Robot

[Techtchr]

The robot is working.

http://img4.photobucket.com/albums/0803/slausonm/HPIM2690.jpg

http://img4.photobucket.com/albums/0803/slausonm/HPIM2694.jpg

http://img4.photobucket.com/albums/0803/slausonm/HPIM2693.jpg

http://img4.photobucket.com/albums/0803/slausonm/HPIM2692.jpg

My appologies to B Bedard for not having the RF video sending unit attached to the bot(that he genorously donated to the cause), as I am still not able to interface the unit with the cameras I have.We eill eventually solve this problem too.

As you can see the bot uses a couple of wheel chair wheels and motors. It has an X-10 camera mounted on the front. The interface boards are being used with an RC car controller, but they can be used with a Basic stamp too, thus the board of education mounted to the top.
This is revision 1.1 Hopefully revision 1.2 1.3... will come next school year and we will be able to do some fun things with the students.

Matt

[dvideo]

Really a nice job...! Congrats...

The thing I like most about it is that a kid can see all the parts present, what they are doing, and how they work together. They can then walk away saying "I can do that". Best thing you can achieve, I think.....

--jr

[ibewgypsie]

You should tear it down each year, put it all into a tupperware box, and let the "new" students build it each year. That won't cost a thing extra since the investment has been made.

What is old to some is new to others.

Technology is a changing thing. Unfortunatly by the time the knowledge gets to the schools it is antiquidated. Robotics classes are like that. The things they teach, they used ten years or more ago..

Teaching a student to have a open mind is a better gift then any "howto" project. Adapt and overcome using present day and available technology. If all you got is a donkey to work, make the most of it with roller bearing wheels on the cart.

By the way, great job. A pretty skin can be cosmetic, but loses the mechanical beauty underneath.

David

[Techtchr]

David & Jr,
The hope is that the kids will design a completly new chassis and program it to follow a line or bounce infrared or sonar off objects to avoid hitting them. Maybe get hooked up with a police department or fire department to build a bot to help them. I would also like to do a battle bots competition with the kids if we can swing it financially. Lots of ideas but not much funding available. I appreciate the help I have received though! Some local donations and a few on-line people too. Thanks to all!

Matt

[SJorgensen]

Wow,

That's pretty cool. Can you kill anything with it?

What are it's armaments?

[Evan]

Nice robot. Got enough batteries? I want to build one to mow my three acres of lawn.

What is the problem interfacing the video?

[Techtchr]

No weapons...yet. I must admit I'm kind of a wet blanket when it comes to weapons, go fast, or go high, I'm personally not into seeing whether a machine can be destroyed or go faster or higher than some other machine. I'm the guy that goes to the races to look at how the cars were built to make them go fast, I could care less about watching the race. Kids are into the battle bot stuff though, so if it gets them interested in the creation of the technology, I'm all for it.

The video sending unit connectors are not the same. Both cameras I have have S video and or a coax connection but the sender has RCA. I bought an adaptor box to try. The X-10 video unit works, but the resolution stinks and the antenna is very directional, so when the bot turns the picture flickers. Range is poor too.The camera runs off of one of the batteries so it is convienient. The motors are 24 volt wheelchair motors.I didn't want the expense of actual wheel chair batteries so I wired two lawn and garden batteries ($20 each)in series. Seems to work pretty well.

Evan, I was flipping through a popular sci. magazine at the DR's office, and they had an article about an engineer who designed an RC robot mower. Briggs engine with a generator powered the electrical system to run the bot in addition to swinging the blade to cut the lawn. Had giros and other electrical stuff to keep it on track. About $2000 will buy you one. My bot has enough power to drag a $125.00 push mower around, but it wouldn't have near as many features like remote start and stop. Might be fun to try though. Also check out Robo Cut, a German firm that makes a robot lawn mower.

Matt

[bernie]

Nice Bot Matt! Your students are learning things they'll never forget. As for the S video to composite adapter try one of these they are cheap http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/svideo-rca.html
I'll check this weekend but i think they are just a couple of resistors combining the Y/C (luminance/chrominance).

[Paul Alciatore]

Bernie's right, the S video is just separate luminance and chromance. All you need to do is get one of the cheap adaptors or just tie those two wires together and you have composit video for the RCA connector. I don't think you even need the resistors as the source resistance in the camera circuitry should provide enough for proper isolation.

Paul A.

[Evan]

You need one capacitor.

http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/svideo2cvideo.html

[J Tiers]

Might I suggest some "boots" for the battery terminals?

Not that I have ever seen what happens when and if something conductive gets across them...................of course........

[Techtchr]

Thanks again for the info. I will try the adaptor circuit. I have one of those older VCR Cameras that will look Awesome on top of the robot. If I can get a voice module to work so it sounds like Morley Seifert (sp?)from 60 minutes how cool would that be?

JTiers, Battery Boots? I make my kids wear safety glasses in the lab, do you want me to take the thrill of electrical sparks away from them too? You're right probably a good idea. I'm going to hopefully have the kids build a vacuum formed body to go over the whole thing to protect everything. There are a couple of vacuum formers in the area that I think would make a chassis if we create the mold.

Matt

[This message has been edited by Techtchr (edited 06-19-2004).]

[ibewgypsie]

What is more important then the sparks is the hydrogen gas that comes out of the batteries. It is the real reason your kids need glasses.

Facial scarring can be lived with a lot easier than blindness.

Batteries blow up.. Some of the first hydrogen plasma gas balls came from submarine batteries, they danced around the battery room.

David

[dvideo]

One thing that Robert Ballard mentioned points out how video oriented we are. He took some scientist down to the bottom somehwere... Instead of looking at the port hole, they looked at the video screens.

Setting a camera with a wireless feed up on your 'bot is not too expensive - infact, there are wireless feeds for several cameras. Showing the live feed on a TV screen takes kids (and others) from that third person viewer role to a 1st person perspective: "You Are There". Substantially increases the impact and gives a better handle on what your controls need to do....

--jerry