A simple python cross-platform API for controlling the e-puck2 educational robot
Supervisors: Julien Nembrini, Denis Lalanne
Student: David Frischer
Project status: Finished
Year: 2021
The e-puck2 is a small and compact robot designed for education and research purposes. One can control it in many ways: Bluetooth, WiFi, I2C or by simulation with Webots. In the past it has been difficult for students to start working with the API in C language. This report presents an API that gives straight forward methods to control the e-puck2. It is a package written in Python, and available on Pypi.org and comes with documentation on ReadTheDocs.org. Tested by more than thirty students during a semester at the University of Fribourg in 2021, the feedback from the students satisfied the goal of the API. This report also presents the pi-puck, a physical extension for the e-puck2. Its components are described and tested to draw conclusions for its potential use in projects. This report ends with a face detection benchmark to test the performance of the pi-puck. Four different controllers, which differ in the process of transferring and processing the image, are tested. The results of this report contribute to a better understanding of the core of this new API and provide a better understanding of the e-puck2.
Document: report.pdf