Advice ROS Single Board Computer - (Kinect, +other sensors)

asked 2011-07-23 08:07:24 -0600

PhaseSpace
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updated 2016-10-24 09:03:33 -0600

ngrennan
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Hello,

I have a robotic platform that I wish to put ROS and the Kinect sensor on.

I would like some advice on the hardware for the robotic platform I am building. My current robot platform has blackfin processors which do not have USB interfaces. I need a board that will be powerful enough to process the Kinect data, and be able to accept all the camera, sensors, etc that I already have. I need ports for I2C, UART, additional USB for webcam etc.

I looked at the Beagleboard, and it was suggested it would not be powerful enough to handle the Kinect.

It was suggested to me that a mini-itx board would be a good replacement.

How would I integrate the i2C, motor controller, and other components into this type of board? Is there some kind of I2C and various connector expansion pack I can get for this?

Is there another signle board computer that will work well? Any advice is appreciated.

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answered 2011-07-23 09:32:13 -0600

dornhege

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You have two ways of integrating the I/O interfaces:

Look for an embedded board that supports all your requirements.
Buy a embedded board with good performance and use a microcontroller or similar (PC104) for additional interfaces.

I think option 2) will be much simpler. Especially I2C is not necessarily available and if you want to process Kinect data you don't want to compromise on power. The arduino is a comparably easy way to get I2C and depending on the data rate you can get additional UARTs.

When you look into embedded boards in comparison to a standard board, you will usually find that you get things like multiple UARTs which can be really nice and is fading out in consumer products.

We have a NANO-PV-D510A and a WAFER-945GSE board and both work well, although they not up 2 date on power.

I think, the fitPc2 is used quite often.

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I looked into this a bit further. It was suggested by another member that I could use a high level processor for the kinect, and then something else for the robot controller. I am thinking of using a mini-itx, or fitPc2 for the kinect and the beagleboard as the main robot controller

PhaseSpace ( 2011-07-24 07:35:59 -0600 )edit

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answered 2011-07-23 12:00:00 -0600

PhaseSpace
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Thanks for the response. I have been looking at various boards and really am not sure what will work with ROS and Kinect well. Were you using the boards you mentioned with a robotic application and the Kinect sensor?