by David Ferreira Espisode 1: Multi-Mode Robot from RC 4x4 This post accompanies this Fourier Automation video . Project Description: This playlist will walk the viewer through an intermediate / advanced home hobbyist robotics project. This project will be free-form and enthusiastic beginners may also enjoy it. We will convert a large, inexpensive RC 4x4 vehicle to a multi-modal autonomous rover. Note: Our robot won't have any actual RC capabilities after the first stages -- it will be better and more exciting than that. We will use the term "pseudo-RC" to refer to this style of control where user input will be intercepted and interpreted by the microcontroller before being transmitted to the motors / servos.  Here are the features we will build into our robot: IR Proximity Sensors (Optional) GPS navigation Multiple modes Idle Mode: Steering tests (pseudo-remote control) Pseudo-Remote Control Mode: RC Transmitter communicates with microprocessor and microprocessor interp

by  David Ferreira, Fourier Automation Preface & Links This is part 3 in a series of tutorials from Fourier Automation on using NASA's core Flight System (cFS), an embedded software framework used in everything from cubesats to NASA's flagship spacecraft. Video accompanying this post: cFS Tutorial 3: All Aboard the cFS Software Bus The entire tutorial series: Fourier Automations cFS Tutorial Playlist NASA training material: Core Flight System (cFS) Training Putting Messages onto the cFS Software Bus A key component of NASA's cFS Framework is the (local) Software Bus or SB. This structure facilitates the publication of messages by a sending application to one or more subscriber applications. On a higher level, cFS also has a Software Bus Network (SBN) which connects various systems running cFS locally. But in this video, we will limit ourselves to learning how place messages onto the local software bus (SB) from our sample application. For a more in-depth understanding u