Resources

Useful Resources

Where can I test my robot?

Usually, experiments are done within the space of our labs (see here). In special cases (ask your advisor!) test may be carried out in the courtyard of AIRLab_Lambrate. This courtyard is a medium-size space enclosed by the building (but without a roof), with a flat floor, where mobile robots can move around a little more freely than in the labs. Should you need it, we have a CAD drawing (with dimensions) of the courtyard (ask Giulio Fontana); File:Cortile lambrate.pdf is a pdf black-and-white copy (A3-size) of it.

Writing and Reading

• How to write a thesis? Suggestions to prepare your thesis (only in Italian for now... translators are welcome!).
• How to write slides and make a presentation
• Suggestions to write well can help to produce a good thesis, as well as good scientific publications in general. Here is the part of the 14 steps to write well found on the San Francisco Edit company site that Andrea Bonarini shares.
• Other suggestions to write a good paper that get accepted are on the Elsevier site.
• You can access all the papers for which Politecnico has bought a subscription even when you are at home if you enable the Politecnico proxy. The instruction page is provided by the nice people of ASI in Italian only. For an English version of the page, try to poke them if you can find how to get in touch with them.
• Tips for editors of AIRWiki are also collected by this community, just to help to understand some of the hidden beauty of semantic WIKIs.

Version Control (GIT e SVN)

• piccola guida a git
• piccola guida a svn

Software and programming

• Once you have finished your work you should deliver it on the AIRLab Repository
• How to get rid of Delay in Arduino (Please, do this) Part1Part2
• If you do not know Arduino or would like to understand how to use it at best, you may refer to The Adafruit lessons or directly to the less clear, but "official" Arduino pages.
• Go to our ROS HOWTO page for advice and tutorials about ROS (Robot Operating System)
• Someone wrote some advice about writing code
• Info about Mathematica
• How to plot using gnuplot in your C/C++ project Gnuplot in cpp
• The AIRLab guide about Getting Started With PIC(TM) MCU
• Howto on VCSBC4018 vision board
• A few resources on Low Cost RTK GPS that might be useful

Hardware

• The Optitrack use guide
• Go to What's in the AIRLab if you are looking for stuff in the lab
• Need some component that isn't in the AIRLab for your project? Please add a row in the Shopping list and ask your advisor or Giulio Fontana.
• Need to design a new robot and have no ideas bout how to select the basic elements? Have a look here and then talk with your advisor, before taking any decision.
• Tutorial on LED selection and use.
• Some practical hints about LiPo Batteries
• Need to learn how to solder? Check the following links: 1 2 3
• Need the US name for that bit of mechanics? Use this useful chart. By the way, at the same place you can find other useful stuff of the same type.
• Small tutorial on (motor choices, wheel diameter, etc) mechanics for mobile robot design
• Tutorial on designing and making Omni-wheeled Robots

Shops

• Some useful addresses and links about shops, stores, factories, online catalogues. With some of them we have partnerships for discounts. You can find information here.

Hardware configuration

• Dei Phd-room (T11) printer configuration instructions.

For AIRWiki Administrators

• AIRWiki:AdminFAQ (FAQs about common admin tasks such as adding users, changing passwords, user renaming, etc.)
• Airpaper (writing a paper? This is a tool to share it with the other authors)
• DEI_Subversion_Administration (this is mainly for faculties)
• AIRWiki:Main (information about this specific AIRWiki installation)
• Are you having problems updating semantic information in the Wiki (i.e. you update it but it is not reflected on the rest of the website)? Check this link for a possible solution to your problem.

Producing videos and publishing them

• Usually, at the end of the project, people tend to produce a video and put it on the web. The best way to do this is to produce a video and then send it to Andrea Bonarini to have it published on the YouTube channel of the AIRLab. Then you can put the link wherever you want, hopefully also in the page of your project on AIRWiki, as done, e.g. in ROBOWII

Miscellanea (uncategorized)

• If you are searching the homepage of a DEI professor (or PhD Student) try this Mozilla Firefox plugin.
• For PhDay08 we've set up an Easychair account for paper reviews. Here's a little tutorial for reviewers that might be useful in case you have to review somehing/teach someone how the system works.
• Useful phone numbers, download ODT document or PDF.
• To remove from a surface any sticky remains of the glue or tape you used to affix something to it (e.g., the markers used by LURCH): try this (Pattex Rimuovi Colla). It doesn't damage (most) surfaces.
• Recipes (yes, REAL recipies of special food) from people at AIRLab
• Sometimes, some geeky fun is all you need. Find it here!
• Wanna learn something, use cheatsheets!
  • Matt likes coffes
  • Giulio is an equilibrated person
  • ...