Programming an Autonomous 20 Foot Blimp with Python

This talk documents the less than conventional robotics project of a semi-autonomous blimp (and a corresponding web application that uses Django). Made up of modular sets of code that ultimately interface with each other to control an ideal aerial photography platform, the blimp itself is rather incidental to the distributed application that controls it. From low-level code to integrate with hardware sensors to high-level logic that navigates waypoints, python proved to be an ideal language choice both for its versatility and its wide selection of available libraries.

This talk should provide an easy entry point for anyone seeking to start a robotics project to include hardware selection, software patterns, and open source code samples to avoid the same stumbling blocks and pitfalls initially experienced with the blimp.

Speaker Bio:

Scott has been a developer for just under one year. This talk was also presented at PyCon in a much more concise format.

Hearsay Social is a SaaS company and the leader in social business for the financial services industry.

Schedule:

6:00pm - Check in and socialize. There will be some food and drinks provided by Hearsay Social!

6:30pm - Lightning talks if we have any

6:45pm - Scott's talk

7:30pm - QA with Scott

8:00pm - Time to head home

Notes from Hearsay Social:

• Doors will open at 6:00pm to allow enough time for the check-in process.

• Please update the name on your account to reflect your FIRST NAME and LAST NAME. Hearsay Social Security will be checking IDs at the door. *Please note: You WILL ONLY be allowed into the event if we have your first and last name (that matches the name on your ID) prior to the event.

• Hearsay Social is generously providing us with their venue space. Let's make sure we treat it with respect and clean up after ourselves.