows or Mac if you provide libusb and the build tools.

To program a new board, you will need the Xilinx tools, avr-gcc, and dfu-programmer. Read more »

Disassembly

Submitted by ben on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 02:57

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See the NAV200 gallery for photos of the inside of this sensor. Wiring details are shown. Be very careful when disassembling and reassembling the sensor as the wiring is poorly designed, with some wires being too short to allow much movement of the optical assembly while other wires are excessively long. Some connectors even have had wires installed and then cut off. This is normal.

Observe standard precautions to prevent electrostatic discharge. Read more »

Connecting the USB interface

Submitted by ben on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 02:03

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The NAV200 has two circular connectors: a 14-pin connector for communication signals and an 8-pin connector for power. Internally the signal connector goes to an 8-pin and a 6-pin header, and the power connector goes to a 2-pin header. Read more »

NAV200 Introduction

Submitted by ben on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 01:57

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The SICK NAV200 is a 360-degree scanning LIDAR with a range of about 4m unless retroreflectors are used. It is sold as a navigation sensor for autonomous ground vehicles in factories. In its intended application, retroreflectors are positioned around the factory and their locations are given to the sensor. The sensor then calculates its position in the environment from the observed positions of the reflectors. Read more »

Quadrotor rev 3

Submitted by ben on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 00:17

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Quadrotor

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I am designing a complete rebuild of the quadrotor. The new design will focus on minimizing weight while integrating the sensors and processing needed for autonomous flight. Where revision 2 used a Wiimote and offboard processing, revision 3 will use an IMU-3000 and ADXL-345 for inertial sensing and a Gumstix Overo Fire module for processing. The same motors and battery will be used. The motor drivers and propellers will be reused initially, but may be replaced later. Read more »

SICKbot

Submitted by ben on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 00:12

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SICKbot

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SSRP board Read more »

This is a small ground vehicle I built as a platform for working on SLAM algorithms. It has a NAV200 LIDAR, a pan/tilt camera, WiFi, and tank drive with two DC motors. A Beagle Board for processing. An ATmega16 AVR microcontroller generates PWM signals for the DRV8801 motor drivers (the OMAP chip on the Beagle Board could do this, but I need other I/O as well, so it was easier to put everything in the ATmega). Read more »

Tracking Generator

Submitted by ben on Sat, 11/06/2010 - 00:03

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Tektronix 492

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Tools

This is a tracking generator for the Tektronix 492 based on KE5FX's design. It takes the place of a TR-503 tracking generator but has a different architecture. The design is essentially the same as KE5FX's, but uses attenuator/amplifier pairs instead of isolators and has a different PLL circuit for generating the 110MHz LO. Read more »

SSRP

Submitted by ben on Thu, 11/04/2010 - 11:54

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More Projects

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Tools

I built a single-board version of David Carr's Simple Software Radio Peripheral. This is a USB-connected ADC that can be used for software radio work.

Quadrotor rev 2

Submitted by ben on Thu, 11/04/2010 - 11:08

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Quadrotor

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