It's been a week since MEDC, and I thought I'd give you all a little update on WiMonet. 

WiMonet worked pretty well at MEDC, but there are some parts that I'd like to improve.  I'd like the turning angles to be more precise.  Most of the time, when WiMonet turned 90 degrees, he would turn about 90 degrees, but more often than I would like, he would turn anywhere from 75 to 105 degrees.  There are a number of possible reasons why this was so:

  1. The encoder ticks were about 1 tick/4 degrees in ratio.  I was told that if i use a quadencoder i could get better accuracy.  I've since ordered one and they should be here soon.
  2. Wheel slippage:  I don't think the wheels slipped much, but it is possible that i couldn't notice small slippage.
  3. Sloped or uneven terrain.  The whiteboard was pretty flat, but if it wasn't level, or there was a small divot in the board, this could have caused error as well. 
  4. The actual encoders not counting every tick due to wheel wobble or other factors. 

So, before I post the code and instructions on how to build WiMonet, i'd like to work out a few of these minor problems so that he is a bit more consistent. 

In other news, unfortunately, I won't be able to attend Maker Faire this year.  I was really excited to bring all of the WiMo's and show people how cool Windows Mobile is, but due to work (remember, I work with WiMo on the side, so sometimes the day job gets in the way ;)  )  and other commitments, I just can't take the time away. 

So, stay tuned for more updates on WiMonet and I'll work to get the code and hardware how-to up online as soon as I can.  I also have a few other WiMo projects on deck as well.  Always exciting!

- Brian