During the summer of 2014 I was was hired as an intern at Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas to help develop a SLAM driven robot using the recently developed Modular Integrated Stack-able Layers (MISL) system and a Lidar system to detect the environment.
We decided that the modular Lidar system from the Neeto vacuum cleaner would be a good choice to use. This unit spins, taking a distance reading every degree and outputting the data continuously over a 8n1, 115200bd TTL communication line.
The MISL system is purpose built boards that can be stacked together and share a common bus in a small form factor. This bridges the gap between general purpose systems like the Raspberry Pi or teensy micro-controller and purpose built systems that would have little use outside its intended purpose.
![](http://ryanbeagles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0337.jpg)
An output screen was also included to aid in understanding how the software saw the information. This was later upgraded to a larger screen for additional detail and a slightly better refresh rate.
![](https://i.imgur.com/DrgRNGM.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/SAzRl4n.jpg)
The software used to develop the code was Texas Instrument’s Code Composer IDE. The software for modeling the hardware was Solid-works. Lastly the structural material for the robot was a made mostly from Vex kits and 3d printed parts.
![](http://ryanbeagles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Bretts-robot-2.jpg)
![](http://ryanbeagles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0369.jpg)
This is the final result of the project. I would have liked to get the SLAM algorithm working on the system, but time had run out and it was time to head home.
![](http://ryanbeagles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IMG_0391.jpg)
When I returned home I started designing and building a bit of an upgrade to the lidar module as a personal project.