Posts by twiz

  • Real-time 3D rendering programming help

    Hmm, what do you mean by that? Like in the second shot, it's difficult to tell where the robot is in relation to the vessel? The robot does look like it's just floating there. Hmm

    I am going to be adding in XYZ planes marked for their angle (0, 90, 180, 270), that was my idea to give an idea of where it is. Once I get the friggin GUI working it'll have angle/depth readouts indicating where the bot is in a HUD.


    I could texture it.. but the vessel is basically just a big hunk of stainless steel. Not much feature to it. Unsure of how it'd look being transparent too? And the robot is just.. an anodized blue box :derp:

  • Real-time 3D rendering programming help

    Got VS2008 and I'm still tryin to get CEGUI to work. Going very slowly through the tutorials, hopefully I'll have it working soon.

    Here's what I've got so far. The transparent red thing is a reactor vessel, the little blue guy is our robot, the green thing on the front is supposed to be a representation of our sensors. The robot can move around the surface of the vessel, and the green thing moves in relation to the robot. It's pretty nifty

    [Blocked Image: http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/7646/basictutorial4201104291.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/7646/basictutorial4201104291.jpg]

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    The horizontal rings in the vessel represent the welds we inspect.

  • What was the very first game you remember playing?

    Quote from Tailgunner

    [Blocked Image: http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/c64-games/1044-1.jpg]The only thing I remember from the "first game I ever played" was a big foot that squashed something on the screen, and I played it at my uncles barber shop (must have been like .. 4-5)

    I acctually diod some researching and by talking to some ppl, this might be the game. I played it on a arcade machine thou.

    The Mona Lisa would flash you too

  • Real-time 3D rendering programming help

    Hmmm wish I checked this earlier! Messed with cegui all day, then quickgui, then mygui. Could get none working. Just got rid of everything related to Ogre3D and all the damn GUIs. Going to start fresh, and I'll try betaGUI this time!

    Using VS2010 is a huge pain in the ass, as everything out there is for VS2008, and nothing ever converts properly. I'm getting VS2008 right now.

    Edit : unfortunately there is almost no documentation on betaGUI since it's a dead project for several years now... I just don't know enough to get it working from the documentation I can find and no examples. I'm working on getting quickGUI working now... hopefully with VS2008 it won't be such an issue.

  • Real-time 3D rendering programming help

    Thanks for the help guys, I'm making some progress! I'll post some pics or something tomorrow, as long as you keep it hush-hush Don't want to get into NDA troubles...

    Right now I've got my models from solidworks into blender via .stl, then applying material in blender(just solid colors/transparency - all I need!), and exporting those into .mesh & .material for Ogre3D to play with. Imported my models in Ogre and have it so I can move around the robot in the correct fashion in relation to the vessel, as well as move parts of the robot in relation to the robot. Right now it's just controlled with the keyboard, my friend is working on getting the data from the sensors into C++ via USB serial so we can have the robot controlled by the sensors instead. Camera position is currently controlled by WASD/mouse, and I think I'll keep it that way. I thought about having the camera follow the robot, 3rd person style, but this will allow us to get whatever perspective we need.

    It's working fairly well, I was concerned about the polygon count, but I guess I'm behind the times with what is acceptable. Right now I'm at ~180,000 polygons, about 70,000 of those are transparent. It runs at ~250fps in OpenGL and ~350fps in DirectX, also in debug mode. I'll have to see what it runs at in regular mode on a less-beastly computer. I'll bring my old cheapo laptop to work tomorrow and give it a run!

    Now I need to figure out how to pop up a dialog box or something so we can manually enter values for the robot, like set it's current known position for it to move off of... but for now, we have progress!

  • Real-time 3D rendering programming help

    Thanks guys! I was definitely leaning towards open-source stuff. I've looked at Ogre3D, and it didn't seem too far over my head(used C++ and openGL) and is open source.. but that looks possibly more simple and straightforward. I just got C++ for dummies, time to figure out what I've forgotten in the 8 years since I last programmed

    I thought about using some "real" game engines, but I get the impression that I would spend more time trying to strip away unnecessary stuff than programming The most complex thing I'd need it to handle is a transparent surface and smooth-shading... decade+ old technology here.

    I'm going to go do some reading and I'll let you know how it works out! Been playing with the sensor a bit today, it's really bad-ass... Maybe I'll post a video online if I get it working

  • Portal 2

    Quote from Mazy

    Is there honestly anyone on these boards that hasn't finished the game already?

    ME!

    I've been way too busy with work/building the new computar to play at all

    This weekend is looking busy too, maybe I'll get a few hours in.

  • Real-time 3D rendering programming help

    Hi fellas, I'm not really sure where to put this(maybe in the 3D forum?) but it's pretty OT so I'll stick it here.

    Background:

    I'm building a robot for work, and I would like to implement a 3D-display window on the controlling computer that shows the tool's current position and orientation. The tool has the capability/sensors to determine it's XYZ coordinates relative to a reference point as well as pitch/yaw/roll. I can find some info/videos online of people doing somewhat similar things with devices with similar capabilities (either Arduino-based accelerometer/magnetometer/gyroscope boards or with a Wiimote or whatever). However, all the ones I have seen are only using the Pitch/Yaw/Roll to control a 3D box that pivots around the origin, and I can't find much info on the software they're running/actual code they've written.

    Goal:

    I want a piece of software that will be able to import a model drawn in 3D CAD software(I can model in pretty much anything, and probably export to anything else!) for both the robot itself AND it's environment. I then want to display the tool model in it's correct position and orientation relative to the environment model, in real-time. I can handle acquiring and processing the data. It doesn't need too look pretty - solid shaded colors would be fine for the models(the robot is blue and the environment is beige or something). We just need to see where the robot is without being able to actually SEE it. A translucent environment model would be nice, but perhaps not necessary.

    I have read a bit about OpenGL, and it seems like the way to go... but I just know nothing about it, and am having a difficult time of figuring out even where to begin. There has to be a standard method for loading in a model of a certain format, right? Performing transforms(position, P/Y/R)? Real-time user interface(rotate, zoom,pan)?

    Basically:

    I want a "perspective window" from any 3D development software, but updated real-time with data received from an outside source.

    A caveat: This will likely end up as an embedded solution in a Unix platform, since the same program will be controlling the robot as well, and therefore it needs to be a real-time application.

    So, any advice, links, etc? Am I just simply in way over my head? Should I just hire someone? Anyone need a job?

    Seriously, I can definitely hire someone to do this, but I like learning this stuff too. I would like to know the guts of it, so when I need to make a change for a future robot or if something bugs out, I can do the modifications.

  • What have you purchased recently?

    I've used this keyboard and mouse combo for work for a few months now. I use the mouse for gaming on my regular PC, because it is much better than the cheaper wireless laser logitech I normally use with it. It is my favorite mouse I've used. Really solidly built and comfortable (size, shape, weight) for me. Battery life is ~2 months. Works on any surface, huge range. I can be anywhere in my apartment, even rooms away with doors shut, and it still works. The keyboard is quite nice, one of the nicest feeling keyboards I've ever used - for typing/work - I'll let you know how it does for gaming once I get my rig together. I think I remember something about certain three-key combos causing issues/not working. Might have been some other keyboard, but something to look into if that concerns you. I don't do any three-key combos.

    I'm probably not the best person to ask, as I have never really felt like my mouse was hindering my gaming once we got beyond ball mice... I often read complaints about some wireless mice being laggy or unresponsive, I've never experienced it.. Or complaints about non-gaming mice having less resolution than gaming mice.. again, never noticed it. Maybe I have to use a true gaming mouse to realize it?

    Maybe I'm a slow gamer or something, but this is from logitech's website:

    "Keep in mind, however, that we haven’t designed the first two mice with Darkfield Laser Tracking for gamers or for those working on laboratory-grade clean glass.

    If you’re making lighting-fast maneuvers and need gaming-grade cursor speed, take a look at the Logitech® G9x Laser Mouse."

  • What have you purchased recently?

    Quote from Serenius

    Are watches some sort of style thing? I haven't had use for one since I got a cell phone.

    Exactly, jewelry for men. That and sunglasses.

    Nice watches, both of you. I'm a big Skagen fan minos, I've had a few. As is my tradition, lost them all. I almost bought one a few months ago... but I just figured I'd lose it again.

    Oh, and I just bought another poster This is one I've wanted since I first started collecting, finally pulled the trigger and got one!

    [Blocked Image: http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/3707/wilcop.jpg]

  • science boner time!

    and badass decryptation, due to the obnoxious speed it possesses for brute-force type problem solving.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing

    Very interesting read.

    And as for the "where" question, the two points have to be quantum-ly "linked" - I won't pretend to understand it, but let's just say it first requires the creation of a quantum pair(through some insane scientific hoobaleydoo), and manipulating one results in the other one changing state.

    And that rail gun is insane. For us on the imperial system of measurement, 1600m/s is equivalent to a mile a second. a MILE in a SECOND.

  • What have you purchased recently?

    Home Theater PC build:

    Lian Li HTPC case:

    [Blocked Image: http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2978/casevg.jpg]

    MSI 890GXM Motherboard:

    [Blocked Image: http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3773/mobov.jpg]

    AMD Phenom X4 840 3.2ghz Quad Core CPU:

    [Blocked Image: http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/7956/processor.jpg]

    Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 2x4gb DDR1333 Memory

    [Blocked Image: http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1098/memoryg.jpg]

    Dual Sapphire 100293L Radeon HD 5570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 Graphics Cards:

    [Blocked Image: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3281/gphx.jpg][Blocked Image: http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3281/gphx.jpg]

    Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Power Supply:

    [Blocked Image: http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5444/66966277.jpg]

    SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM HDD:

    [Blocked Image: http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/8287/hddx.jpg]

    SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Drive:

    [Blocked Image: http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/1623/bluraym.jpg]

    Linksys WMP600N PCI Wireless Adapter with Dual-Band:

    [Blocked Image: http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/7795/wireless.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7830/windowsx.jpg]

    Logitech K800 Black USB RF Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard:

    [Blocked Image: http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/1797/keyboardl.jpg]

    Logitech Anywhere Black Tilt Wheel Advanced 2.4 GHz wireless Laser Mouse MX:

    [Blocked Image: http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1223/mousea.jpg]

    Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Digital Speaker System:

    [Blocked Image: http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/4840/soundwb.jpg]

  • What have you watched recently?

    Quote from Steppenwolf

    Obviously not everybody appreciates film as an art form but if you do go for it and enjoy watching them.

    I understand what you mean, but that comes off a bit arrogant/dickish. Everyone has different taste in art, and there is no right or wrong - if you appreciate Biodome more than Casablanca, there isn't a thing wrong with that, and there is nothing to say either one is "more art" than the other - other than popular opinion. IMO, popular opinion is only good as a decision-making tool to what movies you should spend your time watching, not to what is "good art" and "bad art". Both are an attempt to invoke an emotional response from the viewer, the very definition of art, and if Biodome invokes more of the desired response in a person, well I'd say Biodome is more successful than Casablanca as an art piece for that particular person.

    For example, I dislike 2001: A Space Odyssey (and I love Kubrick!); I can appreciate the beauty of the shots, but in the end it just creates almost no emotional response from me. Clearly I am in the minority, but I'm okay with that!

    /soapbox