Robotics Portfolio
Robotics is the main focus of Neave Engineering, here are some of the projects I’m working on.
Unity for Robotics
In recent years Unity have moved in to the robotics sector, supporting the Robot Operating System, and a number of other organisations having been working on projects using the engine for even longer. I am currently expanding my knowledge in this area, starting with creating a simulation of my robot, NE-Five, before introducing real time digital twinning of sensor and other data from the real robot. This will enable control and tasking of the robot in an intuitive interface but also the ability to render the environment the robot is operating in 3d in real time.
More information on the capabilities on Unity with ROS can be found here:
Robotics simulation in Unity is as easy as 1, 2, 3! | Unity Blog
I’m currently making exensive use of the Siemens ROS# project which includes a URDF editor built on Unity, more information can be found on their GitHub site here:
GitHub – siemens/ros-sharp: ROS# is a set of open source software libraries and tools in C# for communicating with ROS from .NET applications, in particular Unity3D
NE-Five
NE-Five is the evolution of the robot I built for PiWars 2020, MacFeegle Prime. NE-Five is a tracked mobile robot with stereo-vision, and two arms with seven degrees of freedom. Running ROS it has access to the navigation, manipulation, and simulation capabilities provided by the hundreds of packages provided by the community. This robot is under constant development, follow my blog for the latest updates and get in touch if you wish to collaborate or use it in a project of your own.
Code, files, and documentation will be provided under an MIT Licence as soon as they’re ready to be published. Please see the contact page above to find out how best to follow development as it progresses.
NE-Thing
NE-Thing is a versatile controller that is based around a Raspberry Pi and includes a 7 inch touchscreen, two three axis joysticks, and a selection of switches. This controller includes a ROS node that sends Joy messages that can be interpreted by any robot you wish to control. As it’s a Raspberry Pi at the core, any USB peripherals can be added to add functionality such as GPS, other radios for telemetry or control, or even other controllers to allow two or more people to control the same robot.
NE-Where
NE-Where is in the early stages of development, where NE-Five is a compact and capable robot for indoor use NE-Where will be rugged, powerful, and no less capable. Targeting a payload of 100KG+ and designed with extensibility in mind, this UGV will be adaptable to the needs of any mission.
Acting as a cargo hauler for logistics, remote sensing platform, or teleoperations unit with the addition of manipulators, this platform will adapt to your needs.
This is just a small set of examples of projects I’m working or have worked on, please get in touch if you have projects that you feel I could assist with and I’d be happy to discuss your requirements further.
