Windows Surface

Hi all,

I just wanted to share a project I’ve been working on, in case anyone wants to improve on it.

I’ve bought a Windows Surface Pro tablet, and I wanted to use it as a ‘robopresence’, i.e. mount it on Hexy and control it from a desktop. I built a mount out of Meccano (Erector Set) - on a side note, Meccano is probably the best prototyping ‘kit’ I’ve found that’s widely available.

I installed Python and Pomoco on the tablet. The tablet is connected to Hexy using the included USB cable. I also installed Skype and created a new account for the robot.

On the desktop, I installed Skype with a different account.

I used the pre-installed Windows Remote Desktop software to connect the two computers. This duplicated the tablet screen on my desktop. I opened Skype on both and logged in to the respective accounts. This allowed me to see what Hexy was seeing. It also displayed my face on the tablet screen.

Remote Desktop allowed me to open Pomoco on the tablet from my desktop. I could then control Hexy from my desktop computer, and see through the tablet’s camera.

This works on my home network, but using Hamachi or another VPN should allow you to connect anywhere there’s an internet connection. Adding a mobile data stick should allow connection anywhere.

The only issue is that the tablet is too heavy for Hexy to move optimally. I’m porting the whole setup over onto a Raspberry Pi and hopefully it’ll work just as well.