In short, the roomba project is a success! I can remotely drive the robot around with a computer on the same network. I can even pan/tilt the phone (being used as the camera and internet connection). A much better video and a project page will follow, when I have time.
Future: Remote Control Roomba Cam over WiFi!
futureCurrently in the works… A remote control Roomba, with a pan/tilt camera mount and possibly a simple arm to hit handicapped buttons (to enter doors). Project goal: Use websocket protocol to communicate between a computer and Arduino microcontroller, using an Android phone as the USB/WiFi link.
Using javascript on an HTML page, the computer will send out commands depending on keys pressed on keyboard. The Android phone will take these commands and send them through USB On The Go (OTG) to the Arduino, which will finally control the Roomba through its serial port. The Arduino can also connect to pretty much anything else, such as lights, motors, or sensors. The video feed is simply IP Camera app running on the Android phone in the background. Nothing super new here, but a fun challenge for me to get my feet wet in internet connectivity. 🙂 Stay tuned! I hope to be done before April 2016
My NYSC Experience
lifeThe National Youth Science Camp is awesome! I was selected as one of the two Louisiana delegates to attend in 2013. Here are a few of the many pictures I took during the month-long camp. Other than a couple days in Washington DC, we spent our time in West Virginia.
See these and more on Google Photos
Or visit the Official NYSC website for the 2013 delegation
How to unhide your files after a virus attack
repairThe most common virus I see here in NZ is one that makes all the files/folders on the root of the drive hidden system files. Then it makes a bunch of shortcuts with the same file names as the hidden files. But all the shortcuts lead to a virus. It’s very simple to fix. It runs rampant among flash drives as they are plugged into many different computers.
Please note this virus is easily blocked if antivirus software is already on the computer you plug the infected drive into.
To unhide your files, pick an option below.
1st option:
Just download this file UnhideFiles.bat and put it on the root of the flash drive or hard drive you are trying to fix.
You may get a security warning, ignore it. If you are unsure of the cleanliness of the file, use the option below.
2nd option (little harder, but safer):
Open a notepad text document.
Type
attrib -h -r -s /s /d *?
then save as a .bat file.
-h is for not hidden
-r for not read only
-s for not system file
NOTE: Requires Administrator Privileges to run this file!
Double click to open it, a command prompt window will open.
When the window closes, every file is unhid and back to normal, then just delete the viruses.
Best to have an antivirus program on the computer you’re using as well.
I recommend Avira Free Antivirus
