Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!cis.ohio-state.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!dirt!fitz
From: fitz@frc.ri.cmu.edu (Kerien Fitzpatrick)
Subject: Re: Need Info about Compass for Mobile Robot
Message-ID: <1992Jun17.013928.14321@cs.cmu.edu>
Date: Wed, 17 Jun 92 01:39:28 GMT
Organization: Field Robotics Center
Nntp-Posting-Host: dirt.frc.ri.cmu.edu
References: <1992Jun16.222627.22241@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Reply-To: fitz@frc.ri.cmu.edu
Lines: 41

In article 22241@leland.Stanford.EDU, eno@leland.Stanford.EDU (Benedict Dugan) writes:
>I would like information about a compass which is suitable for use on/with a
>mobile robot.  Specs, costs, sellers (Radio shack has discontinued their
>flux-gate compass...), etc. are greatly appreciated via email.
>
>Thanks,
>Ben
>
>eno@leland.stanford.edu
>

Well, "mobile robot" is pretty broad, but here goes.  I purchased for one
of our recent projects a digital compass from a company called KVH.  This
company sells a couple of different models.  Their largest market may be
the marine sector, but offerings extend to complete MIL-SPEC sensors.

The big separator is what kind of update rate that you need for your 
application.  The KVH (and some others) can supply heading data at about
1 Hz.  They have some nice packaging and are economical compared to 
gyros.  The unit I purchased was a flux-gate model that was primarily used
for marine applications.  It featured an auto-calibrate mode that was
updated every time the sensor revolved over 360 degrees at a slow pace 
(2 minutes).  With a universal adapter is ran ~$995.00 - without the 
adapter it was ~$695.00.  The adapter provided the standard RS232 interface.

Contact:
KVH Industries, Inc.
110 Enterprise Center
Middletown, RI 02840
Phone: (401)847-3327


---
Kerien Fitzpatrick			Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Field Robotics Center			(412)268-6564
The Robotics Institute			Internet: fitz@frc.ri.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University




