https://robosim.dev/ Recent content in Home on Robots, Simulation, & Technology Hugo -- gohugo.io https://robosim.dev/pages/about/ Sat, 08 Aug 2020 21:42:19 -0400 https://robosim.dev/pages/about/ Summary I am an engineer and roboticist with expertise in GPU optimization and high-performance C++. I worked three years as a control systems engineer for Valero Energy specializing in safety systems. I later decided to pursue a PhD in robotics at the University of Michigan where I worked on urgent landing of drones. My dissertation proposed utilizing machine learning with data sources such as city maps, satellite images, and airborne LiDAR point clouds to create risk-evaluated emergency landing site databases, including building rooftops. https://robosim.dev/posts/robotics_205_recap/ Tue, 20 Dec 2022 21:42:19 -0400 https://robosim.dev/posts/robotics_205_recap/ I just finished teaching my first intro robotics course at Springfield College. This post will share some of the highlights of our projects and lessons I learned from teaching a hardware class. Students I think the students were truly excellent. They were excited, eager to learn, and motivated to finish projects to the best of their ability. It was refreshing teaching a course where the atmosphere was conducive to experimenting, trying things out, and having fun. https://robosim.dev/posts/m1bench/ Wed, 16 Dec 2020 21:42:19 -0400 https://robosim.dev/posts/m1bench/ Apple recently released their new M1 Processor in their Macbook product line-up. I’ve known for a while that the Apple Silicon in IPhones is very fast, but I have never measured it myself. However, my wife’s old Macbook Pro (2014) just broke so we decided to purchase the new 13" Macbook Air with M1 Processor. Of course, I had to take it for a little spin. : ) Recently I have been relying upon benchmark tools such as Google Benchmark and nanobench to help ensure statistically reliable comparisons for many of my open source code. https://robosim.dev/posts/polylidar/ Wed, 16 Dec 2020 21:42:19 -0400 https://robosim.dev/posts/polylidar/ Polylidar3D is a fast polygon extraction C++/Python library for 2D & 3D data (points, meshes, etc.). The library name is a misnomer, it works with more than just LiDAR sensor data. It will work with any generalized point/mesh data! What does it do? Polylidar3D extracts non-convex (multi)polygon(s) with interior holes from 2D & 3D data. Wow, that’s a lot of jargon. Lets break it down with an example in 2D. https://robosim.dev/posts/airsim-geo/ Wed, 08 May 2019 21:42:19 -0400 https://robosim.dev/posts/airsim-geo/ This article is Part 1 in a two part series of creating a georeferenced world in the Unreal Engine that can be used in AirSim. Part 1 will focus almost entirely on creating the world in Blender, while Part 2 will focus on importing the world into Unreal and working with AirSim in the Unreal Engine. What does Georeferencing Mean? Georeferencing is usually defined as the process of transforming the internal coordinate system of a dataset to geographic coordinates (GPS). https://robosim.dev/posts/airsim-geo-part-2/ Wed, 08 May 2019 21:42:19 -0400 https://robosim.dev/posts/airsim-geo-part-2/ This article is Part 2 in a two part series of creating a georeferenced world in the Unreal Engine that can be used in AirSim. Part 1 focuses on creating the world in Blender, while Part 2 will focus on importing the world into Unreal and working with AirSim in the Unreal Engine. Recap At this point you should have a FBX file and a PNG image of the terrain overlay that was created in Part 1.