Need funding/sponsorship for robocup

[karthikprasad]

We team "LesInvincibles" from Hyderabad are on the lookout for companies or private well-to-do individuals or trusts who can fund our entry for the Indian edition of robocup(robocup.in)
Our entry has many firsts like
=> offloading the entire image processing part onto the GPU
=> using Back Emf for speed measurement unlike other
competitors cutting the cost like by almost 70%
=> A system where players chalk out their own
strategies rather than stick to path planning and painful ,boring,hard coded approaches like
that
=> ,the whole thing is in Java and JOGL and the latency is only 0.2ms
My teammate already sent a similar mail to the admin of this site.So we would appreciate his feedback too.
Our teams budget is set at a record low price of rs30,000
So people,if u feel u have what it takes to promote and be promoted,
please do let us know
Cheerio
karthik

[vikas]

HI

Yep ive got the email from you , but these days we are trying to build a new robotics platform called ARP , so we are investing in that.

For starters if i were to fund you I would be interested in your track record ? The robots uve built / prototypes ? Any Events you have won ? .

Also your first post about requiring funding dosent really have you being taken seriously . If you were are regular contributor to this i would have actually thought about it.

Regards

[karthikprasad]

Guys

Believe it or not ,our teams ideology is to not participate in commercial robotics because we are from Hyd where all we get for competition is a bunch of things with four motors and a freakin switch which they call a "ROBOT" and in some extremely rare cases,u get line followers.
So,our robotics development has mostly been restricted to "inhouse" development.Dis is the first time we are going outa Hyd as we are kinda relieved from my crappy college schedule

Well here are some of our projects

=> A Soccer bot using Image processing ( Using A LUT based Approach in Java)
=> We used bluetooth for the wireless communication part from pc to phone using J2me and an Ir link with the bot from the phone using MAX3100

=> A Universal adaptive PID controlled line follower
Self explanatory,and dis was our first attempt at using Back Emf for speed measurement(encoding)

=>Others are not worth mentioning,the run of the mill micromouse stuff,and a vision controlled Sumo bot.

[karthikprasad]

And ya,this has nothing to do with the scholarship
but we would be damn interested in aiding development for ARP
please do let us know

[avinash_g]

@Vikas

Please post proceedings/developments of the ARP project in a post! 8)

[MohitM]

For someone who is requesting for some money, you sure have an unusual choice of words...

"Rich dude", "scholarship crap", "freakin switch", "crappy college schedule", "hard coded crap"...

Its fairly obvious that your favourite word in the English language is "crap"!

Don't get me wrong, you probably are better off being an angst-ridden heavy-metal rock star with long hair, lead-guitar and a cigarette!... But, hey, maybe you are!

:)

[karthikprasad]

Guyz trust us

hey Socrates was naked most of the time u know :) ,So dont come to a conclusion just becuz we use slangs

I know that the people who would actually sponsor us would care more about what we would do and not what we speak

Guyz ,we are really desperate here,even a loan kinda thing would suffice,but sponsorship would definitely be cool cuz we know we are worth it .

@Mohit: Yes,I am a lead guitarist too :wink:

[karthikprasad]

Even letting us know about people and Industries who would sponsor would also be of immense help

[MohitM]

Guyz trust usHard to do that, if you call someone who may lend you money "rich dude".


hey Socrates was naked most of the time u know :)Not true actually... And even if it was, he didn't go around asking for money naked. If someone does that, it'd be called begging.


So dont come to a conclusion just becuz we use slangsBut being an Internet with no face-to-face interaction, the language that you use, goes a long way in helping make that conclusion.


I know that the people who would actually sponsor us would care more about what we would do and not what we speakYou wish!.. But the real world no longer works that way. In the late 90's maybe yes, it was cool to be non-conformist, but after the dotcom bust, not anymore.


The reason I keep on harping on correct language here in this forum is that a proper presentation goes a long way in creating a good image when communicating with people who matter. It'll help you throughout your career and life if you pay enough attention to detail. After all, syntax matters in programming languages, rules matter in engineering; and so it should not be all that difficult to do the same while communicating. Especially, if you are trying to convince somebody of your worth. You may really have a great idea, so please don't present it so trivially.

If you don't trust me on this, please go to any of technical forum: AVRfreaks, PIClist, Microsoft... You'll find great technical discussions there and everybody uses proper language.

[asimov_18]

Hi Guys,
Mohit is right to a gr8 extent..........ur language is ur identity in this face less world......try persuading ur college dean.....30K is not a big sum for a college......

Asimov

[avinash_g]

If you don't trust me on this, please go to any of technical forum: AVRfreaks, PIClist, Microsoft... You'll find great technical discussions there and everybody uses proper language.

Mohit is right!

Why don't you use your pocket money ??? 30K is nothing these a days for a bunchof engg grads in Hyderabad! :twisted:

[avinash_g]

If you don't trust me on this, please go to any of technical forum: AVRfreaks, PIClist, Microsoft... You'll find great technical discussions there and everybody uses proper language.

Mohit is right!

Why don't you use your pocket money ??? 30K is nothing these a days for a bunch of engg grads in Hyderabad! :twisted:

[MohitM]

Why don't you use your pocket money ??? 30K is nothing these a days for a bunchof engg grads in Hyderabad! :twisted:
So true! Most engineering college fees per semester are way more than that.

[karthikprasad]

Ok the whole story for you people

1.We are not super rich ,and we were duped of 15K by a guy who promised to import components for us (The omniwheels and Atmega 648 mcus ).So we are left with a miniscule amount of rs5k.We tried asking our college ,but they only promote people who write "Papers", for them robotics is like something which is not worthwhile.We cant blame them
given the lack of creativity in this field back at our place.We have tried asking the whos-who in the industrial sector back at our place,but no one
seems to 'want' to believe you unless you have an IIT tag or something.

2.We have a deadline of July 15th(Submission of video and abstract), which is giving us the creeps as our whole thing is complete except for the hardware part.When I say "Hardware Part",it has been tested with proteus too.So trust us,we wouldnt want to rob people of their hard-earned money just to save some extra bucks.

Why would we even ask in the first place had we had enough resources?
Cheerio
KP

[MohitM]

Ok the whole story for you people

1.We are not super rich ,and we were duped of 15K by a guy who promised to import components for us (The omniwheels and Atmega 648 mcus ).So we are left with a miniscule amount of rs5k.We tried asking our college ,but they only promote people who write "Papers", for them robotics is like something which is not worthwhile.We cant blame them
given the lack of creativity in this field back at our place.We have tried asking the whos-who in the industrial sector back at our place,but no one
seems to 'want' to believe you unless you have an IIT tag or something.

2.We have a deadline of July 15th(Submission of video and abstract), which is giving us the creeps as our whole thing is complete except for the hardware part.When I say "Hardware Part",it has been tested with proteus too.So trust us,we wouldnt want to rob people of their hard-earned money just to save some extra bucks.

Why would we even ask in the first place had we had enough resources?
Cheerio
KP
Could you give a list of what all you need?

[karthikprasad]

I am posting a list of what will be used

=>ATMEGA 32 MCUS (6) ( WE GOT EM)
=> TLC5940 (5) ( WE GOT EM FREE SAMPLES)
=>L293DS (10) (WE GOT EM)
=>TR 433 RF TRANSCEIVERS (BASED ON TI CC1100 ) (RS 750*6) :(
=>OMNI WHEELS -20(2" Inch diameter)( Rs 4800 + DUTY APPROX=RS 5500 ) :(
=> 20 MOTORS(1000 RPM) (4 EACH *5) (240*20=4800RS) :(
=> LOGITECH QUICK CAM WITH WIDE ANGLE LENS FITTING (GOT IT)
=> 5* 12V DC BATTERIES (AMPERAGE OF AROUND 1.2A) (675*5=RS3375) :(


Cheerio

KP

[MohitM]

I am posting a list of what will be used

=>ATMEGA 32 MCUS (6) ( WE GOT EM)
=> TLC5940 (5) ( WE GOT EM FREE SAMPLES)
=>L293DS (5) (WE GOT EM)
=>TR 433 RF TRANSCEIVERS (BASED ON TI CC1100 ) (RS 750*6) :(
=>OMNI WHEELS -20(2" Inch diameter)( Rs 4800 + DUTY APPROX=RS 5500 ) :(
=> 20 MOTORS(1000 RPM) (4 EACH *5) (240*20=4800RS) :(
=> LOGITECH QUICK CAM WITH WIDE ANGLE LENS FITTING (GOT IT)
=> 5* 12V DC BATTERIES (AMPERAGE OF AROUND 1.2A) (675*5=RS3375) :(


Cheerio

KP
Why do you need multiple quantities of each... like 6 microcontrollers, 5x4 sets of motors?

[karthikprasad]

It is a 5 on 5 Soccer game

=>Each bot will have:

A MCU+2 L293Ds+TLC5940
A RF TRANSCEIVER
4 OMNIWHEELS
4 MOTORS
A 12V Battery

The extra RF transceiver is for the MCU on the PC

[karthikprasad]

guys is there really no hope for us
:(

[docel]

.....most of your 30K will only take care of the Communication Hardware.
Maybe too late now, but must I record my comments here for the benefit of future Robocup contestants.

Besides, it is not clear how you port Cam info from PC to the Agents and implement the Agents' strategy planning with Atmega32??
Rs.240 Motors are notorious for their 'play' and inertia..... It is an absolutely wrong choice for the purpose.

I doubt the Atmegs32s can cope up with Navigation, strategy, communication, and other things at the same time....and at speeds , unless you have India only opponents ( even that may be a hard opponent , indeed!!)

Indeed, ideas may be great, but its the built hardware and subsequent tests that determine the feasibility of your ideas.

There is no way you can predict success with a theoretical plan when you deal with fast moving multiple mobile robots in real time.

While appreciating your excitement and enrhusiasm, I must put in these comments for others who might get carried away by the notion that Robocup can be implemented with a 30k budget.

My estimate is that you'll blowup 30k in no time ...even before you have a 'team' of the robots.
I'm not saying impossible but certainly NOT at your specified budget.

The last Indian Robocup effort I heard was a budget of 11lacs....and an absolute failure at that :(

[karthikprasad]

docel,
Our entry is almost done.We finished it with a budget of RS8500
making lots and I mean lots of changes.

We plan to make our entry OS as soon as possible

Atmega 32 doesn't do the processing part.I just wrote a stack program which basically filters good RF commands from the bad ones through manchester encoding and CRC and then sends them to a PID Controller
which uses the back emf of the motors as a setpoint for the actual point and the difference between this point and the required pwm point as the set point becuz the commands are basically PWM values for the motors

[docel]

ahhhh....good to hear that , Karthick!!!

Good luck to you and your team!