programmer wanted...

[atomizer]

i'm playing with robotics in my spare time. i'm using a Pontech HBC101 micro controller to operate RC servos - very simple stuff. the object is to be able to control, remotely and wirelessly, a UGV (unmanned ground vehicle).

what i'm looking for is software that can take input from various input devices (mice, joysticks, keyboard) and send strings to a serial port (COM). in the case of the Pontech HBC101, the syntax is very simple:

BD?

SV?

M?

where BD is the board number, SV is the servo number and M is the servo position. the HBC101 is a high resolution board and uses 10000 to 20000 for servo positioning (M). so, to move servo number 1, which is attached to board number 1, to it's center position, the syntax is:

BD1 SV1 M15000

of course this can done using a terminal, but what i'm after, mainly, is to use a proportional input device, such as a joystick, to send the strings. i can't hardly believe, with how popular robotics is, that there's hardly any (if any at all) applications that support what i'm trying to do. and basically what i'm after is software that emulates an RC transmitter (as used in the remote-control hobby industry for planec, cars, etc.). i'm looking for the following functionality:

1) programmable end points (the limits for M)

2) mixing - being able to mix one channel (servo) with another

3) high resolution, proportional control

4) exponential curves - the ability to change a linear curve to make a joystick (for instance) fell more responsive, or softer near it's center position.

5) deadband detection/adjustmant

6) support for mice, keyboards and USB joysticks

7) support for many (32+) joystick buttons

8) support for at least 3 joystick axises (including the 'twist' ® axis)

9) a high degree of configurability

10) the software must run on XP

11) open source is highly preferable

it could be .NET, Java, Python, C, BASIC, Delphi - whatever.

the software can be a console app, as i don't need a GUI at this point.

i don't know any languages very well at all, but have messed around with Python, Java NET Beans, BASIC and a few others. my problem is 2-fold; i don't have the patience to learn, and i don't have the time to learn.

this *could* turn out to be a long-term project, as i'd like to commercialize it at some point.

[atomizer]

this project has been titled 'RobCon' and moved to SourceForge

https://sourceforge.net/projects/ugv-robotics/