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[Naoki]

Hi everyone!

So here's the research and development topic of my enhanced Pleo RB project. I called it xRB, for "eXtended ReBirth". Before continuing reading, remember that it's just thoughts and ideas, and maybe that will never be real! I'll do my best for this project, but maybe it won't be enough.

WEB SOURCES

First, here's all the information I found yet about Pleo's hardware, software, programmation and behaviour. Interviews, tech analysis, reviews, all that kind of datas.

http://www.uni-bamberg.de/en/grip/hacking-pleo/spycam-hack-007/ - Camera enhancement
http://www.robotsrule.com/pleo/2007/10/pleo-dinosaur-ugobes-john-sosoka.html - Developer's interview about programmation, enhancement and hack
http://science.howstuffworks.com/pleo.htm - Complete Pleo overview with tech analysis and creator interview
http://www.semageek.com/video-la-dissection-du-robot-dinosaure-pleo/ - Pleo's dissection (it's a bit upsetting, so...)
http://static.neuerdings.com/1363181057/pleozerlegtexplosionifixit.jpg - Fully dismount Pleo

Here's also some Wikipedia pages about enhancement I would like to try on Pleo.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_recognition - Speaker recogniton (who's speaking)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_recognition - Speech recogntion (what is being said)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_system - Facial recogntion

That's all for the moment, but be sure that if I found something, I'll share it here

HARDWARE ENHANCEMENT

Here's some thought about Pleo's hardware enhancement. It might change during the project, and some new ideas should be added.

-Replacing Pleo's Atmel ARM7 32bits CPU with a Intel Atom 64bits CPU running between 1,33 and 1,6 GHz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Atom#Architecture_ARM)
-Replacing Pleo's NXP ARM7 32bits GPU with a Tegra 3 (T30 Version) chipset running between 1,3 and 1,5 GHz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra_3#Tegra_3)
-Camera enhancement
-Microphones enhancement
-Memory enhancement (currently 4MB+SD Card to 16 or 32 GB)

SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENT

Now's time for talking about software enhancement. It also might change during the project.

-Replacing Pleo's OS Life system with a whole new system, inspired by OS LIfe, based on Android 4.0 Mobile OS (http://developer.android.com/about/versions/android-4.0-highlights.html)
-Face recognition
-Speaker recognition
-Speech recognition
-Memory implementation, including fear, close future anticipation, liking and disliking about people
-Music analysis

Remember, all those function are going to be really basic on a first time. For exemple, music analysis will be a simple BPM (rythme) analysis at the beginning. That may be even better in the future, but this project is going to be really hard to lead, so I have to begin with simple things. Just rewriting all current Pleo's behaviours with Android is going to be really really hard so...

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I think I'm going to begin with this project during summer holidays, and I am going to study on Pleo's current behaviours first all along the August month, so be patient! (That also leaves me time to find money, it's around a 1000$ project so...)

If you have any ideas or questions, just tell me! I'll be pleased to read it and answer

Naoki

[PleoAibo29]

The project sounds awesome, I would love to help out. It sounds like the project will bring a new meaning to the interactiveness of pleo.

[Naoki]

That's the purpose

I'll appreciate your help, thanks

[Mystearika]

it sounds very interesting   i wish you luck with it. 

[Naoki]

Thank you

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Kami and Mike are programmers too, I haven't seen them much lately but if they turn up they should be able to provide some input

[Naoki]

Oh yeah, that should be really really cool!

[PleoAibo29]

Good luck on your project.

[Kami]

Hi Naoki, I've been away on a strict regimen of travelling/being ill/trying to catch up on study for the past few weeks, and it's nice to get a chance to drop in and see this. Especially interested in checking out all the links you've provided - particularly the Pleo dissection video, although I'm sure it'll also make me cringe as I would never want to do that to mine!

When Mike was last around (I think he's also been ill/super-busy?) he and I were actually discussing creating a new OS/personality for Pleo, since the source for the existing one isn't totally available to us to play with. It's great to have more people interested in that aim and able to contribute. I don't know that I want to write Android-based code though as I have a very deep and personal hate for Java, but I think if we pool our resources we'll be able to help one another even if we're going about things in slightly different ways.

[Naoki]

Hi Kami!

In fact, I tough about a Android based OS 'cause it currently supports every sensors Pleo's using. But to be honnest, I'm not fond of Java too, so I don't know if it really is the way I will and want to go. So I'm stilling open to everything you've currently done or though about!

I really be pleased to cooperate with you, that sould be really interesting to see each others methods! And also, I'm not an expert, just a first year student, so every thing I should learn from this project is a good thing!

[Kami]

I think it's great that you've come up with this project to work on while you're learning. I've been both a first-year student and someone who taught first-year students, and what I've seen is that the best way to learn is to come up with some practical project to test out your skills on.

The one thing Android would be useful for is making a smartphone application for controlling and monitoring Pleo. I seem to remember Mike was telling me this was something a lot of the people using Pleos in university studies were doing.

I'm taking some online courses at the moment in topics like machine learning and interfacing hardware and software, things that just happen to be quite relevant to working with Pleo. So I'm sure my own ideas about what I want to do will evolve as those progress.

[Naoki]

Yeah, that's my opinion too

I don't know if a "remote application" for Pleo is something for me. I mean... That will break the magic. And if I can avoid that, I should be gracefull!

By hardware/software interfacing, I think I see what you mean, but my english isn't good enough to explain it. Can you explain it quickly, to see if we're thinking at the same thing?
'Cause during my last high school year, I've programmed a cocktail machine (using C) when my classmates were doing the mechanical part of the project, involving motors, captors and solenoid valves. So I actually now how to receive and use sensors informations in programs, and also how to controll motors. Is that what you mean (in a really softer way!) by sftwr/hrdwr interfacing?