Arduino & Qt Creator

I've been re-working the Qt Creator project wizard of late, adding support for the Arduino core library. It's great to be working in a more capable IDE. For Serial Port monitoring there are many alternatives; I've found Ultra Serial Port Monitor to work well:

http://download.cnet.com/Ultra-Serial-Port-Monitor/3000-2094_4-10969502.html

The updated wizard can be found here:

https://bitbucket.org/engine_develop/arduino_wizard

It's What's Inside...

So, far from languishing on the workbench, I've been working on the S1 sensor project lately. I'm attempting to leave a trail of solder-crumbs for daring (read: foolish) souls who may follow.

The physical design of the device is nearly complete, awaiting the arrival of components for a final look at spacing. I was struggling to find a reasonable design for the rotating fins, each of which must house a CMOS sensor, an M12 fisheye lens and related wiring. The challenge lay in finding a way to pass the wiring through to the hand-grip, housing the micro-controller. My first attempt used a solid metal pin that allowed the fin to rotate but meant leaving a hole for the wiring. In the end 3d printing allowed for a hollow pin, reducing weight and keeping all wiring safely tucked away.

On the system side, I've been building a prototype based on the OV7670 camera sensor, a cheap VGA component that is widely available. I'm planning to build a simplified system with final lens, sensor and using Bluetooth for I/O. Once this is in place I will begin work with the final sensor, which should be challenging. The sensor is a Toshiba CK26V1, found in the Nokia Lumia 1020 smartphone. It has a very high resolution of 41 MP (7136x5360), which should give great coverage when two 180 degree images are stitched.

Here is a snap of my Arduino setup to date; all pins are set up and its time to start timing tests:

Speaking of code, I've updated the Qt Creator Arduino project wizard, adding additional library includes, required for my work with the internal I2C Wire library, and USB initialization. For those interested, the repo lives here:

https://bitbucket.org/engine_develop/arduino_wizard

Hack away! :)

Details, Details...

Here is the latest iteration on the S1 design. There are lots of facets to add tension to the lines, something I think is missing in the design of many devices. The triangular palm grip is still growing on me. I'm not certain that the materials will turn out as I'd like: (Shapeways having a limited selection in plastics), but here's hoping.

Most of the prototype components have been ordered (hoo-rah!) and its now about fitting them into the surfaces. The optics will center around Sony's IMX220 CMOS sensor, which boasts a 20.7 MP resolution. Two of these will be mated to 180 degree fisheye lenses mounted in fins to yield stereo imaging. These fins retract to offer the second imaging mode: 360 degree panoramas.

So... would you buy one? :)

Curves Are Out

Well, I've started work on the enclosure of what I've dubbed the 'S1'; a 3d sensor project that is keeping me busy. It feels good to be in Maya again, without a pin or wire in sight. As much as Arduino has grown on me, the graphics itch always needs scratching.

I'm not sure where this experiment will lead, but it somehow felt right to start exploring a faceted look to the enclosure. There are too many curves, many dangerous, out there. I have begun to design and source the components that will be required, as well as the optical system. I'll leave the gritty details for another post, however rest assured that both eyes will be satisfied with the view from the top :)

Arduino & QT Creator

I've been playing with Arduino for some time now, and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. That said, there has been one aspect of development that has left me wanting more: the IDE. Although the official IDE offers a great way to get your feet wet, it lacks some features of more robust IDEs.

My favourite IDE by far is QT Creator:

http://qt-project.org/wiki/Category:Tools::QtCreator

I've created a QT Creator project wizard for Arduino that deals with the setup of ports, compiler flags and upload options. The wizard is available here; please follow the instructions in the 'install.txt' file to get up and running with Arduino in QT Creator:

https://bitbucket.org/engine_develop/arduino_wizard/src

Enjoy :)