I was lucky enough to be given a new Dell Alienware 15 R4 laptop. With its Intel i9 processor and Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card, it's the perfect laptop for robotics or computer vision projects. Setting up the laptop comprises of two main steps: installing Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with a Windows 10 dual boot,…Read more Step-by-step setup of a new laptop for robotics
Troubleshooting: Rosbuild to Catkin migration
Migrating from Rosbuild to Catkin can be accomplished using the ros-industrial catkinize script as described in Quickly migrating from Rosbuild to Catkin. Although this script attempts to replace rosbuild commands with catkin ones, some errors arise when compiling using the catkin_make command. This troubleshooting guide covers steps to take after catkinizing a package. Update messages…Read more Troubleshooting: Rosbuild to Catkin migration
Quickly migrating from Rosbuild to Catkin
ROS uses CMake, a powerful cross-platform build tool, at its core. Rosbuild and Catkin are ROS scripts for managing the CMake-based build system for ROS. Catkin is the newer, preferred option. ROS packages that are build using Rosbuild do not work in a Catkin workspace thus it becomes necessary to migrate from Rosbuild to Catkin.…Read more Quickly migrating from Rosbuild to Catkin
Setting up Vim for C++ development
Vim is a powerful text editor that supports multiple programming languages and comes with a whole host of features such as a multi-level undo tree, powerful search and replace, and an extensive plugin system allowing for customisation. One advantage of using a text editor over an IDE is speed. The official Vim C++ Wiki page…Read more Setting up Vim for C++ development
How the Intel RealSense R200 camera works
The Intel RealSense R200 is a USB powered long range stereoscopic camera that can be used for robotics and HCI computer vision applications. About the camera The camera consists of two infrared and one full HD colour imaging sensors, as well as an infrared laser projection system. As a result, the camera provides three video…Read more How the Intel RealSense R200 camera works
Getting started quickly with Deep Learning
Machine learning is a fascinating field. Roboticists should invest the time and effort in understanding the fundamentals of machine learning. When it comes to deep learning, it's possible to get started quickly by using a library with pre-trained models. However, building your own models (however simple they might be in the beginning) is a great…Read more Getting started quickly with Deep Learning
How to host your website on GitHub Pages with a custom domain
If you have a simple website (some Javascript with CSS and HTML) and you're looking for a place to host it for free, GitHub is not a bad choice. You have the option of hosting without a custom domain (username.github.io/repository) or you can use your own custom domain (example.com). This guide assumes that your personal…Read more How to host your website on GitHub Pages with a custom domain
