VR Lab is happy to present our last updates in the project in last week we doing a great upgrades :
The entry level mechanical GoPro gimbal is ready , in the video you can see the first test, It's very simple to balance the camera to obtain better result.
The VR Gimbal is ready for developer we put online the opensource repository , in the next days will be update with recent workspace : library and code the code is compatible wit VR Universal IDE .
Today we finish to implement the first version of code that manage motors on pitch , roll and yaw . In the first test we are using only P not yet ID for improve corretion but the result is yet very good , in the nexts days put online new video:)
Now is possible to setting the parameter with a serial port interface : sensor calibration , PID , on and off of motors , power for control the motors , step / degree ecc ecc . We start to develop a console for end user. We would use mavlink for interconnect the Gimbal to Console application ... in our test we are yet using also 3DR Radio and it work fine !
a new member of our VR Gimbal Test Team, start to test a VR Copter Fly Cam configuration. This is his hexacopter, used for shooting this video :
The Hexa configuration uses :
VR Brain 4.0 as Flight Control
Pulso Motor
40A ESC
12" Graupner Propeller.
Prototype Version of 2 Axis Direct Driver gimbal , for VR Gimbal 3 axis testing and developing.
To reach the best flight performance from VRBrain, out tester used this kind of trick for solve the issue vibration. This is the result of vibration during the flight. It's very good :)
Our tester use acro mode during his first fly test and he's very happy of result have with VR Brain Flight control.
When Richard Van As, a master carpenter in Johannesburg, South Africa, decided to make a set of mechanical fingers, it wasn’t just for fun. He’d lost four of the fingers on his right hand in an unfortunate work accident. For a tradesman like Rich, having a disabled hand is a big professional detriment, so Richard decided on the day of his the incident that he would use the tools available to him to remedy his situation. Watch the inspiring video above to hear how Richard’s project, Robohand, is changing lives with patience, spirit, and a MakerBot Replicator 2.
Getting Started
MakerBot heard about the Robohand project in January 2013. Richard had been trading ideas with Ivan Owen, a collaborator in Washington State, for several months. Ivan used his prior experience with mechanical prop hands to make design suggestions, while Richard attempted to replicate the designs in his workshop.
The process was taking weeks and months per cycle. For us here at MakerBot, that was too much wasted time. We knew our 3D printer, the MakerBot Replicator 2, could take this important work to new heights. We saw their collaboration and the work they were doing as groundbreaking, and we asked Ivan and Richard to accept a donation from us: a MakerBot Replicator 2 for each of them, one in Washington, and another in South Africa.
If the tool was useful to them, we hoped they would share their work on Thingiverse.com for the world to download. It turns out the MakerBots were incredibly useful, and the guys have followed through on their promise. Just hours after they received their packages from us here in Brooklyn, the two collaborators were sharing files back and forth, testing the design in one place and doing another iteration on the other side of the world. Richard says it took the prototyping process down from weeks to just 20 minutes.
But that’s only half the story.
Giving A Hand
Robohand has grown far beyond the goal of making a set of fingers just for Richard. When the power of desktop 3D printing and MakerBot entered the picture, Richard began to realize how quickly he could refine a design for other people who have lost their fingers, or who were born without fingers. After posting his own story, he received emails and Facebook messages from parents whose children were candidates for a Robohand of their own. One of these children was five-year-old Liam.
The condition Amniotic Band Syndrome is poorly understood, but the effects of it are pretty clear. Children are often born without extremities, especially fingers and toes, when fibrous bands in the womb prevent these parts from developing normally. It’s this condition that caused Liam to be born with no fingers on his right hand. The cost of purchasing a traditional prosthesis was far too much for the family, especially since Liam is a young and fast growing boy who would outgrow a prosthesis in a few months.
Liam was given a Robohand just days after Richard and Ivan received their MakerBots in January, 2013, and he has already been fitted for his second. The word spread, and other kids in the Johannesburg area like Liam with Amniotic Band Syndrome have received their own Robohands, sized just for them. The files, including the assembly instructions, have been posted online at Thingiverse, and they have been downloaded over 3,800 times by people around the globe.
What Is A Robohand?
A Robohand is a set of mechanical fingers that open and close to grasp things based on the motion of the wrist. When the wrist folds and contracts, the cables attaching the fingers to the base structure cause the fingers to curl. Nearly all the parts of a Robohand are 3D printed on MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D printers.
Ivan, who played a big part in the initial design stages of Robohand, says he studied the anatomy of crab legs and human fingers to get the basic muscle and tendon structure. The result is a simple assembly that Richard believes anyone can make themselves. While a full set of prosthetic fingers may cost thousands of dollars, all of the Robohand parts that are made on the MakerBot Replicator 2 add up to roughly a few dollars in material cost, with the total mechanical hand costing around $150 (USD).
Who Needs A Robohand?
Amniotic Band Syndrome affects 1 in 1,200 live births.
About 80% of cases of Amniotic Band Syndrome involve the loss or malformation of fingers and hands.
Finger amputations are the most common amputation in the US, accounting for over 90% of all amputations, according to various reports.
How Do I Get A Robohand?
Robohand was not imagined as a service or a product. Instead, Richard has shared the design files and instructions for creating a Robohand on Thingiverse so that people around the world can download, customize, print, and assemble Robohands for themselves or for others.
So far, we’ve heard stories of Robohands being made for children and adults in the US, Canada, and Thailand. Are you a MakerBot owner who can give this incredible gift to someone in your community?
Get Involved
There’s still a lot to be done. Richard has given hands-on help to a few of the people within his reach, but Robohand needs your help in order to get to the people who need it most.
● Want to spread the word? Share this video with your friends on Twitter or Facebook. ● Looking to to support the cause? Check out Robohand’s Indiegogo campaign. ● Are you an occupational therapist or prosthetist? Leave a comment below!
Make a Robohand
The design files and assembly instructions for Robohand can be found on Thingiverse.
Robohand’s creators would like to empower others around the world to use their files and create and print in 3D Robohands of their own, and they are not in the mechanical hand business. They created Robohand out of the goodness of their heart. Now it’s time to provide the files to the world and see what other good can come from them!
Robohand uses the following tools to make their mechanical hands:
after one week of work to first sample of electronics , we are ready with workspace enviroment for developer that want join our team.
Electronic Specification:
In VR Gimbal We decide to use this kind of electronic parts :
as micro we use STM32F1 64 pin.
1 MPU6000 + HMC5883 for Z axis Direct Drive CAM using i2c bus.
1 MPU6000 on spi bus. for Roll and Pitch cam.
EEPROM for storage the parameter of gimbal.
3 ST Driver for manage 3 Brushless Motors with 9 Hardware PWM Output.
1 input for Ublox GPS.
4 PPM Radio Input or 1 PPMSUM radio input until 8 channel or more.
1 Telemetry port for mavlink control.
As developer enviroment we use VR Ide Universal (based on eclipse) compatible with VRBRAIN and MP32 board now also with VR GIMBAL.
The developer lib and hal at the begin will be compatible with our APM_LIB ported to STM32F1 library the same used on MP32F1 board.
That support all the APM library available and arduino language sintax .
In our code we decide to port on VR Gimbal :
AP_COMMON
AP_VAR
AP_InertialSensor
AP_IMU
AP_Camera
AP_Mount
Mavlink
and other utility yet available on our standard F1 package ...
We would develop also a utility for manage the board from
If you are interest to join our work in developing stage will be a special price for you of 75 euro of 3 axis control board + 15 euro for IMU (at the moment is available only 20 board) .
You name will be in the list of developer of this great project. The code will be opensource as other in this great community ... the support in development and donation are welcome .
For more info about the project contact me at info@virtualrobotix.com
In our roadmap the first stable version of code will be available in 1 month.
In the next week will be available the enviroment , with hal and library , then starting to implement the code functionality for manage the first opensource 32 bit 3 axis direct drive.
I hope that you like our project and join us in development.
In VR Lab mecatronix group are working hard and is yet available a good gimbal for GOPRO
And also is coming Gimbal for pro and semi pro camera.
Earlier my plan was to mount my Galaxy Nexus 7» tablet on my radio, but I decided that the Nexus7 is too large and heavy for this.
Therefore, I decided to use my Samsun Galaxy S III phone in this project. I have used the same type of back cover so it is simple to add/remove the phone on the radio.
On the back of the Galaxy S III back cover, I have mounted a 433Mhz 3DR telemetry radio module in a small plastic box. Then all you need is a USB OTG cable to connect the 3DR radio to the phone.
Ready to go
Without the phone
From the side - have used an FPV monitor Mount from goodluckbuy, that I have modified
From the rear, showing the 3DR telemetry radio mounted on the backcover.
Then after a long selection and technical evaluation of platform doing on 3d cad , testing the frame with FEM simulation and then send the prototype to our maker company.
The next step is test on air. Inside we put our flight control platform VR Brain , 3DR Ublox GPS , 3DR radio telemetry module , VR ESC and VR Radio .
We are working hard on a lot of component and we'll be on air in one month .
The VR Copter design is from italy :)
This Copter is in a 550 category.
The weight of frame is around 330 gr.
Below support different configuration of payload ad in front will be available a revision of VR Copter with VR Direct Drive Gimbal that's coming ,too
The tile is removable , so if drone crash you can change the tail or in future will be different configuration available.
We are available also to customize the frame with your colors or texture on it . With our modular approach we haven't limit to customize our platform.
We need your help to understand if you like our new and innovative drone platform and what kind of feature do you like on it :)
We are searching farm in the world that have competitive price for production of this frame . We have two kind of version of project one for going in production with professional 3D printer. We are evaluation also to buy one . If someone have some suggestion about a good product at competitive price that's welcome :)
The other opportunity is to produce by molding technology process , but we need a good price for it :) In italy is not enough competitive price :)
if you can help us comment this post or contact us at info@virtualrobotix.com
After a long time with wind, rain and snow, the weather turned in my favor, so I was able to test my frame using my great VRBRAIN + LEA-6 GPS.
The quad feels very responsive and stable (using the latest firmware). Tested standard mode, simple mode, alt hold, loiter and auto land – all without any problems.
Did not have anyone to help me filming, so I have only filmed a short test of loiter
