Another RCX-based balancer
I’m a sucker for interesting robots. Especially if they are built out of Legos. Everybody loves the Legway, but you have to admit that the concept is overly simplistic. The real challenge is building the system around the limited resources of Lego’s RCX.
Now meet another balancing robot courtesy of Maurits Kooiman on Lugnet. This one balances on one wheel and apparently uses two RCX bricks and four sensors along with three tires to maintain balance on the axis perpendicular to its unicycle. The robot balances on the main axis by directly powering the wheel. The axis perpendicular to its unicycle is balanced by the set of rotating tires. The fourth tire seems to be a freely swingy pendulum, but it may in fact be controlled by yet another motor. Check out the video!
Vex Robotics Starter Kit - $179.99 2
The Vex Robotics Starter Kit is currently on sale cheap at Woot.com. If you are interested, then you better buy impulsively. Their deals last 24 hours, tops. It is exclusive to RadioShack and normally retails for $299.99. There is also a large assortment of Vex Robotics Kits & Accessories at RadioShack.com.
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PC Magazine has a review along with the infamous Myth Busters. Their main gripes were a lack of accessories and motors that were geared for speed instead of power. Combined with the weight of a steel frame, this hindered a their stair climbing application.
A rich system of hardware, software, and powerful sensors, along with documentation that doesn’t skimp, makes this a terrific first experience with robotics for anyone. Well-machined. Expertly documented. Quite powerful. Tremendous fun. – From PC Magazine’s Review
Compared to other robotics kits in its class, the Vex system is capable of creating some rather large robots.
The Open Automation Project
I am back from spring break. As of today, I should have significantly more time to dedicate to this site, unless school/real work builds up on me again.
Anyway, I just stumbled upon the Open Automation project. This ‘open source’ project has the following mission statement:
To fill the gap between the powerful mobile robot platforms typically used by researchers, and the small rug-roving robots with limited processing power that are popular with hobbyists.
The specific project goals are:
- Design a coherent set of modular components (hardware and software) that conform to standards (where possible), and implement the functionality of an intelligent mobile robot. Use pre-built components that are readily available where possible (and when such pre-built components are affordable).
- Minimize cost. It should be possible to build a robot for around the price of a PC (target: US$1,500 to $2,000). Consumer grade hardware components are to be used in preference to professional grade products.
- Focus on stereo vision as the primary spatial sensor to produce useful space occupancy data. Central to the success of this project is the implementation of a functioning low-cost real-time vision system. The prevalence of FireWire-enabled WebCams and mainboards makes this goal reachable from the standpoint of cost; the difficult part here is the software.
With two firewire webcams for eyes, a mini-itx brain, 4-12 sonar sensors, an I2C speech synthesizer, an LCD, the drive and chassis, and more, the bill of materials is not cheap. However, the prototype is really cute. If you want an overview of how it works, there is a block diagram of the system.
Unfortunately, the project seems to be hibernating right now, and there is not much detail on what to do when you are finished building the it. I would really love to build my own robot, but I would not know what to do with it.
BigDog: A heavy duty quadraped
BigDog is a quadraped robot being developed by Boston Dynamics for possible military usage. It is by far the most advanced quadraped around. The site has more mechanical details and a video! About 30 seconds into the video, he kicks BigDog and it stays balanced!
So far, BigDog has trotted at 3.3 mph, climbed a 35 degree slope and carried a 120 lb load. BigDog is being developed by Boston Dynamics with help from Foster Miller, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station.Development is funded by the DARPA Defense Sciences Office.
The NanoBot
While reading lugnet recently, I stumbled upon an extremely interesting little robot. It’s creator says it best:
While waiting for the NXT system to come out, I decided to try my luck at making tiny robots… Often, when working, I would drop a SMT and have to take a magnifying glass to find it as it would get lost in the bits of filings, etc that were around the work area…
Believe it or not, this little guy is a sumo robot. When he senses he’s found, he runs full speed for the edge of the rink!
Nic_1: Sound following robot
There are a lot of LEGO Mindstorms robots out there, but I finally found the best. Nic_1 is a Johnny V impersonator that detects the direction of sound and follows it. Detection is accomplished by calculating the cross-correlation of two audio signals from the binaural sensor. The data is used to estimate the phase difference between the them. (Videos tracking Kelly Clarkson included!)
I can’t wait any longer for LEGO Mindstorms NXT in August. 32 bits, servos, and mics, oh my!
Robots that reproduce (video)
Research at Cornell has made the first steps in evolutionary robotics. Their robot successfully make copies itself without any human interaction.
The next step is to train the robots to optimize themselves while reconstructing. Their research concentrates on how life adapts, evolution, and replicating these concepts in robots.
Review: 'The Scribbler' Robot
AndyBrain.com has written a review of The Scribbler Robot. It is built around the BASIC Stamp® and also includes a GUI programming environment. The review covers the basic functionality and sensors of The Scribbler along with a brief hacking introduction. I already have LEGO Mindstorms, but this is an affordable alternative to start getting your feet wet in robotics.
This is truly a robot I wish I had when I was younger. Both because it beats the pants off any equivalently-priced programmable robot kit, and because I had a lot of time back then. I don’t have a lot of time now, and during the review I kept looking at the Scribbler longingly: I’d much rather play with it than write about it.
How Stanley drove to DARPA fame
Standford University’s robot car, Stanley, was the first autonomous vehicle to win the elusive DARPA Grand Challenge. Popular Mechanics describes how they conquered the challenge.
Stanley’s optical cortex was the Mapper program, which interpreted the 3D LIDAR map and compressed it into a manageable 2D map divided into a grid of 30 x 30-centimeter cells. The cells were designated as free (driveable), occupied (obstacle) or unknown.
The article describes their many challenges, the “eyes” of the vehicle, its mechanics, mapping software, and navigation system. The article is an interesting look into the complex design of a Stanford’s Stanley or any DARPA challenger.
A basically simple Beetle Robot
The Beetle Robot is a simple diy robot to impress youngsters or your non-technical friends. Its construction and operation are simple enough for just about anyone to understand.
The only components necessary are:
- 2x - small 1.5 Volts motors
- 2x - small paperclips
- 2x - big paperclips
- 2x - batteries AAA or AA
- 1x - battery holder AAA or AA
- 1x - 2 cm of heat shrink
- 1x - wooden pearl (for the caster)
- 1x - meter of electric wire
- 2x - Sub-mini lever SPDT switches
The beetle’s operation is also fairly simple. If one of the SPDT switches is tripped, the polarity going to one of the motors is reversed. This causes the beetle to back away in the opposite direction.
The instructions are sketchy to say the least. ” Take the battery holder and make a connection to the connection.” Fortunately, the pictures are easy to follow.