Stefano Morgani of GCtronic, which is a young dynamic company in Ticino (southern Switzerland) devoted to electronic and mechatronic development.
GCtronic is a spin-off of the Autonomous System Lab at the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne) where it acquired a deep knowledge in miniature mobile robotics and in highly integrated systems.
What is your background?
I graduated as computer engineer in 2005, after my 4-years apprenticeship for a telecommunication company. Then I realized that my real passion was for robotics, so I took a master degree in intelligent systems at University of Lugano. Now I'm employed by a company in Lugano as computer enginner for playing with robots ;)
What started your interest in gumstix technology?
More than a year ago I started a new project that involves gumstix technology, so I had the possibility to experiment it. Characteristics such as the software stack based on Linux and the OpenEmbedded framework that ease the building process impress me positivley; moreover the hardware features such as 600 MHz CPU, 256 SDRAM, USB and micro SD interfaces let me think about many possible applications that could be implemented.
What current projects are you working on?
Now I'm working on a module that will extend the capabilities of the e-puck robotthanks to Gumstix Overo COM. The computational power and memory capacity given by this extension will let the robot execute demanding algorithms but at the same time remaining completely autonomous. In particular I'm concerned on the adaptation of the robot firmware, the developing of a driver for the camera that interfaces directly to the ISP, some demos and testing.
What gumstix products are you using in the project?
I'm using the Gumstix Overo series.
Why is gumstix technology the best solution for the project?
Low consumption is one of the most important factor in embedded systems, coupled with a small sized module makes gumstix the most suitable technology in our robotic projects.
Moreover the reasonable price is another factor to take in consideration.
What projects do you have planned for the future?
You'll hear about them.
Will gumstix technology be part of your future plans?
Probably yes.
If so, why?
Because I gained information about it for about a year and I think it's the best choice for many kind of applications. Moreover I noticed that there is a big community with which to share information and many sources of documentation and this is a positive point for both new and expert users.
Best regards,
Stefano Morgani
GCtronic , Electronics & Mechatronics
