I have a free open source program for Robosapien owners. The problem is, they still have to face a pretty hefty price tag before they can use my software. The price tag is a USB UIRT device that is needed to transmit Consumer IR to the robot. I have nothing against the unit. I own one myself and it's an excellent product. I just want to get my software into the hands of as many people as possible.
All my research to date has led to the same conclusion; you can't do Consumer IR over IRDA compatible devices. This is making me crazy. So here's my question(s):
- If I were to take the plunge and program the infrared device directly, going around the IRDA protocol, what am I getting myself into? How hard is the job and how long will it probably take me?
- In regards to the number of manufacturers that make IR transmitters for the most widely popular laptops. Are there a ton of different manufacturers? Or, if I wrote Windows drivers for about 2 or 3 of them, would I have covered a big chunk of market and would be satisfied?
- Last, how hard is it to get the needed programming information I will need to program the devices?