Trossen Robotics Community

[Interesting] Mini bug bots

Eric — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:46:51 GMT

Something interesting about where micro flight is going...
http://www.livescience.com/technolog...era-plane.html
Got Robotic bug repellant?

Some pictures too (to give perspective)

solar powered robots

openmindedjjj — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:51:15 GMT

ok so i've been thinking for a while now about solar power.. and i noticed that its allmost everywhere i have a cheap calculator that uses it and people use solar panels for their houses and for any of you who have seen the movie walle.. he also runs on solar power and so i want to make my bioloid run on solar power.
i dont know a lot about robots.. or wireing but i wouldent think it would be to hard to attach a little solar pannel on his back and attach it to his battery..so i would charge the battery.. i mean i just saw a 20 dollar cheap robot toy at toy's r us the other day that uses solar panels so i mean... :D how hard could it be..
what do you guys think?? i allready have 2 solar panels from toys i got when i was a kid that pushed a little car arround i wounder if i could hook them up to my bioloid??

[Question(s)] Cannot figure out how to write to the serial port in C++

Superlaxstar112 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:26:47 GMT

I've spent 2 days trying to figure out how to write to the serial port in C++. Here is what I've been trying. I'm compiling in Dev-C++ on windows vista.

CODE:

#include
#include
#include
#include
#include

using namespace std;

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
HANDLE hComm;
char DataBuffer[] = "#31 P1500 T1000 \r\n";
DWORD dwBytesToWrite = (DWORD)strlen(DataBuffer);
DWORD dwBytesWritten = 0;
hComm=CreateFile( "COM1",
GENERIC_READ | GENERIC_WRITE, //bidirectional
0,
NULL, //no security
OPEN_EXISTING, //this must be set; the ports are already created
FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, // maybe with | FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED
NULL );
if (hComm == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
{
printf("Could not open COM1 \n", GetLastError());
return 0;
}
else
{
printf("COM1 Succesfully opened \n");
}
DCB dcb;

FillMemory(&dcb, sizeof(dcb), 0);
if (!GetCommState(hComm, &dcb)) // get current DCB
// Error in GetCommState
return FALSE;

// Update DCB rate.
dcb.BaudRate = CBR_115200 ;

// Set new state.
if (!SetCommState(hComm, &dcb))
printf("Error in SetCommState. Possibly a problem with the communications port handle or a problem with the DCB structure itself. \n");

COMMTIMEOUTS timeouts;

timeouts.ReadIntervalTimeout = 20;
timeouts.ReadTotalTimeoutMultiplier = 10;
timeouts.ReadTotalTimeoutConstant = 100;
timeouts.WriteTotalTimeoutMultiplier = 10;
timeouts.WriteTotalTimeoutConstant = 100;
if (!SetCommTimeouts(hComm, &timeouts))

//THIS IS WHERE I TRY TO WRITE TO hComm or "COM1" as its supposed to be
WriteFile(hComm, // open file handle
DataBuffer + dwBytesWritten, // start of data to write
dwBytesToWrite - dwBytesWritten, // number of bytes to write
&dwBytesWritten, // number of bytes that were written
NULL); // no overlapped structure WriteFile(hComm,x,100);

return 0;
}

EndCode

I don't get any errors, but it won't write to my SSC-32 cause the light stays on which means it is not recieving. :-(

Basically what I want for now (So I can teach myself based it) is some code that allows me to input a string and then send that string to COM1. I really have very little experience with C++ so this is all very confusing to me. Please help :-D

[Question(s)] Installing VCP Driver crashed my USB Ports??

Alex — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:50:02 GMT

Hey everyone!

I know quite a bit off topic, but I'm a bit stuck and I was hoping the community could help me out a bit so that I don't spend yet another hour trying to figure out what the h#ll is going on...

I'll start from the beginning:

I'm trying to get this USB to Serial Port converter working and detected by XP:

http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store...er-MM232R.aspx

I tried to plug in this converter and Windows didn't recognize a new devices as being plugged in, so I figured I needed a driver.

I checked out this site:

http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm

and downloaded this (under Windows XP - Driver Version 2.04.06):

http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM%202.04.06%20WHQL%20Certified.zip

After extracting it, I realized I had no idea what to do with it, so out of desperation, I downloaded the setup executable (under the comments section):

http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM%202.04.06.exe

After I ran this, two command prompt boxes came up with some text (couldn't catch everything they said). After that, my USB Wireless mouse stopped working. After a little troubleshooting, I realized that none of my USB ports are working any more. I went to the add/remove programs and didn't see anything with FTDI in the name. I even did a System Restore and that didn't work:(

For those that don't know, I'm not very experienced in the hardware side of things, so there may be something VERY basic that I'm missing here...

EDIT: I probably should state the error that I keep getting: "USB Device Not Recognized"

[Interesting] WATCHMEN Trailer - AMAZING!

nitroy2k — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:35:55 GMT

WATCHMEN Trailer - official and amazing

Special Thanks to Paramount and network PR for allowing me the exclusive privilege of bringing the Watchmen Trailer

[link removed - Alex]

'Airsoft Class' & 'Hardcore Class'

Tyberius — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:10:57 GMT

So I've said from the beginning I wanted to open up the competition to more powerful weapons, but on the same accord some people aren't comfortable with the risk of damaging their Mech in matches...

The easiest solution to remedy this is to create two different classes of Mechs, based on weapon rules.

Airsoft Class will follow the currently posted rules, using Airsoft and Nerf type weapons.

Hardcore Class:
This class will not follow the same weapon restrictions. Weapons rules are simple and open- "No electrical, chemical, or liquid weapons. Pretty much anything else goes."

This includes weapons such as micro-class rockets, co2 powered BB guns, flame throwers, etc. All weapons will have to be cleared with an official prior to being allowed to participate, we still need to keep safety/laws in mind. If we feel a weapon is too dangerous we reserve the right to deny participation, so ask before going forth with building it. There will probably be a velocity limit, but it will be a good amount higher than the airsoft class.

Total mass of robot with batteries, weapons and ammo may not exceed 5 pounds.

You should be prepared to take *some* damage to your Mech in the hardcore class. Don't plan on participating in it if you're not okay with that. This will require the arena be fully enclosed, which is something that is being discussed with David.

Participation in either class of event is up to you. Ladders will be separate between the two classes.

This leaves people open to create a Mech that is capable of competing in either or both classes. You could have an 'Airsoft' configuration and also a 'Hardcore' configuration of the same Mech.

[Question(s)] What are spiders???

rpedro — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:51:29 GMT

I see them listed above the names... guests/members/spiders... hmmm what in the world are they???
thanks!!!

Question on laptop purchase for my 2HV...

rpedro — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:37:09 GMT

ok I am currently running a Dell Inspiron 5100 to program my bot, in XP of course, and I am seriously considering a better alternative, not only more portable, but newer and faster laptop... I have been looking at the ASUS EEE 4G XP version mini laptops, and it looks like the way to go for what I am wanting to do with it... this will be for use EXCLUSIVELY for my 2HV... and is a steal at $350... what do you all think??? I was hoping someone here had some thoughts or feedback...
thanks!!!

Attached Thumbnails

I need a kickstart...

ScuD — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:51:49 GMT

Hi guys,

I'm just opening a little "kick me in the b... thread" cause i've been lingering for too long...

So, a little story about ScuD.

Ever since i put my finger in the electrical socket as a toddler, I've had a knack for everything electromechanical and electronical. It's what thrives me. It's what keeps me awake at night (literally)

Robotics and animatronics are both a perfect representation of these, since I'm pretty good at working with my hands, meaning sculpting, drawing, painting, crafts generally speaking..

So at age 17 I scratch built my first robot, a 2DOF quad, made out of coathanger wire and the cheapest servo's i could find. I designed a PCA with two 16f84 micro's and programmed them in JAL (sorta like basic) Took me the better part of a year, but got the thing walking.

Fastforward a few years, senior year in "high-school" (not like american high-school, more like uni)
I scratch built a cnc router to cut out the parts i designed for a hex in plastic, added some servo's i got for free, designed a bus-based system with 6 µcontrollers, one controller per leg, driven by a "brain" controller via I2C.
Up to this day I haven't gotten the thing to walk. I added stronger servo's, started exploring C programming, but njet... It's gathering dust behind my printer.

So here's my problem.

All day long every single second i see flashes of things I could build, I could modify, I could program.
They draw my attention and draw me away from other projects.

I can't seem to focus on one single project, and combining this with work and gf (we're not living together yet) I seem to find hardly any time to work on it.
When I do have some time, I'm mostly surfing the forum here (cause you guys are fun! yay! :veryhappy:)

So; excruciatingly long story put short, I made this thread for people who need a "kick in the ..." and "get the damn 'bot done!" as a sort of pat on the back.

Ps: if anyone has any tips on managing projects, feel free to enlighten me!

[Just For Fun] Sexual Dimorphism in Robots

darkback2 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:04:53 GMT

I think of some robots such as Vivian as girls, and others such as copybot as boys. I couldn't really tell you why. I think Lisa may actually be larry, because it is more of a boy than a girl, and really the vote is still out on lexi. It used to have something to do with size, but now that I think about it...

Do you think of your robot as a boy, girl, or it...and why?

DB

serializer error codes

csdude — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:32:46 GMT

Hello all,

I have one servo that 'sometimes' gives me a NACK when I try to send a servo 'command'
to it

like:
> servo 1:-10
NACK
>

any chance of finding out why ?

[Kondo 2HV] Questions on KHR-2HV controller & Options...

rpedro — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:02:30 GMT

ok, I am looking at the Kondo KRC-3 AD radio, it looks the best way to go... I noticed the usb control, but I really want a controller... will both gyros and my accelerator be able to work with this setup??? I am also going to order my GENEX suit, and the 800mah battery... that will be everything Trossen offers...:) what about the metal gears for all 17 servos? should I consider that upgrade? also, will you guys ever offer the aluminum servo casings that Kondo has on their main page??? or what about the clear GENEX suit? what else am I missing??? I am working on building an ultimate 2HV...
thanks again...

Ideas for Autonomous Kondo Robots

Atom — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 09:28:37 GMT

I am wondering if anyone in this community has had success with using roborealm or other software to work with the RCB3-HV for autonomous control. I want to use the factory kondo board with visual software and a AI program via bluetooth/radio to work with my KHR1-HV. Any ideas appreciated ...

[Question(s)] Which Sonar and why?

Adrenalynn — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 02:21:30 GMT

Time to add some additional sensors, so:

MaxSonar, Devantech, Parallax - which and why?

TIA!

[Introduction To] Arduino/Computer controlled robot

wireframewolf — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:04:06 GMT

This article is about how communicate between the Arduino and a Linux based PC via a C program, for use on a robot. It is not a tutorial on C on Arduino code, but I do try to give a good overview on serial communication itself.

The basic idea is to have the Arduino send sensor data to the computer, which will do all the major processing. Based on this sensor data, the computer builds a data packet on how to move the robot's actuator's in response, and sends this data to the arduino, which controls the actuators themselves (directly or via a motor controller). The arduino then grabs sensor data again and the cycle begins anew.

The advantage to having a full powered computer act as your robots brain, besides more processing power, is that it makes functions like networking, data storage, and programming much easier. You can easily output visuals and sound from a computer, and advanced input like cameras and microphones are also simpler to deal with.

For reference along the way, you'll want to grab these two files: (Attachment 420) and (Attachment 419). Those are the C source for the PC and the code for the Arduino, respectively. It's important to note that my program is based off of the example from Tod K's blog, at this link here: http://todbot.com/blog/2006/12/06/arduino-serial-c-code-to-talk-to-arduino. He wrote several simple, reusable functions that I use in my program:

serialport_init()* There is one minor change I had to make to this to make the program work on my system. The change is in the notes section.
serialport_read_until()
serialport_write()

Rather than going into too much detail about how these work, I will just show you where and why you should use them in your own program. For all intents and purposes think of them as part of a useful library of functions you will want to keep for future use :)

Serial Communication

Okay, so quick overview of serial communication!

We have two computer-like devices, A and B. They want to send some data to each other, so they first have to establish a serial connection. Aside from a physical connection, they have to call some connection function from their I/O libraries. The Arduino has Serial.begin(speed), which you've probably seen, and C uses a function called open(file, speed).

Once a connection is established, one device can send an array of bytes to the other, with a write(data) function. This data gets send over your serial wire (or whatever medium you happen to be using) and gets stored in the second device's buffer. A buffer is space of limited size where the data sits until B pulls it out for processing, kind of like a mailbox. If too much data is sent and B doesn't handle it, the buffer can potentially overflow.

So if device A sends the string of characters "Hello!" over to device B, they will get stored in B's buffer until B calls a read() function. This function takes one or more bytes out of the buffer and stores them into a specified variable or array of variables.

The same situation applies to B sending data to A.

Our Program

Making this happen in the proper order for our robot can be a bit tricky, but whip out that source code, cause we're going to drive right in. Pretty much all the action happens in the main method of the the C program, and the loop() function in the Arduino.

The basic layout is that when the C program and the Arduino first start, they declare some variables and initialize a serial connection. After that they have a main loop that keeps on going forever, trading information between the two devices and processing it.

The initialization for the Arduino: Serial.begin(9600); //9600 is the baud rate, or speed of data transfer. Just leave it at 9600 and don't think about it too hard.

For the computer, we use the first of Tod K's handy functions: int serialport_init(filename, 9600);

This serialport_init function returns an integer that you're going to want to store, because it identifies which port connection you're talking about. To a Unix system, files, serialport connections, and internet ports are all pretty much the same thing... generic I/O data streams. When you connect your Arduino to your computer, a driver creates a file which represents that serial port connection. You can use the Arduino IDE to find out the name of that file. So my code looks like this:

int fd = serialport_init("/dev/ttyUSB0", 9600);

If fd isn't -1, then we have successfully initialized a serial connection!

Okay, so now our Arduino and PC and have made eye contact and to avoid that awkward silence, one of them has to start the conversation. This is where the main loops start, and in my example, the computer sends data to the Arduino first. I did it this way because the Arduino is already connected and waiting when the C program starts, but doesn't know the program has started until it receives data from it. However, since the program doesn't have any sensory data to process yet, the first command it sends does not tell the Arduino to do anything.

So the Arduino first waits for some data from the PC:

Code:

 loop() {

     if(Serial.available()) {

     }

}

The computer has to send a data packet.

Code:

  char actuatorData[10] = "0000:\0"; //previously declared data

 

//main loop

while(1) {

     int bytesSent = serialport_write(fd, actuatorData);

     if(bytesSent == -1) { fail(); }

}

Again we're using another one of Tom K's reusable methods to write the array actuatorData. Let's talk for a moment about what our data packet looks like.
It is ten bytes, long, but there are only four characters 0, followed by a semicolon ':', and null terminator character \0.

The first four bytes are the actuator data itself. For example, if we have a motor on our robot, we may set the first byte to 'f' if we want the motor to turn forward, or 'b' if we want the motor to turn backward, and keep it as '0' if we don't want it to do anything at all. The second byte might indicate the speed, on a scale of 0 to 255, that we want the motor to turn.
The second two bytes could possible represent these same things for a second motor on our robot.

The semicolon is punctuation. As I will soon show, this is so the receiver knows when it has the whole data packet, and that the sender is done sending data and waiting.

The \0 is a null terminator character which you should put at the end of your strings in C, but not on the Arduino! It is only there so the serialport_write() functions knows when to stop writing. The null terminator character, and any bytes in your array after, will not be sent over the serial connection.

So, the Arduino, when it sees that the computer is sending data, is going to have to grab that data, store it, and and process it. It is going to look like the following:

Code:

 char dataFromComputer[20];



loop() {

      if(Serial.available()) {

          char m;

          int dataCounter = 0;

          while((m = Serial.read()) != ':') {

               if(m != -1) {

                    dataFromComputer[datacounter] = m;

                     ++dataCounter;

               }

          }



          //process our data. If it is 'f' 220 '0' '0' for example, we might tell the motor controller to spin the right motor forward at a speed of 220/255

           //Collect sensor data

          //send response

     }

}

Now to explain. All this time the Arduino has been sitting idle, waiting. As soon as it sees that some data has been send to it (with Serial.read()) it goes into an inner loop. This loop keeps looking at the serial buffer.
If Serial.read() returns -1, there is nothing in the buffer, and the Arduino does nothing. This is important because the Arduino can call read() faster than the computer can send data and from the time the computer sends the first byte, there will be times in between bytes where the Arduino's buffer is clear.
If Serial.read() returns a ':', we know that we can exit our reading loop because the computer is done sending data.
Anything else Serial.read() returns is data we want to process so we store it in a buffer.

After processing this data we then want to get some values from our sensors to send back to the computer for processing. If you haven't used the analogue pins on the Arduino yet, here's a quick rundown:

Let's say you have a photoresistor (a light sensor). It's a little component that will output 0 to 5 volts depending on the brightness of the light shining into it. If you have it hooked to analogue pin X on the arduino, you can say:

int brightness = analogueRead(x);

This will return a number between 0 and 1028 that is proportional to the voltage your photoresistor is outputting on a 0 to 5 volt scale. To convert it to an approximate single byte, you can do something like

byte brightnessCompressed = (byte)(brightness/1028*255);

With that said, let's imagine you have now have two byte values derived from to light sensors on your robot. You want to send these back to the computer because the computer has to decide how to move the motors based on these light values. Maybe the robot wants to get closer to the source of light, or maybe the robot needs to find the darkest place possible, under the misty mountains. Either way, we can construct a simple data packet to send, similar to the one we received.

char sensorData[3] = "00:"

Here, the first two bytes represent our two sensor values, and the last one is, again, punctuation. Our final arduino code snippet looks like this:

Code:

 char dataFromComputer[20];

  char sensorData[3] = "00:"



loop() {

     if(Serial.available()) {

          char m;

          int dataCounter = 0;

          while((m = Serial.read()) != ':') {

               if(m != -1) {

                    dataFromComputer[datacounter] = m;

                    ++dataCounter;

               }

          }



          processData(); //process our data. If it is 'f' 220 '0' '0' for example, we might tell the motor controller to spin the right motor forward at a speed of 220/255

          sensorData[0] = getSensorValueOne();

          sensorData[1] = getSensorValueTwo();

          Serial.write(sensorData);

     }

}

Okay! Our Arduino has received, processed, and sent! All this time, our Computer has been waiting for incoming data, which it will now grab with Tom K's serialport_read_until() function:

Code:

  char actuatorData[10] = "0000:\0"; //previously declared data

  char sensorData[20];

//main loop

while(1) {

     int bytesSent = serialport_write(fd, actuatorData);

     if(bytesSent == -1) { fail(); }

     int bytesReceived = serialport_read_until(fd, sensorData, ':');

     //process sensorData, set actuatorData as necessary.

}

This function handles what we did in the Arduino code... reads bytes into an array until it encounters a semicolon, afterwhich is processes the data, decides how the actuators need to be set, and starts the loop over again, sending the data to the arduino!

I know these don't look like much, but that's because you haven't processed any data yet! That's totally up to you, but at least now you have any idea on how to get it from one side to the other.

Further Thoughts

This might not be the best way to do things, and there are some immediate flaws.

Firstly, each of your devices spends time waiting for the other device to finish processing. Unfortunately if you don't wait, you data can get out of hand and you buffers can overflow, hell breaks lose etc etc.

What I would recommend for this kind of system is alternative threads in your C program that process intensive algorithms that might take a while, and only process reflexive data every single cycle.

Secondly, each piece of data is only one byte, a value of 0 to 255. Unfortunately, your punctuation mark that you use to signify the end of the packet means that if some random numerical value before that matches the value of your punctuation, your data reading will end early, you'll probably crash trying to process what you'll have, and your buffer will have crap in it on the next cycle.

Two possible ways around this are to look for a sequence of bytes that match, rather than just one. So three ':'s in a row may be very unlikely to occur in your data, which means you can look for three one after the other before determining that you are done reading.

The other is to know exactly how many bytes you are sending, and only read that many. Unfortunately, this can cause some problems with the way reading works in C (which I won't get into here)

Notes

Okay, here's one big thing with the functions I grabbed from that example.

On Linux, serialport_read_until was always returning -1 no matter what. To fix this, I had to look into the serialport_init() function. Inside there, the open() function takes three flags as arguments, one of which is O_NDELAY. I took it out, and serialport_read_until worked! On Linux anyway. On Mac OS X, it caused open() to hang. I have a vague inkling on why this is, but no idea how to get around it. And I didn't test it out on Windows because the only thing my Windows machine does is play WoW :)

Lastly, I'm no expert on serial communication, or anything else for that matter. If you see some big flaws with any of my so called facts or methods, let me know!

Attached Files

	serialtestm.pde.txt (1.7 KB)

	robotserial.c.txt (6.3 KB)

[Project] My Hexapod (not just yet) Walker Un-named

Superlaxstar112 — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:23:34 GMT

This is my first robot that was not designed to fight other robots. I've been competing in BBIQ battlebots challenges since I was a freshman in High School. I am now going to be a senior in high school and I figured that it was finally time to try something else. I had some cash to burn and decided to build a walking robot.I got some HS-322HD servos and started playing with them. Looked around on the internet for a bit and found this helpful community. Trossen robotics has been a great resource over the last few weeks. I started with some simple ideas that I modeled in Solidworks. I eventually moved towards a symmetrical hexapod walker. Finished my drawings and models and then I hit the machine shop.

Goal: Create a robot that can walk in any direction (except up) and that can be independent of cables and wires leading away from the bot.

Materials:
1 7.2 Volt 4200 mAh NiMH Battery for Servos
1 6.0 Volt 2200 mAh NiMH Battery for Pico-ITX
1 Pico-itx computer
18 Hitec HS-322HD servos
6 Hitec HS-645Servos
Bunch of screws a nuts (4-40 and 2-56)
18 Aluminum servo horns
1 SSC-32 Servo controller
lots of patience

Final Cad:
[media]http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l144/superlaxstar112/hextest.jpg[/media]

Drawings of some of the parts:

I had some friends help me out with the CNC router and I began to make the parts. I used scrap lexan that was lying around so some of the parts had some scratches on them but nothing too serious.

Some of the finished parts with some servos attached (on my kitchen table)

And then here is the **Almost** finished assembly. It is missing one leg because I didn't have a screw to attach the last servo horn. But it still stands on its own. (On my bedroom floor)

I just ordered 6 more servos (Hitec HS-645) so that should solve my missing screw problem. Which should also be a serious upgrade to what I've been using all over the rest of the bot HS-322HD.

I'll update this after they come. My final goal now is to get it to walk and then eventually put a camera on it so it can facetrack and what not.

[Question(s)] Hello all - Some questions from a future rover builder (BrainStem and H-bridge related)

jafoca — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:54:17 GMT

Hello All,

As you can see I am new here and have a couple of questions before I embark into my renewed robotics journey.

My goal is to eventually build a tracked robot that can be autonomous, and have built in telepresence features.

Some background:
I recently graduated college with a degree in CS and Business Management. I dipped my toes into robotics 5 years ago when I bought a Acroname BrainStem PPRK kit, but I don't remember much of what I learned from that.

So I have a few questions for you all, hopefully this is the right place to ask them!

Firstly regarding the Acroname BrainStem (version 1.0)
Is this a decent platform for getting started in robotics? I think that this is probably going to be insufficient for the purposes of my final project, however is it good enough to get going with? I guess my main concern is for ease of programming. If this is old tech that doesn't have anything going for it, I probably will upgrade off the bat.

Regarding motor drivers / H-Bridges:
What is the difference between an H-Bridge and an RC electronic speed control? Most controllers can easily control servos, so why not RC ESCs?

Regarding Acroname H-Bridges: Why are they so much more expensive compared to something like a sabertooth (80$)? acroname H-Bridge for example is $120, and only 1 channel. What is up with that?

And lastly, here is my plan of attack for comment:
1. Fiddle with brainstem robot to get the hang of coding for the BrainStem
2. Work with sensors on brainstem pprk bot to get then hang of them.
3. Buy a cheap RC tank for conversion to robotics use
4. Buy some sort of H-Bridges / speed controllers to use with tank
5. Construct new bot around brainstem / sensors with h-bridges, attempt autonimous code
6. Figure out new controller platform that will allow expandability in terms of 802.11 networking, interface with webcam, etc.

I guess my last question would be if there is any one controller that is considered "The best" for rover type applications, that most people are using.

Thanks for any feedback, I know I have a laundry list of questions, however I think I have made them specific enough.

Thanks again

serializer with banebots controller

csdude — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:54:29 GMT

Hello all.

I hooked up the banebots motorcontroller (BB-3-9) to servo port 2 of the serializer and want to control a DC motor with it.

The ready light is flashing rapidly. According to the manual the ready light will become steady as soon as it receives the neutral throttle position signals.

My question: How do I send a "throttle neutral' signal to it with the serializer ?
(I tried 'servo 2:0' and 'servo 2:-100' but that didn't do it.)

thanks,

Ron

[News/Announcement] ooBug Robotic Platform

BIGBUG — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:17:12 GMT

Posted with permission! Thank you Matt.

I would like to take a few minutes to introduce the ooBug Robotic Platform from Savage Innovations. The ooBug has an amazing amount of features on a robot of this size, all installed and ready to use. No soldering, wiring ro breadboarding for you to do!

The ooBug is the official robot for the 2008 Microchip Masters Conference, see us there!

Size - Approx 3.25 in. L x W

Object Oriented Programming
USB Programmable
IR Object Detection
IR Line Follower
Light and Dark Detecting Eyes
Programmable Voice (Soundgin)
Programmable Sound Effects (Soundgin, approx 16 million combos)
Programmable Heartbeat LED
Programmable Hunger LED (Battery Monitor)
Mood/Attitude LED

There are expansions ports in the ooBugs head for any I2C device and whiskers as well as expansion ports in the rear just about anything you can create.

Clear plastic body that just begs to be customized.

Programming
(Kids - Hobbyists) The BioLab compiler and ooBug basic are very easy to use, if you can talk you can code.
(Pros) Plug your MPLab right in and now you have a dev tool with wheels. Soon to be in the Microchip store.

The first robot to have its very own social networking website. Plug and share code from around the world or see where you fit on the family tree. Have friends , upload images or upload your newest behaviors. See us at the collective (after we get back from Microchip).

Check out more at www.oobug.com

Thanks for your time and thanks again Matt for letting us post in here.

[Question(s)] Webots or Microsoft Robotic studio for Kondo bots???

rpedro — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:55:43 GMT

I have seen some vids of the KHR-2HV on Webots and Microsoft Robotic Studio...I have been searching everywhere for these options with absolutely no luck...:( can anyone help???

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