servo2008 03
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
1/84
http://www.servomagazine.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
2/84
http://netmedia.com/http://siteplayer.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
3/84
http://www.lynxmotion.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
4/84
This Month In
THE COMBAT ZONE ...Features
28 The Holy Grail of Combat RoboticsUsable Melty Brain (Part 2)
31 Manufacturing: Win WithBulletproof Planetary Gearboxes
Events34 Results and Upcoming Competitions
35 Rumble at the Rock:BotsIQ Gone Varsity
Robot Profile
36 Dark Pounder
SERVO Magazine (ISSN 1546-0592/CDN Pub Agree#40702530)
is published monthly for $24.95 per year by T & L Publications, Inc., 430
Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID
AT CORONA,CA AND AT ADDITIONAL ENTRY MAILING OFFICES.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SERVO Magazine, P.O.
Box 15277, North Hollywood, CA 91615 or Station A, P.O.
Box 54,Windsor ON N9A 6J5; [email protected]
Departments06 Mind/Iron19 Events Calendar26 New Products27 Robotics Showcase65 Menagerie
66 Robo-Links75 SERVO Webstore82 Advertisers Index
Columns08 Robytes by Jeff Eckert
Stimulating Robot Tidbits
10 GeerHead by David GeerPace Robotics Lab ActivevisionRobot Technology CapturesSights in 3D
14 Twin Tweaksby Bryce and Evan Woolley
Back to Basics: Why Turning RC Carsinto Robots Makes All the Difference
20 Ask Mr. Roboto by Pete MilesYour Problems Solved Here
67 Different Bitsby Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Artificial Life Part 1:Introduction to Genetic Algorithms
72 Robotics Resourcesby Gordon McComb
Robot Kits for Easier Robotics
78 Appetizerby Allison F. Walton and Filomena Serpa
When Art and Servos Mix
79 Then and Now by Tom CarrollWomen of Robotics
PAGE 79
4 SERVO 03.2008
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
5/84
03.2008VOL . 6 NO. 3
SERVO 03.2008 5
38 Control of Power-AssistExoskeleton Robots WithBiological Signalsby Kzauo KiguchiTake a look at one soft computingtechnology that hopes to help bringexoskeleton robots to consumers.
43 Reviving an Androbot BOBby Robert DoerrThis time, BOB gets lots of cool stuffadded to him, including a HandyBoard controller, H-bridge, powerdistribution, and sonar boards.
50 Building a Stepper MotorController: Part 2by Fred EadyThe preflight work from last monthwill now be applied to createcontrolled rotational movement
of a stepper motor shaft.
58 A More Versatile RoboticController UsingRobotBASICby John Blankenship andSamuel MishalRobotBASIC is a free programminglanguage known for its integrated
robot simulator. However, it alsocan be used for nearly any controlapplication.
62 Designing and Building aRobot From Scratchby Brian BensonThis new series of articles willtake you through the entireprocess of designing andbuilding a custom robot.
PAGE 38
PAGE10
PAGE 14
Features & Projects
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
6/84
Published Monthly ByT & L Publications, Inc.
430 Princeland CourtCorona, CA 92879-1300
(951) 371-8497FAX (951) 371-3052
Webstore Only1-800-783-4624www.servomagazine.com
SubscriptionsToll Free 1-877-525-2539
Outside US 1-818-487-4545
P.O. Box 15277North Hollywood, CA 91615
PUBLISHERLarry Lemieux
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/VP OF SALES/MARKETING
Robin [email protected]
EDITORBryan Bergeron
CONTRIBUTING EDITORSJeff Eckert Tom CarrollGordon McComb David GeerPete Miles R. Steven RainwaterFred Eady Kevin BerryJohn Blankenship Samuel MishalKazuo Kiguchi Robert DoerrBrian Benson Allison WaltonNick Martin Michael BastoniBryce Woolley Evan WoolleyHeather Dewey-Hagborg Filomena Serpa
CIRCULATION DIRECTORTracy Kerley
MARKETING COORDINATORWEBSTOREBrian Kirkpatrick
WEB CONTENTMichael Kaudze
PRODUCTION/GRAPHICSShannon Lemieux
Joe Keungmanivong
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTDebbie Stauffacher
Copyright 2008 byT & L Publications, Inc.All Rights Reserved
All advertising is subject to publishers approval.We are not responsible for mistakes, misprints,or typographical errors. SERVO Magazineassumes no responsibility for the availability orcondition of advertised items or for the honestyof the advertiser.The publisher makes no claimsfor the legality of any item advertised in SERVO.This is the sole responsibility of the advertiser.Advertisers and their agencies agree toindemnify and protect the publisher from anyand all claims, action, or expense arising fromadvertising placed in SERVO. Please send alleditorial correspondence, UPS, overnight mail,
and artwork to: 430 Princeland Court,Corona, CA 92879.
As highlighted by the ConsumerElectronics Show (CES), 2008 isshaping up to be a good year forrobotics innovators who rely oninexpensive, capable platforms fortheir experiments. The most impressiveplatform in the traditional D3 (dull,dirty, and dangerous) camp was the$99 iRobot Looj (www.iRobot.com).
The treaded, weather resistant, remotecontrolled vehicle (see Figure 1) isintended to facilitate the D3 job ofcleaning gutters of leaves, pine cones,twigs, and other light debris. Althoughthe robots movement is limited tolinear forward and reverse and accessto the NiCad battery pack is somewhatawkward, the robot seems like theperfect platform for an amphibiousvehicle. Ill be featuring the Looj in anupcoming teardown article.
As in previous years, consumer
robots is less about sweeping floors,
clearing gutters, or performing equallydistasteful D3 tasks, and more aboutentertainment. WowWee (www.wowwee.com) promises to be a readysource of development platforms,following the popularity of theRobosapien among the robotics modcommunity. Highest on my want list isthe Bladestar indoor flying machine
with onboard obstacle avoidance. Thethree-channel digital IR controller isespecially intriguing, in that it impliescontrol is possible through a wirelesslaptop link that can be used to providepath planning in addition to simpleobject avoidance. Other members ofthe WowWee lineup including thefour-legged Roboquad, emotiveRobopanda, and series of Alive pets also seem promising.
If youve ever developed a WiFiinterface to your robots, then youll
appreciate the Meccano Spykee spy
Mind / Iron
by Bryan Bergeron, Editor
Mind/Iron Continued
6 SERVO 03.2008
FIGURE 1
http://www.servomagazine.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.irobot.com/http://www.irobot.com/http://www.irobot.com/http://www.wowwee.com/http://www.wowwee.com/http://www.wowwee.com/http://www.wowwee.com/http://www.wowwee.com/http://www.wowwee.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.irobot.com/http://www.servomagazine.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
7/84
robot with built-in Skype VoIP phone, webcam, andsoftware suite (www.meccano.com). The French robot,sold under the Erector brand in the US, seems equallyvaluable as a source of parts and as a development platform.At $300, the treaded robot is about the price of a WiFiwebcam without audio capabilities, battery pack, or mobility.
Im undecided about the viability of the long-awaitedPleo (www.pleoworld.com) as a repurposable roboticsplatform. Given the hype, I was expecting something with
the capabilities of the discontinued Sony Aibo. However, Idont envision squads of autonomous, bucolic Pleosplaying robosoccer. That may change with the efforts of aninnovative modder, however.
One of the more interesting robotics productsfeatured at the 2008 CES that spans the D3 andentertainment categories is the Gibson Robot Guitar(www.Gibson.com). Thanks to robotics and electronicsdeveloped by Tronical (www.Tronical.com), the guitarfrees the guitarist from the dull and time-consuming taskof retuning the guitar. Its difficult to rationalize the added$700 expense for simply keeping six strings in tune, butwhere the German Tronical technology shines is inalternative tuning and intonation adjustments.
Many traditional and modern songs use alternatives tothe standard EBGDAE tuning (i.e., the first or thinneststring is tuned to E, the next string to B, and so on).Retuning a guitar to common alternatives such as DroppedD (DADGBE) or Delta Blues (DGDGBD) takes time. So muchtime that performers typically switch guitars betweensongs to accommodate alternative tuning. With the RobotGuitar, alternative tuning is as simple as turning a selectorswitch. The six motors in the head and piezo audiodetectors in the bridge adjust individual strings to theappropriate tension within four seconds.
The other big headache the Tronical technologyaddresses is adjusting intonation, which typically involves atrip to the guitar shop for adjusting the bridge. Instead ofsimply pressing a button, correcting intonation involvesmanually adjusting the distance between points holdingthe strings (the nut at the far end and the bridge at thenear end). While this is a manual operation, the circuitry inthe guitar signals the operator how far to turn theadjustment screws to achieve proper intonation.
There have been other automatic, motorized tuners onthe market, but the Tronical-Gibson is the first to pull it offin a clean, fully integrated way. Because the Tronical
components are the same size and actually lighter thantraditional components, the system is available for FenderStrats and a variety of Gibson guitars. The system can bequickly installed and removed tracelessly without extradrilling, holes, or screws.
While the market for all stringed instruments isthreatened by all electronic instruments, the Robot Guitaris a good example of how robotics can be integratedseamlessly and almost invisibly into an existing product toprovide enhanced value. I leave you with the challenge ofidentifying application areas where the same approach canbe applied to activities of daily living, from driving andcooking to simply moving from one place to another. SV
SERVO 03.2008 7
Extreme RobotSpeed Control!
OSMC6
6
6
6
Monster power!14-50V3.15 x4.5x1.53 wire interface
160A!
www.robotpower.comPhone: 253-843-2504 [email protected]
Scorpion HX6
6
6
6
Dual (6A pk) H-bridgesfwd-only channel
5V - 18V1.6 x 1.6 x 0.5
2.5A12APlus
$79.99
Scorpion Mini6
6
6
2.5A (6A pk) H-bridge5V - 18V1.25 x 0.5 x 0.25
$119.99
Scorpion XL6
6
6
D ua l H -b ri dg e5V - 24V2.7 x 1.6 x 0.5
13A 45A Peak!
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
14V - 50V - Dual H-bridges - 150Adjustabl e cur rent limitingTemperature limitingThree R/C inputs - serial optionMany mixing options - Flipped Bot InputRugged extruded Aluminum case4.25" x 3.23" x 1.1
80A A+ Peak!
$29.99
$399
Introducing Dalf6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Closed-loop control of two motorsFull PID position/velocity loopTrapezoidal path generator
PIC18F6722 CPUC source for routines providedSee
Giant Servo Mode!
www.embeddedelectronics.net
$250
MADE IN
THE USA
H-bridges: Use with Dalf or with your Micro/Stamp
Simple-H6
6
6
6
6-28V 252.25 x2.5 x0.53 wire interfacecurrent & temp
protection
A!
$79
http://www.meccano.com/http://www.meccano.com/http://www.meccano.com/http://www.pleoworld.com/http://www.pleoworld.com/http://www.pleoworld.com/http://www.gibson.com/http://www.gibson.com/http://www.gibson.com/http://www.tronical.com/http://www.tronical.com/http://www.tronical.com/http://www.robotpower.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.embeddedelectronics.net/http://www.bocabearings.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.robotpower.com/http://www.embeddedelectronics.net/http://www.tronical.com/http://www.gibson.com/http://www.pleoworld.com/http://www.meccano.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
8/84
8 SERVO 03.2008
Climbing the Walls
In the common tradition of borrow-ing robotic concepts from nature isWaalbot, which needs no magnets orvacuum devices to attach itself tovertical planes. Like a common gecko,this Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu)invention uses tiny fibers on its feet toadhere to just about any surface. The lit-tle guy isnt much bigger than a quarter,
but he sports two sets of three-footedwheels, each with its own motor. Thespring-loaded tail keeps the critterpushing against the walls surface.
Motion control, including steer-ing, is provided by a PIC microcon-troller and power by lithium-ionbatteries. Projected applicationsinclude inspection, surveillance, andpossibly spacecraft repair. Comingsoon to a Waal-mart near you.
Dinosaurs to Roam Again
Dubai, to put things in perspec-tive, is the second largest nation withinthe United Arab Emirates, even thoughit occupies only 4,114 sq km (about 16sq mi). This puts it on a par withHeadland, AL. But its population is1,422,000, as opposed to Headlands3,523, so a lot of people must be
standing up most of the time. On thepositive side, Dubais gross domesticproduct in 2006 was $46 billion, whichmeans they have a lot of extra moneyfor fun projects. And these folks, whohave already created a private islandarchipelago shaped like the Earthscontinents, and the worlds firstunderwater hotel, dont think small.
The current hot project there isRestless Planet, a unique, world-classnatural history phenomenon that will
recreate 11 acres of the Earth as it was100 million years ago. The park projected to cost $1.1 billion willfeature 109 robots housed in a 75 mdome, constituting the worlds largestcollection of animatronic dinosaurs.The bots are being created by JapansKokoro Co. under the direction offamed paleontologist Jack Horner.
The first one out of the gate is T.Rex (the lizard, not Marc Bolan), whichis capable of follow-
ing you with hungryeyes, breathing, andcurling its lips, but itwill probably stopshort of eating you.A series of rides willtake visitors througha collection ofhigh-tech effects thatillustrate the birth ofthe planet and the
creation of its topographical featuresand oceans. The finale is a visit to theage of dinosaurs. Restless Planet isscheduled to open late this year, sobook your flight to the City of Arabia(www.cityofarabiame.com) early. (Thecurrent price is $1152, round trip KLM.)
Baby Seals BoostMental/Physical Health
Most of the bots you see these daysare aimed at some sort of mundaneapplication, be it industrial or service. ButJapanese developers seem to be wrappedup in what has been called the cult ofcute, and one of the most adorable isParo, the baby harp seal from IntelligentSystem Co. (www.intelligent-system.jp). It is classified as a mental commit-ment robot, defined as one devel-
The CMU Waalbot climbs walls usingdry adhesion.Photo courtesy of
Carnegie Mellon Nanorobotics Lab.
Left: Paro, the robotic baby harp seal, photo courtesyof Intelligent System Co.,Ltd. Right:The real thing,photo by Rei Ohara, courtesy ofharpseals.org.
The Restless Planet theme park will feature 100+ mechatronicdinosaurs. Photo courtesy of City of Arabia.
by Jeff EckertRobytes
http://www.cmu.edu/http://www.cmu.edu/http://www.cmu.edu/http://www.cityofarabiame.com/http://www.cityofarabiame.com/http://www.cityofarabiame.com/http://www.intelligent-system.jp/http://www.intelligent-system.jp/http://www.intelligent-system.jp/http://www.intelligent-system.jp/http://harpseals.org/http://www.intelligent-system.jp/http://www.intelligent-system.jp/http://harpseals.org/http://www.cityofarabiame.com/http://www.cmu.edu/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
9/84
oped to interact with human beings(often the sick and elderly) and makethem feel emotionally attached to it.
According to the company, such
devices provide three basic therapeuticeffects: psychological (e.g., relaxationand motivation), physiological(improved vital signs), and social(stimulating communication betweenpatients and caregivers). Going beyonda common stuffed animal, Paroincorporates tactile, light, audio, tem-perature, and posture sensors to com-prehend people and its environment.
It recognizes light and dark andgets sleepy at night. It blinks its eyes
and makes seal noises. It likes to be pet-ted and tries to avoid you if you smackit. Paro can even recognize words andwhere your voice is coming from, andyou can tickle it by touching its whiskers.
Pretty clever. But with Paros$3,200 price tag, a cat might be amore cost-effective solution.
Dont Eat the Yellow Ice
Also more huggable than it needsto be is Yuki-taro, from Research &Development, Inc. (RDI, www.rdi-japan.com), which has been describedas a supercute robot that eats upsnow and poops ice blocks. Developedby a consortium in Japans snowyNiigata Prefecture, it is self-guided via aGPS system and cameras mounted in
his eyes. He measures 63 x 37 x 30 in(160 x 95 x 75 cm), weighs in at 880 lb(400 kg), and his droppings are 24 x 12x 6 in (~60 x 30 x 15 cm) ice bricks.
Given the nature of his diet, youprobably wont want to crush up thebricks for your evening cocktail, butthe ice could be stored for refrigera-tion or air conditioning in summermonths. Yuki-taro isnt ready for massproduction yet, but its inventors hopeto be selling them within five years.The estimated price will be $9,000.
Report on Future Military
Systems
In its infinite wisdom, the US
Department of Defense (www.defenselink.mil) has released a reporttitled, Unmanned Systems Roadmap20072032, which outlines howthe military intends to proceed indeveloping, acquiring, and integratingunmanned technology over the next25 years. This should prove helpful toinventors, defense contractors, hostilegovernments, terrorists, and anyoneelse who has an interest in such things.
The Roadmap covers not onlyUAVs but land- and maritime-operatedsystems, as well. The report is availableat a somewhat out-of-the-way corner
of the DoD website, or you candownload it at www.jkeckert.com/unmannedsystems.pdf.
Do-It-Yourself Earth Defense
Strangely, the DoDs Roadmapcompletely ignores the threat of aliensfrom outer space, but Daniel H. Wilson,Ph.D., has it covered in his latest book,
How to Build a Robot Army. Regardlessof whether you find yourself attackedby aliens, ninjas, or zombies (or mum-mies or great white sharks or Godzilla),you can get the better of your blood-thirsty adversaries using the techniquesoutlined within. You can pick up thepaperback edition from amazon.comfor a paltry $11.16 as of this writing.And may the farce be with you. SV
Robytes
Yuki-taro, the snow-eating robot.
Photo courtesy of RDI.
New report from the DoD outlines itsplans for future unmanned systems.
Photo courtesy ofUS Department of Defense.
Daniel Wilsons latest book,How to Build a Robot Army.
Photo courtesy of Bloomsbury USA.
SERVO 03.2008 9
http://www.rdi-japan.com/http://www.rdi-japan.com/http://www.rdi-japan.com/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.jkeckert.com/unmannedsystems.pdfhttp://www.jkeckert.com/unmannedsystems.pdfhttp://www.jkeckert.com/unmannedsystems.pdfhttp://amazon.com/http://amazon.com/http://www.jkeckert.com/unmannedsystems.pdfhttp://www.jkeckert.com/unmannedsystems.pdfhttp://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.defenselink.mil/http://www.rdi-japan.com/http://www.rdi-japan.com/http://amazon.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
10/84
10 SERVO 03.2008
Pace University Labs produced theactivevision technology (per aPace University academic paper)
in conjunction with research into amuch larger robot cognition project.With activevision, the robot modelsitself and its environment in a 3D worldusing graphics rendering enginetechnology from Ogre3D, just like thatused in gaming software.
The robot sees the world around it,then assembles it in 3D. It saves andworks within that reservoir of graphical
data in order to develop changing andimproving perceptions of its surroundings.
ADAPT-ing
The robot vision project, calledAdaptive Dynamics and Active
Perception for Thought (ADAPT), fallsunder the work of three Universityresearch groups: one from PaceUniversity (computer science), one fromBrigham Young, and one from Fordham.
The research has produced severalrobots, which are available fromActivMedia today along with someothers. These robots are capable ofa variety of responses in largelyunpredictable environments usingrobotic cognition and activevision.
There were obstacles to accomplish-
ing this level of perception with earlierrobots. Developers had to pre-programthose robots to work in their environ-ments. So, while the pre-programminghad a lot to do with how they couldrespond, it didnt help them learn fromthe environment or produce their ownperceptions before they responded.
By developing robotic cognitive abil-ities, researchers hope to be able to giverobots the tools they need to learn fromtheir environments and adapt according-
ly. Some of the pieces to that puzzleinclude the abilit ies for the robot to solveproblems and improve navigation.
Seeing is Predicting
The mobile robot in the ADAPTresearch sees by first predicting what itwill see. It does this using a virtualmodel of the world around it throughits multimedia. This exists in the SOARsoftware and algorithms (SOAR is acognitive software architecture and
framework for developing intelligentrobotics systems), and in memory.
The virtual, multimedia aspect ofthe model exists in a 3D game.Ogre3D is an open-source programmingplatform, virtual-world-based game withadvanced graphics. It uses state-of-the-art game physics (the physics make virtu-al objects in the game respond to eachother in the same way that the sameobjects would respond in the real world).
The robot uses its machine vision
and software tools to create a copy of itsenvironment with itself included. It storesand interacts with 3D data in the virtualgame world, learning from the process.This forces the robot to use its intelli-gence so it can make decisions based onits perceptions of the world around it andnot on feedback (based on machinevision techniques) from that world alone.
The robot learns to adapt andrespond to the world around it as a partof a complex problem-solving process.The robots software uses the virtual
Contact the author at [email protected] David Geer
PACE ROBOTICS LABActivevision Robot Technology Captures Sights in 3D
Pace Robotics Lab has developed a real looker a robot with
machine vision that remembers the world in 3D.
ActivMedia Activrobot, Pioneer 2 rear side-angle view. This early experimental version is
the granddaddy to ActivRobots Pioneer 3models, including the P3-DX. The P3-DXcomes with battery, two wheels, caster,motors, encoders, and a front ring of sonars.
The robot must have its microcontroller, aswell as a sonar board, power board,
ARCOS microcontroller server software, onthe hardware I/O bus with ARIA softwareand ARIA Robotics API for softwaredevelopers (to add to the robots skills),and an operators manual.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
11/84
GEERHEAD
world to model everything the robot per-ceives and responds to in the real world.
This way, the robots intelligencecan attempt to sort of reason out what
happens in the real world by use of thestored working memory elements ofthe virtual world, according to a PaceLab Obstacle Avoidance paper, by Dr.D. Paul Benjamin, et al.
Machine Vision
The cognitive, machine vision robot Pioneer 2 sees through a pair ofFireWire (IEEE 1394) Canon VC-C4 cam-eras and framegrabbers. The camerasare mobile via a pan/tilt hardware device
from Directed Perceptions. The computeruses an onboard Linux OS for command
and control, which interfaces wirelessly
with a single PC-based computer.The software brains of the Pioneer
2 consist of two parts: one that process-es the bottom-up or simple view ofthe world; and, one that processes thetop down or closer look view.
The bottom up view is quick anddirty, giving the background and thegeneral lay of the land. This image
simply provides a view with objects therobot may want to examine moreclosely. This software runs on IntelsOpen Vision software library.
The top down vision system ismuch more complex and elaborate. Therobots system activates this element ofthe robots vision when the robot wantsto take a closer look at something in theenvironment that the first vision systemhas only vaguely mapped out. This is forspecific object recognition.
This ERVision software will look
at an object to recognize its distinct
aspects. It will then model the image inthe virtual world and store that so theobject wont have to be recognizedagain. This saves time and effort.
As the virtual world becomes morecompletely detailed, the robots memo-ry and perception of its world becomesmore clear and accurate. This way, therobots obstacle avoidance proficiencyincreases in its surroundings.
In case any of the obstacles shouldbe mobile objects (say a house cat, forexample, that might have been sleeping
in one spot when it was originally recog-nized), the robot is able to determinewhether any objects it has recognizedbefore are now where they are sup-posed to be (whether they have moved)by use of the virtual world model.
SOAR
SOAR, an architecture fordeveloping intelligent robot systems,has been in use for 25 years. It is
an integral part of the project that hasproduced the Pioneer 2 robot (shownin the images) with activevision.
The current version of the softwareis SOAR v8.6, for those who would liketo investigate its use on their nextproject. SOAR developers hope to bringSOAR to the point where it can enable allthe tasks of the kinds of intelligent
robots the world envisions for the future.The goal is for SOAR to solve open-
SERVO 03.2008 11
Camera and sonar view of Pioneer 2.
Pioneer 2 with camera mount and cabling, topview. The P2 is the predecessor to the P3-ATfrom ActivMedia. This model has four wheelsand motors with encoders. The AT model hasoptional sensing software to make utilizethe new sensing hardware and turn that intointelligible commands the robot can follow.
The robot comes with upgrades includinginertial correction that counters skid steerdead reckoning errors. The bot can beaccessorized with laser range finders, bothfront and rear sonars, pan/tilt/zoom colorcameras, stereo range finder cameras, andday/night vision cameras. Finally, GPS,color-tracking, compasses, and tilt positionsensing hardware round out some of
the most des ireable add-ons. Internetoperation is also available with this model.
Another angle view of the Pioneer 2.
Pioneer 2 with a view of serial cable.
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
12/84
12 SERVO 03.2008
ended problems where, for example, there may not be asingle right answer. The developers want the architecture to
learn and use a variety of knowledge bases and problem solv-ing skills. They want it to enable robots to interact intelligent-ly with the world around them. They want to enable robots tolearn more about their own activities, tasks, and behaviors.
SOAR bases perception and action on all existingknowledge including the latest interpretation of inputs from
the outside world. SOAR follows a robot AI model thatappears to closely resemble how human beings processinformation for the purposes of perception and response.
Working forward from version 8, developers are seeking to
store multiple representations and interpretations of acquired
knowledge, as well as to acquire that knowledge in different
ways. SOAR brings all this knowledge to bear on every
perception, decision, and reaction at the softwares runtime.
Developers are turning SOAR into a suite of cognitive capa-
bilities matching those of the human brain. SOAR can retrieve
knowledge and memories of previous perceptions and reactions
and model those to determine how to react in the current state.
Fine Tuning
In order to make sure the virtual world as perceived andmodeled by the robot and the real world match up, therobots rules test for differences between the two. If there isa new object, if an object has moved or changed, there arerules to deal with these differences.
To do this, SOAR and the vision system work to collectthe more vague bottom up information about segments ofvisual data, stereo information (there are two cameras), andmotion information.
The SOAR system applies rules to the robot to force it to
examine the object from the top down by turning its stereovisionto focus on the object more exactly. System rules process the top
down vision data by examining portions
of the object via the object recognition
software. The results of those examina-
tions are stored in SOAR. SV
GEERHEAD
Pace Robotics Labhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab
Pace robot clips including
the Pioneer 2http://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/movies.html
Pace robot cliphttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/
clips/RobotMovie1.mov
Pace robot cliphttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotWorldModel.mpg
Large Pace robot clip(save file before viewing)
http://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/puma.avi
RESOURCES
Perform proportional speed, direction, and steering withonly two Radio/Control channels for vehicles using two
separate brush-type electric motors mounted right and left
with our mixing RDFR dual speed control. Used in manysuccessful competitive robots. Single joystick operation: up
goes straight ahead, down is reverse. Pure right or left twirls
vehicle as motors turn opposite directions. In between stick
positions completely proportional. Plugs in like a servo to
your Futaba, JR, Hitec, or similar radio. Compatible with gyro
steering stabilization. Various volt and amp sizes available.
The RDFR47E 55V 75A per motor unit pictured above.
www.vantec.com
STEER WINNING ROBOTS
WITHOUT SERVOS!
Order at
(888) 929-5055
http://csis.pace.edu/robotlabhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/movies.htmlhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/movies.htmlhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/movies.htmlhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotMovie1.movhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotMovie1.movhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotMovie1.movhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotWorldModel.mpghttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotWorldModel.mpghttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotWorldModel.mpghttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/puma.avihttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/puma.avihttp://www.vantec.com/http://www.vantec.com/http://www.star-techno.com/http://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/puma.avihttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/puma.avihttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotWorldModel.mpghttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotWorldModel.mpghttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotMovie1.movhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/clips/RobotMovie1.movhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/movies.htmlhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlab/movies.htmlhttp://csis.pace.edu/robotlabhttp://www.vantec.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
13/84
The International Business Development Event for thePersonal, Service and Mobile Robotics Industry
April 8-10, 2008Pittsburgh, PADavid L. Lawrence Convention Center
BUILDING AN INDUSTRY
Now in its fifth year RoboBusiness Conference & Exposition is the must-attend event for those
interested in the business and technical issues related to the development of the personal, service and
mobile robotics industry.
WORLD CLASS SPEAKERS
RoboBusiness 2008 features two days of keynotes & general sessions delivered by internationally
recognized leaders from business, government and academia. RoboBusiness tracks include:Q Business Development and Partnership
Q Applications and Products
Q Achieving Autonomy New!
Q Workforce Development New!
Q RoboMedicus/Healthcare Robotics New!
Q Security and Defense
Q Intelligent Transportation and Field Robotics New!
Q First Responder Robotics New!
Q Consumer Robotics
EXPOSITIONAND SPECIAL EVENTS
Q Expo floorfeaturing over 75 companies from around
the world
Q Opening night Networking Reception
Q Open Door Keynote New for 2008
iRobot CEO Colin Angles keynote open to all attendees
Q Robot Hall of Fame reception and induction
ceremony New for 2008
Q Site visits to Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute and
National Robotics Engineering Center New for 2008
For more information or to register, visitwww.robobusiness.com or call 800-305-0634.For sponsorship opportunities, contactEllen Cotton at 508-663-1500 x240.
www.robobusiness.com
Register by
March 14th and
Save $200 on a Full
Conference Pass
Register by
March 14th and
Save $200 on a Full
Conference Pass
Founding Sponsor
Premier Sponsor
Gold Sponsors
Corporate Sponsors
Analysts, Associates& Academic Co-Sponsors
Media Co-Sponsors
Produced by
http://www.robobusiness.com/http://www.robobusiness.com/http://www.robobusiness.com/http://www.robobusiness.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
14/84
14 SERVO 03.2008
As a mechanical engineeringstudent, Evan has been learningabout things like how Besselfunctions are the eigenfunctions of theSturm-Liouville Equations that can beused to describe heat conduction innonrectangular geometries, and how
computational methods like theNewton-Raphson method can be usedto find the solution to large nonlinearsystems. Such highbrow concepts inengineering however interesting theymight sound can only be masteredwith a firm grasp on the fundamentalsof engineering and physics.
In our last article with the V-Bot,we alluded to the simple R/C cars thatwe outfitted with aluminum armor andweapons for rumbles. While these
simple emulations of the action we hadseen on Battlebots might have seemedlike nothing but wholesome fun, wewere actually learning the fundamen-tals of engineering that would be thefoundation of our success in big botcompetitions like FIRST and beyond.
Keeping the TeamTogether
Our first foray into robotics camewhen we were in middle school, and
with the help of our dad andscavenged parts from CosworthRacing, we competed in Botbash 2001with our 60 lb entry Troublemaker. Thethrill of competition inspired us tospread the joy of robotics to our peers,and when we got to high school we
formed a robotics club, Club CREATE(Chaparral Robotic Engineers andTechno Explorers).
Our original ambition with ClubCREATE was to enter a combat roboticscompetition, but the design andfundraising process was daunting andslower than the lowest setting on acrock pot. Brainstorming sessionsbegan to lose their luster when wedidnt have much to actually work on,so we had to think of something else
to do; something fun, yet productiveand instructive.
To keep the team interested and tohone our skills in combat driving, weorganized a series of rumbles withsouped-up R/C cars. The extent of ourmodifications was basically to outfitour cheap R/C cars with aluminumweapons, but that was already a goodlesson in some shop skills. We learnedto use aviation shears, hacksaws, and
jigsaws, and while these skills may betaken for granted by many folks that
have been hobbyists or professionalsfor a long time, you have to learnsometime.
The R/C car rumbles were a greatproject to practice our shop skills on,because it was just for fun and conserv-ing time and material was not an issue
like it would be in a competition likeFIRST. So we were able to build ourconfidence with tools in a relaxedsetting, and with all the metalworkingwe did, we even became acquaintedwith the properties of materials.
The Burning MeansIts Working
Our most sophisticated endeavorin crafting our weapons was a
rudimentary foray into heat treatmentof materials. We employed usedengine oil as our heat treatment fluid,and the objects of our treatment werenails that we thought lacked the bite tobe truly fearsome. We used anacetylene torch to heat up the futureinstruments of destruction, and thenwe quenched them to seal the deal.While we might not have known thesubtleties of the effects of heattreatment and quenching on grain size,simply becoming familiar with the
THIS MONTH:Back to Basics
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
15/84
process was still a valuable lesson.Our tutelage in materials science
included a number of other topics thatmay have been somewhat less exciting,but also undeniably useful. Workingwith our makeshift aluminum weaponswas a good introduction to the
different alloys of aluminum. Welearned useful tidbits about how 7075aluminum is unweldable and will tendto fracture instead of bend, andthat 6061 aluminum is muchmore amenable to being bent and cutby aviation shears.
We picked up other useful tidbitslike how the number at the end of thealloy designation (like T6) referred tothe heat temper. And again, evenwithout knowing the subtleties of theInternational Alloy Designation System,
simply being able to identify thedifferent alloys was a great first step.
Our endeavors to create the mostfearsome weapons also introduced usto a variety of materials, most notablytitanium, which loomed imperiously inour untrained minds as somethingparticularly formidable. Like allmaterials, titanium has its uses and itsdrawbacks, but we simply saw ourtitanium valves as the perfect way togive our combatants a sophisticated
bite. They may not have beenparticularly sharp, but they weretitanium, so the valves were cool.And in our situation wherescavenged materials were plentiful,discussions about where they camefrom (in this case, racecar engines)were natural and informative.
Not all of our lessons inmaterials came with the cold lusterof assorted metals we werealso introduced to the world ofreinforcing materials like carbon
fiber. We appreciated the carbonfiber for its cool factor and its goodstrength-to-weight ratio, and eventhough we werent referring tothings like ultimate tensile strength,resilience, and compressive strength,the project was still helping us to
develop that intuitive sense of whatmaterial is effective for a certainapplication. Such an intuitive sense iscertainly useful for many projectsduring the initial brainstorming stage,and it certainly buoys confidence inones problem solving abilities.
And, of course, we became wellversed with that most indispensable ofall the engineers favorite materials duct tape. Competitors like the DuctTape Avenger can attest to the univer-sal applicability of the stuff, even if it is
not the most elegant of solutions(though not for lack of trying).
Other simple lessons were alsoinstilled in our budding scientificminds during the building phase,like everything from the virtues ofconserving material (try cutting thatpiece from the edge instead of thecenter so you can get another spikeout of it) to the benefits of puttingbevels in plates to improve strength.
Just learning the little tricks thatexperience teaches was a greatbenefit of the project.
Are You Ready toRumble?
To turn our cheap R/C cars intofearsome competitors, we had toconsider more than just weapons thescariest weapons would be useless ifthey were on a robot that couldnt stayupright. One of the important lessonswe learned in the rumbles that appliesto everything from R/C cars to FIRSTrobots was the importance of keepingtrack of the center of gravity.
Tall robots might look intimidatingwhile upright in their full glory, butthey become much less terrifying once
they have inevitably tipped over.Bryces low profile Quagulis was nearlyimpossible to flip over and, as a result,was one of the top competitors in therumbles. Evans Duct Tape Avenger
NIDHOGG.
MOINSPIRE.
MOCK-UPS OF QUAGULIS (LEFT) AND DUCTTAPE AVENGER (RIGHT).QUAGULIS.
SERVO 03.2008 15
Back to Basics
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
16/84
16 SERVO 03.2008
TwinTweaks ...
was a higher profile robot that often
found itself on its side after sustaininga well placed hit at the hand of one ofits rivals.
Center of gravity may seem likeanother one of those intuitive con-cepts, but crashing R/C cars are muchmore exciting display of physics than,say, the equation for center of mass:
R = (r) r dV (r) dV
which basically integrates a position
weighted mass density and divides that
by the total mass. This formula is muchless intuitive to the untrained mind,and this points to another benefit ofthe rumbles all of the lessons wewere learning would eventually be for-malized by formulas and theories insidethe classroom and lecture hall, but our
adventures with Quagulis and Nidhogggave us a personal context thatallowed us to visualize and learn all ofthese lessons more easily.
Keeping OurMomentum
The rumbles were also veryinstructive on the subject ofmomentum. While smaller competitorslike Miscreant and the Masking Tape
Avenger might look fierce, they weretragically outmatched by the sheersize of bots like Slag. The essence ofthis disadvantageous match-up was inthe difference in momentum betweenthe competitors. Momentum is givenby the equation:
p = m*v
where p is momentum, m is mass, andv is velocity. Some of the smaller carsdid have comparable speeds with the
bigger competitors, but they were sore-ly outmatched in the mass department.This points out the benefit of separat-ing robots into different weight classes,which we did in our rumbles. In therealm of combat robots in particular,change in momentum can be relatedto force by the impulse equation:
F*t = m*v
where F is force, t is the timeinterval over which the force isapplied, m is the mass of the movingobject, and v is the change invelocity due to the impact. Manyprospective engineers have anintuitive sense of this phenomenon,
but seeing it put into practice as onearmored R/C car runs into anotherwith spikes clashing and tiressquealing is enough to spark thecuriosity to ask the question as to whyit actually happens in the first place.
Once again, this is a time when wewere developing a context for our laterformal training, and all the talk aboutelastic and inelastic collisions andconservation of momentum could beassociated with exciting images and
memories in addition to the equationsand pictures in the textbooks.
Sporque Not Justa Freakish UtensilAnymore
Occasionally, the rumbles couldinvolve some pushing matches andother displays of brute force, and suchincidents were very enlightening in thearea of speed and torque. Quicker
bots like the Duct Tape Avenger mightlook intimidating when they reachedramming speed, but slower, torquierbots like Slag would inevitably win in ashoving match.
Of course, these comparisons are
not completely fair because the R/C
cars may have been graced with differ-
ent motors, but it was still certainly
illustrative of the unavoidable tradeoff
between torque and speed. In
an ideal world, it would be
wonderful to have both hightorque and high speed, but the
rumbles did us the service of
opening our eyes to the harsh
reality that you cant always get
what you want.
A tentative foray into
motorized weapons was able to
demonstrate an extreme case
of the torque/speed tradeoff.
We were able to get our hands
on some nondescript high
speed motors, and they seemed
SLAG.
MASKINGTAPE AVENGER.
MISCREANT.
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
17/84
to be the perfect way to create somemenacing spinning weapons. Afteroutfitting the shafts with some cutaluminum, attaching an extra powersource of a couple AA batteries, andfastening the whole thing togetherwith generous amounts of duct tape,
we couldnt deny that the spinnerslooked positively ferocious on littlebots like Nidhogg. The aluminumblades spun at such speed that theybecame a blur, and to look at themone would likely think that theywere capable of inflicting someserious damage.
As those acquainted with the lawsof physics might have already guessed,the spinning weapons were, to say theleast, disappointing. They would come
to a screaming halt after what seemedlike a simple love tap on its rival, andthe worst damage they could do waspurely cosmetic. And on top of all that,they even had a slightly noticeableeffect on the movement of the R/C carthat was sporting it turning becamemore difficult. We may not havebuilt an effective weapon, but we didunintentionally create a passablegyroscope.
Despite the ineffectiveness of thespinning weapons, the whole scenario
was the perfect segue into a discussionabout gear ratios. Many times,discussions that make ample use of theterms ratio, radius, and angularvelocity might cause an uncooperativestudents eyes to glaze over in a boredstupor, but the rumbles once againgave an exciting context to thediscussion. Talks like these werent justabout geometry and enigmatic Greekletters, they were about improving theweapons on your bot so that next time
you might just be able to giveMiscreant whats coming to it.
C. F. E.
The rumbles also began our life-long education in the subject of CoolFactor Engineering. Making some-thing functional may be paramount,but we think the penultimate goal ofany project should be to makesomething that you are proud of. Ingeneral, we find that we are proud of
a project when it is interesting, eyecatching, and simply exudes an air ofcoolness. In the case of our R/C cars,that might mean adding plates ofcarbon fiber, or using titanium valesfor weapons instead of cut aluminum.The tiny competitor Bucephalus was
a perfect example of how toachieve cool factor through a carefulcombination of sculpted aluminumand Greek mythology.
In later projects like FIRST robots,cool factor might be achieved withclean wiring, smooth bottom panels byvirtue of countersunk screws, orcolorful stickers that gave credit to ourgenerous sponsors. Whatever form itmight take, cool factor is one way thatwe and our teammates have been able
to establish that all importantownership of our projects. Personaltouches and details meant to add just alittle bit of flair are important, becausethey can be the deciding factorbetween pointing to a project andsaying I made that and it completes atask versus I made that, it completesa task, and its awesome.
Cool factor also plays a role in thelarger world of robotics, and especiallyin the arena of public opinion. Case inpoint: The Neiman Marcus 2007
holiday windows promised robotsdecorating a Christmas tree, and whenthe curtains were pulled back to revealautomotive assembly line robotsdutifully placing ornaments, someexpectant onlookers asked themselveswhere are the robots? But when peo-ple see Hondas Asimo on televisionseemingly leading the march to thefuture, they are hard pressed toidentify it as anything other than arobot. Automotive assembly robots,
though undeniably functional, lack thecool factor required to make themuniversally recognizable as robots.
Folks inside the technology indus-tries may have no problem identifyingthe indefatigable arms as finespecimens of the robotic species, butmany people are looking for somethingthat looks like Rosie from the Jetsonsor a Transformer to fit their definitionof a robot. Critics of this perception ofrobots may argue that designs thatlook like Optimus Prime are not nearly
as effective at vacuuming floors asa Roomba, but they probably alsowouldnt deny that it would be totallyawesome to have Megatron doingyour dishes.
Some research scientists mighteschew public opinion as inconsequen-tial for robots that are firmly rooted inR&D laboratories, but commercialrobotics companies need to appeal totheir consumers through sleek designs
that are undeniably benefited by theaddition of a bit of cool factor.
Cool Factor Engineering fosters asense of pride in ones work, andshows that functionality and aestheticvalue are not mutually exclusive. Itsenough to challenge Oscar Wildesadage that all art is quite useless.
Fun: Part of a Balanced
Intellectual Diet
What were trying to say is thateven a really simple project that seemsmore concerned with fun than withhard scientific principles can stillreinforce a solid foundation inengineering. Even if the participantsdont know the exact terminology forcenter of gravity or tank style drivetrain, they are still learning theprinciples, and they are developingthat all important intuitive sense ofwhat works and what doesnt.
Simple projects like these are also
Back to Basics
BUCEPHALUS.
SERVO 03.2008 17
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
18/84
a great way for parents to mentor theirkids, even if they dont have thetechnical background of the mentorson FIRST teams that know the ins andouts of C programming and controltheory. All an effective mentor needsto do is start asking the right questions
why do you think the Duct TapeAvenger flipped over? or how do youthink you can make that flamberge-esque spike stronger?
Kids can learn to celebrate thesearch for answers, and according toDean Kamen, we get what wecelebrate. Our R/C car rumbles liketheir larger combat robot inspirations dont celebrate violence or destruc-tion; they celebrate the competitive
testing of ideas, and the prospect ofcustomizing an R/C car for battle likebigger bots on TV might be justenough to pull Junior away from the
Guitar Hero for an afternoon. Justinstilling that positive association withproblem solving and science is thefirst step to helping them becomesuccessful engineers, and thatssomething any mentor can do nomatter what their level of technical
expertise.Little fun projects like our R/C car
rumbles can also instill that sense offun and excitement that kids dontlearn to associate with engineeringfrom doing free body diagrams andrepetitive calculus problems. It canexpose them to the exhilaration ofproblem solving, even if the problem isfinding the way to best inflict mortaldamage upon your mechanicalopponents. And our R/C car rumbles
really did that, by keeping the robotclub together and giving us thefoundation we needed to succeed incompetitions like FIRST and beyond.
The thrill of competition and theexcitement of duels between rivals likeQuagulis and the Duct Tape Avengerkept the imaginations of the team upand running many times the smallscale tussles would inspire ideas thatwe planned to put into practice on abigger robot.
At first, our target big bot was the
proposed combat robot, but upondiscovering FIRST and the Kleiner
Perkins Caufield and Byers grant, we
decided to change course and follow
the path of least financial resistance.
And, in truth, if you look at our robot
MO, built for the 2003 FIRST Season
(Stack Attack), you can see that many
of the lessons and inspirations of the
rumbles finally found their form. MO
had a low center of gravity, slanted
sides reminiscent of combat robot
wedges, and it was decked outwith the very same aluminum alloys
that we used when fashioning our
pint-sized weapons.
After a successful run in competi-tions ranging from FIRST to PAReX(Phoenix Area Robotics Experimenters)to the Solar Cup, the team membersthat participated in those rumbles arenow sprinkled throughout the countryas engineering students at top notchuniversities, and theyre living proofthat fun does a brain good. SV
TwinTweaks ...
18 SERVO 03.2008
Whats the difference?
Price!
Youre correct, the one on the right costsless because its from Jameco! Whenyoure looking to purchase major namebrand passives or semiconductors, besure to check out Jameco first. They alsooffer money-saving generic equivalentsat about 20% less, so youll save evenmore! And if you should find a lower
print-advertised price for a productJameco offers, just let them know andtheyll offer that product for 10% lessthan the other companys price, rightdown to Jamecos cost! Wouldnt it beworth your time to check out Jamecotoday at www.Jameco.com?
Both Major Name Brands and Generic Products for Additional Savings
Over 99% of Catalog Products are in Stock for Immediate Delivery
Only Jameco Guarantees the Lowest Prices
Click or call today for a FREE Jameco Catalog
& start benefiting from Jamecos Awesome Prices!
Visit www.Jameco.com/NVT
Call 1-800-831-4242
http://www.jameco.com/http://www.jameco.com/NVThttp://www.jameco.com/NVThttp://www.jameco.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
19/84
Know of any robot competitions Ive missed? Is yourlocal school or robot group planning a contest? Send anemail to [email protected] and tell me about it. Be sure toinclude the date and location of your contest. If you have awebsite with contest info, send along the URL as well, so wecan tell everyone else about it.
For last-minute updates and changes, you can alwaysfind the most recent version of the Robot Competition FAQat Robots.net:http://robots.net/rcfaq.html
R. Steven RainwaterMMaa rrcchh7-8 AMD Jerry Sanders Creative Design Contest
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ILCheck the website for the details of this years contest.http://dc.cen.uiuc.edu
7-8 National Robotics ChallengeMarion, OHOffers a variety of robot events for middle school,high school, and post-secondary students. In
addition to traditional robot Sumo, students canalso create models of an industrial robot work cellor the most interesting build robots that cancreate graphic works of art.www.nationalroboticschallenge.org
8 Fort Collins Robot Fire Fighting ChallengeDiscovery Science Center, Fort Collins, COThis is a regional for the Trinity College Fire FightingRobot contest. Autonomous robots must locateand extinguish a flame in a scale model of a home.www.strout.net/fcrffc
15-16 Manitoba Robot GamesTec Voc High School, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaIncluded in this competition are a mix of eventsfor autonomous and remote-controlled robotsincluding Japanese style mini-Sumo, Western styleSumo, a robot Mini-Tractor Pull, Super Scramble,line-following, and the Robo-Critters contest for kids.www.scmb.mb.ca
15-16 RoboticonUniversity of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
The robot contest is part of a larger UniversityOpen House day which includes contests in every-thing from flower arranging to pancake flipping.www.collegeroyal.uoguelph.ca
29 CIRC Central Illinois Bot BrawlLakeview Museum, Peoria, ILThis event includes RC combat, autonomousSumo, line-following, line maze. Autonomous andremote-control robots.
http://circ.mtco.com
30 Boonshoft Museum Robot RumbleBoonshoft Museum, Dayton, OHThis event includes robot building and competition.www.boonshoftmuseum.org
TBA Penn State Abington Mini Grand ChallengePenn State Abington, Abington, PAIncludes outdoor autonomous mobile robot navigation.www.ecsel.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/contest05.htm
TBA DPRG RoboRamaDallas, TXIncludes quick trip: an entry-level event where therobot moves from A to B and back; line-following:the robot must follow a line on the floor; T-time:the robot moves through three points on aT-shaped course; and can can: the robot mustlocate and retrieve empty soda cans.www.dprg.org/competitions
AApprr ii ll26 RoboFest
Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MIIncludes game competition two autonomous robotswork together. Also robot exhibition, RoboSumo,RoboFashion show, and mini urban robot challenge.http://robofest.net
12-13 Trinity College Fire Fighting Home Robot contestTrinity College, Hartford, CTThe well-known championship event for firefighting robots.www.trincoll.edu/events/robot
Send updates, new listings, corrections, complaints, and suggestions to:[email protected] or FAX 972-404-0269
SERVO 03.2008 19
mailto:[email protected]://robots.net/http://robots.net/rcfaq.htmlhttp://robots.net/rcfaq.htmlhttp://dc.cen.uiuc.edu/http://www.nationalroboticschallenge.org/http://www.strout.net/fcrffchttp://www.scmb.mb.ca/http://www.collegeroyal.uoguelph.ca/http://circ.mtco.com/http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/http://www.ecsel.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/contest05.htmhttp://www.ecsel.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/contest05.htmhttp://www.dprg.org/competitionshttp://robofest.net/http://www.trincoll.edu/events/robotmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://robots.net/http://www.ecsel.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/contest05.htmhttp://www.ecsel.psu.edu/~avanzato/robots/contests/outdoor/contest05.htmhttp://www.trincoll.edu/events/robothttp://robofest.net/http://www.dprg.org/competitionshttp://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/http://circ.mtco.com/http://www.collegeroyal.uoguelph.ca/http://www.scmb.mb.ca/http://www.strout.net/fcrffchttp://www.nationalroboticschallenge.org/http://dc.cen.uiuc.edu/http://robots.net/rcfaq.htmlhttp://robots.net/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected] -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
20/84
20 SERVO 03.2008
Q. I would like to know your opinion on performing
some simple modifications to my SumoBot fromParallax so that it can be used to solve line mazes. Itis my understanding that I would need some encoders on thewheels so that it can keep track of how far it has moved sothat it can repeat its previous paths. I am not an electronicsexpert, so I am hoping that you can point me to somethingthat is more plug-and-play than build from scratch. Any helpwould be greatly appreciated.
Lynn Brown
A. This sounds like a fun project! I think I have the ideal
set of plug-and-play products for you. Yes, encoderscan be a big help in solving a line maze, but they arenot required. Many people do this without encoders.
As for simple off-the-shelf, plug-and-play encoders thatwill work great with the SumoBot, take a look at theWheelWatcher encoders from Nubotics (www.nubotics.com). These encoders are designed to mount directlyto regular servo motors (that have been modified forcontinuous rotation) like those used with the SumoBot.These encoders will keep track of how many degrees eachwheel rotates and the direction of each rotation. Theseencoders also come with a self-adhesive encoder disk that ismounted to the inside of the wheel. With the SumoBots 2.6
inch diameter wheels, these encoders by themselves cankeep track of positional accuracy of at least 0.25 inches oftravel ( * 2.6 inches/32 counts per revolution = 0.25 inchesper count). Technically, all the BASIC Stamp has to do is keeptrack of the encoder counts for each wheel as the robotmoves through the maze.
But, having the BASIC Stamp keep track of all ofthe encoder counting, directioncontrol, turning, updating theservo motion commands every 20ms, and monitoring the linesensors while trying to solve the
maze is going to be a bit of aprogramming challenge. Thats notto say it cant be done since manypeople have been very successfulin doing this, but there is anotherplug-and-play device that willgreatly simplify all this.
The WheelCommander fromNubotics (Figure 1) is a closed loopdifferential servo motor controller.With this controller, all you have todo is tell the robot how far youwant it to go, how fast you want it
Tap into the sum of all human knowledgeand get your questions answered here!
From software algorithms to material selection, Mr. Roboto strives to meet youwhere you are and what more would you expect from a complex service droid?
by
Pete Miles
Our resident expert on all things
robotic is merely an Email away.
Figure 1. The WheelCommander closed loopdifferential servo drive motor controller.
Figure 2. Original Parallax SumoBotbefore modifications.
Line Maze is typically a contest where a line is placed down
the center of a maze puzzle. There is no wall in this type of amaze and the robot must use the line to solve the maze. Manycontests allow the robot to run through the maze several times,and the fastest run time is used for the final score. Remembering
the maze path helps to greatly reduce the amount of timerequired to solve the maze on subsequent attempts. Onesource for a complete set of rules for this type of a contest canbe found at the Robothon website (www.robothon.org).
LINE MAZE
http://www.nubotics.com/http://www.nubotics.com/http://www.nubotics.com/http://www.nubotics.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.robothon.org/http://www.robothon.org/http://www.robothon.org/http://www.nubotics.com/http://www.nubotics.com/http://www.robothon.org/mailto:[email protected] -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
21/84
to move, or what anglesyou want it to turn (thereare many other parame-ters that you can control).
You no longer have toworry about controllingand monitoring eachindividual wheel to do all
of this. The robots motionis now controlled by asmall set of RS-232 serialcommands or I2C com-mands, and best of all, theBASIC Stamp no longerneeds to update the servopositions every 20 ms. Thisfrees up the BASIC Stampto focus on monitoring the line sensors and solving the maze.
When the robot reaches an intersection, it can query theWheelCommander to see how far it has moved and can
record this value for later analysis.Figures 2 through 13 show some assembly steps inupgrading the Parallax SumoBot with WheelWatcherencoders and the WheelWatcher Commander for motioncontrol. Figure 2 shows the original Parallax SumoBot (beforemodifications) with the opponent infrared sensors removed.Figure 3 shows the jumbled mess of wires after the BASICStamp embedded in the SumoBoard has been removed.
Figure 4 shows the servo removed from the SumoBotnext to all of the parts that come with a WheelWatcher kit.All of the nylon spacers and washers shown here are notused in the assembly process. Depending on the geometry ofthe servo motor, different combinations of washers and
spacers are used to ensure that the WheelWatcher board isproperly spaced on the servo.
The manual that comes with the WheelWatcher listsseveral spacer and washer combinations to use with severaldifferent types of servos. The Parallax servo shown here wasnot included in the list in the manual, but it uses the same setof spacers as the Futaba S3001; so use the short spacers and
the thick washers in the assembly process.Figure 5 shows the WheelWatcher mounted on the
servo. The clear plastic disk on the servos output spline is the
alignment tool that comes with each WheelWatcher kit. Thistool ensures that the encoders are mounted with the properorientation with respect to the servo shaft. Figure 6shows the servo and WheelWatcher mounted back on theParallax SumoBot.
The existing Sumo ring edge sensor cannot remainmounted in its original position using the existing 1-1/4 inchlong aluminum spacer. This will interfere with the connectoron the WheelWatcher. It will have to be removed. Since linesensors on line following robots are located more towardsthe centerline of the robot, I turned the sensors around andused the two existing holes at the base of the robot frame asnew mounting locations.
To conserve parts, I used two of the long spacers fromthe WheelWatcher kit and the small nylon spacers that wereon the original sensor post with a new 4-40 x 5/8 longscrew to remount the sensors. Figure 7 illustrates thesecomponents and Figure 8 shows the bottom of the robotwith the new sensor orientation. Note that the distancebetween the sensors is now about one inch.
SERVO 03.2008 21
Figure 5. WheelWatcher mounted on the servo. Figure 6. WheelWatcher and servo mountedback on the Parallax SumoBot.
Figure 4. Servo, wheel, and WheelWatcher components.Figure 3. SumoBoard removed
from the SumoBot.
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
22/84
The best place to mount the WheelCommander is righton top of the servos (directly under the SumoBoard). Due tovibrations in the robot and flexure between the two servos, Idecided that I was going to place a small board between theWheelCommander and the servos. Figure 9 shows somedouble sided foam tape added to the servos for mounting
the intermediate board, and Figure 10 shows a 1/4 thickpiece of scrap Sintra (expanded PVC). You can use differenttypes and sizes of material here. This was just something Ihad lying around. I then used two more pieces of doublesided foam tape to attach the WheelCommander to this
board (see Figure 11).Figure 12 shows all
the wiring attached tothe WheelCommander. Youshould notice that there is anew battery attached tothe front of the robot. TheWheelCommander requires
a minimum of 6.2 volts tooperate properly. Since theregular SumoBot usesonly four AA batteries(6.0V), they were insuffi-cient to power the
WheelCommander along with the BASIC Stamp and drivethe servo. So, I added a 9V battery to the front of the ParallaxSumoBot. This battery fitted nicely in front of the servos andWheelCommander. A rubber band was used to hold thebattery to the screws that hold the servos in position.
Figure 13 shows the completed robot. The servo power
to the WheelCommander is plugged into the B and R pinsused to power the servos on the original SumoBoard. I choseto do it this way so that I can take advantage of thethree-way power switch on the SumoBoard to make surethat the servos are not accidentally powered during
rogramming efforts. The restof the wiring is pretty muchthe same as outlined in theWheelCommander manual.
Ideally, you would add apower switch to turn the poweron to the WheelCommander. Ichose to use simple connectors.
There are two things youare going to want to downloadfrom the Nubotics website.The WC Wizard programand the example program(wc116_bs2_demo.bs2) for theBASIC Stamp. The WC Wizard isa great utility for testing andconfiguring the WheelCommanderfor your specific robotsgeometry. Also with the WCWizard, you can tune the PID
(Proportional, Integral andDerivative) constants for theclosed loop position and velocitycontrol of your robot.
In addition, you can changethe serial communication baudrate for the WheelCommander.The default baud rate is 38400.Now all of these configurationparameters can be transmittedto the WheelCommander viathe BASIC Stamp. The WCWizard has some nice visual
22 SERVO 03.2008
Figure 7. Reusing parts for sensor relocation. Figure 8. New edge/line sensor orientation.
Figure 11. WheelCommander mountedon the servos.
Figure 12. All wiring attached tothe WheelCommander.
Figure 9. Double sided foam tape formounting the WheelCommander to the servos.
Figure 10. Intermediate board between theservos and the WheelCommander.
-
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
23/84
feedback to help with the PID tuning.To avoid a huge problem I had with using the WC
Wizard, make sure that the RS-232 adapter between yourcomputer and the WheelCommander converts the signal tostandard TTL voltage levels (0-5V) and that it inverts the logic levels, or the two devices wont communicate witheach other. Also, make sure that the CTS and RTS linesare jumpered together. The WheelCommander manual
recommends several adapters from Acroname (www.acroname.com) who is also a distributor of the Nuboticsproducts.
It is highly recommended that the baud rate be changedfrom 38400 to 9600 for the BASIC Stamp that is embeddedon the SumoBoard. This is because at higher baud rates, theydont synchronize together properly.
In the example program, there is a subroutine calledinitfw (see below). The call to this routine is normallycommented out since it only needs to be called once. Thefirst command F0302 changes the baud rate to 9600. Ifthe baud rate was changed by the WC Wizard, this line can
be commented out. The command F0289 MUST be execut-ed one time successfully after the baud rate has beenchanged to 9600. Otherwise, the BASIC Stamp wont be ableto effectively communicate with the WheelCommander(actually setting bit 0 to high for the Mode Constant isneeded). This command adds a critical time delay in the seri-al communication strings that is needed for the BASIC Stampto properly synchronize and transmit all bytes back and forth.
initfw:
SEROUT 1, 6, [F0302, LF] at 38400, set baud = 9600
GOSUB getack
SEROUT 1, 84, [F0289, LF] mode = slow comms
GOSUB getack
RETURN
At this point, you should be ready to start programmingyour robot to solve line mazes. Like I said before, this soundslike a fun project. When you get your robot up and running,write a short article about what you did and submit it to
SERVO Magazine. I am sure many readers would love tolearn and see what you did.
Q
. I have noticed over the years that you use theBASIC Stamps and the SX microcontrollers in most
of your examples. Why is that, and why havent youtalked about the new Propeller microcontroller from Parallax?This looks like a very interesting microcontroller, especiallywith its multitasking capabilities.
Shawn KidwellMontgomery, CA
A. I suppose that some people may think I am biasedtowards Parallax (www.parallax.com) products. Well,to tell you the truth, I am biased towards them.
Especially in the context for this magazine and the way I writemy articles. The way I look at all of this is that most of thepeople that read this magazine want to learn how to do
something. I have chosen a writing style that tries to explainhow you would go about solving various challenges with realworking examples, along with explanations of how thingswork and also showing some pitfalls.
This teaching style is one of the main reasons I like work-ing with Parallax products. They have the best documenta-tion in the world on how to use their products (along withmany other topics such as basic electronics) with many prac-tical examples. Their documentation style is about teachingpeople how to do things from scratch, taking you from littleto no experience to making you a competent embeddedmicrocontroller applications designer/robot builder. If yourun into a problem, give them a call or go to their online
forums, and they will bend over backwards to help you.If after building one of my example products, you want
to learn more about what you can do with a BASIC Stamp orwith the SX microcontroller or even with the Propeller you can find the answers on the Parallax website or on theirforum pages (http://forums.parallax.com).
I am not saying that other microcontrollers anddocumentation is bad. They have their places, and they havesome very devoted supporters/developers. In most applica-tions, just about any microcontroller will work just as well asany other microcontroller. Some just do certain things betterthan others. That is why there are so many to choose from.
In most applications, Parallax products will do a fine job.As for the Propeller chips from Parallax, to tell you the
truth, I havent really had the chance to dive into them untilrecently. And now that I have, I wish they were aroundmany years ago when I first got involved with robotics. Forrobotics applications, the Propeller chips are probably thebest microcontroller out there. The reason I say this isbecause it can do multiple things at the same time. Withother microcontrollers, we spend a lot of time trying tofigure out how to write code that can continuously monitorits environment, make decisions on what the sensors aretelling it, and controlling all the functions of the robot.Trying to get the right timing of all of these different things
SERVO 03.2008 23
Figure 13. Completed reconfiguration of the Parallax SumoBot.
http://www.acroname.com/http://www.acroname.com/http://www.acroname.com/http://www.parallax.com/http://www.parallax.com/http://www.parallax.com/http://forums.parallax.com/http://forums.parallax.com/http://forums.parallax.com/http://www.acroname.com/http://www.acroname.com/http://forums.parallax.com/http://www.parallax.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
24/84
often becomes very difficult, and in many cases, desiredcapabilities are scrapped because proper timing cannotbe executed.
Here is a different way to think about roboticprogramming: Habits. Yes, habits. Lets use an interestingillustration driving a car. When you first drove a car (forthose of you that are not old enough to drive, you will expe-rience all of this), it was a very complex endeavor. Workingthe gas pedal, brakes, clutch pedal, working the stick shift,the steering wheel, turn signal, looking at and reading road
signs, watching out for all the cars in front of you, to thesides, the rear, and planning your route to your destination.These are many different things that are done at the sametime. But after driving the car for a while, you no longer hadto think about all of these things. Instead, you get in the car,turn it on, and proceed to your destination. Now the onlything on your mind is the next robot project you areworking on. All of the early trials in learning how to drive arenow habits that are automatically happening without anyconscious thought.
But when we program our robots, these basic littlehabits are still a main part of the thought process. Thus, themain microcontroller is spending all its time working on all
the tiny little details. Can you imagine how tough it will be todrive, if every time you got behind the wheel it was like thefirst time, and you have to actively process every little detail?Traffic would definitely be lighter since most people wouldgive up and take the bus.
Now if we can off-load many of these little habits toparallel processors, they can then spend all their time focused
on dedicated activities such as: infrared sen-sor arrays with ultrasonic sensors for obstacledetection; a video camera for tracking a redcolored object; PID motor speed controller; RFdata uploading and downloading; etc. All ofthese tasks then talk to the main processor todetermine what to do next based on the datafrom the various inputs. Each one would run
independently without having to deal with thetiming of the other processes. You could use
multiple microcontrollers that are dedicated to each task todo the same thing. But every processor can share databetween each other on an as-needed basis without a mainprocessor having to coordinate the efforts betweenthem. This can open up a bunch of new programming/robotbehavior capabilities.
Take, for example, a remote control humanoid robotusing an off-the-shelf Playstation 2 wireless controller. I havewritten several articles on how to simplify the communicationbetween devices using these types of controllers since the
actual data transmitted wirelessly is rather complex, and ittakes a certain amount of time to process. Now when ahumanoid robot is moving 17 different servos at one time,there is a lot of control algorithms running to synchronize theservos. If the human operator decided to tell the robot toturn to the right while the robot is walking forward, the mainmicrocontroller will finish the current set of motions thenlook for the remote control. It will send out a command, Iam ready, and the controller will respond with its currentstate. Then the robot will respond to it. In many cases, by thetime the robot is ready to make that right turn, it is toolate, especially in a ROBO-ONE style of competition(www.robo-one.com).
Now if a Propeller was being used to control the robot,it could be monitoring the Playstation 2 controllercontinuously, and when a new motion command is executed,the robot will have continuous information about controllerstatus and can immediately respond without any lagtimes between motion sequences. Believe me, the lag time israther annoying.
The Propeller can run up to eight different 32 bit tasks atthe same time. This is a ground up design from Parallax thatno other company has done a true multitasking microcon-troller. With a clock speed up to 80 MHz and a total of 64kbytes of memory, some very amazing things can be done
through the 32 I/O pins which can sink/source up to 40 mAeach. The Propeller has two different programminglanguages. One is called SPIN and the other is assembly,where SPIN is Parallaxs higher level programming language.
Figure 14 shows a photo of the Parallax Propeller demoboard with the H48C three-axis accelerometer module witha NTSC LCD video monitor graphically displaying theorientation of the accelerometer. All of these componentsare available at Parallax and the source code can bedownloaded from their website. The Propeller is directlycontrolling the video display.
One of the coolest features about this microcontrolleris that its programming environment is an object oriented
24 SERVO 03.2008
LCD Drivers Xbee Transceiver CMU Camera Tracking
TV Terminal Gamecube Controller GPS Drivers
VGA Drivers Playstation 2 Controller HM55B Compass
Four Servo Driver NES Controller Kalman Filter IMU
32 Servo Driver IR Remotes Memsic 2125 Accelerometer
PID Motor Control H48C 3-Axis Accelerometer Quadrature Encoders
Table 1. Propeller objects that may be of interest to robotics applications.
Figure 14. Propeller displaying accelerometerorientation on a video display.
http://www.robo-one.com/http://www.robo-one.com/http://www.robo-one.com/http://www.robo-one.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
25/84
programming language. This makes life really easy in writingprograms for the Propeller. Instead of having to developcode for yourself for every little task, you can use objectsthat have already been developed either by yourself orsomeone else to perform several functions. Table 1 showsa short list of objects that are available for roboticapplications (downloadable from the Parallax ObjectExchange; http://obex.parallax.com). There are many
more types of objects that can be downloaded and newones are constantly being added. The reason I bring this upis that it wont take you long to get some fairly advancedrobotic controls up and running.
When I started reading about all the things the Propellercan do and looking at the source code for some of theseobjects, it was pretty intimidating at first since it didnt looklike anything I was really used to seeing. So I broke down andread the first three chapters of the Propeller manual andtyped in and ran all 12 examples in Chapter 3. This took acouple evenings to go through. After all of this, I was quitecomfortable in reading, understanding, and writing code for
the Propeller. Remember what I said before Parallax hassome excellent documentation.The H48C three-axis accelerometer demo setup shown in
Figure 14 is one of the coolest things I have seen in a reallylong time. The ability to display information especiallyanimated graphics on a TV display without any specialhardware really makes visualizing where the sensor is going
intuitive. The Propeller is going to make the Nintendo WIIcontroller look like childs play in my opinion.
I believe the Propeller microcontroller is going to be thebig breakthrough for many of our robotic projects becausewe will now have a better way to continually sense ourenvironment and process the various robot controls all at thesame time without any time sharing constraints that havebeen holding us back. I believe this will give our robots thoselifelike responses that we have been dreaming about. SV
SERVO 03.2008 25
I hate to say this, but this is my last column as Mr.
Roboto. I have enjoyed all of your great questions and
comments over the years. It is amazing that I started this
when the magazine first came out in 2003. With our new
daughter and other time commitments at home and church,
I have decided to slow down on my writing efforts. I am not
going away completely since I will be submitting somefull-featured articles in the near future on topics that include
balancing robots, humanoid robots, and CNC controllers,
to name a few, all using and demonstrating the power of
the Propeller microcontroller. In the meantime, a highly
respected and experienced robot builder and writer,
Dennis Clark, will be taking over the Ask Mr. Roboto helm
with next months issue. Thank you for all of your support,
and keep those great questions coming in!
SIGNING OFF
http://obex.parallax.com/http://obex.parallax.com/http://trossenrobotics.com/http://obex.parallax.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
26/84
IB Technologies' Micro RWDUniversal Socket Board
Micro RWD UniversalSocket Board Universal
Base Board for ALL of the IBTechnologies Micro RWDmodule types. The boardprovides the antenna, powersupply regulation and RS232
/ USB interfaces to the MicroRWD module itself.Features include 24-pin
DIP socket for Micro RWD Modules, LEDS for visual statusindication, selectable PCB and coil based antenna for 13.56MHz and 125 kHz operation (Antennas are etched intothe circuit board. External antennas are not necessary.),voltage regulation allowing 9-12V DC power supplies tobe used. Additional connectors have all the Micro RWDmodule electrical signals available.
The Universal Base Board data sheet details the linksettings, circuit diagram and interface connections. Gerberfiles for the PCB layout (useful for the antenna dimensions)
are available on request. Please note that the Universal BaseBoard does not have the USB module or a Micro RWD mod-ule fitted as standard. These items are supplied separately.
For further information, please contact:
DC Motor DriverT
he H-Bridge DC Motor Driver is designed to allowTTL output to control the speed and direction of a
DC Motor. Input Voltage is 12 VDC and Rated Motor
Voltage is 4V, 6V, and 9V.
Application Note:1) Connect Motor Pin to DC Motor. (Pin 1 & 2)2) Connect Pin 4 to Ground and Pin 3 to 12 VDC.3) Connect Pin 5 through 8 to any microcontroller.
Pin Assignment:Pin1 Motor Pin (+); Pin2 Motor Pin (-); Pin3 12 VDCPin4 GND; Pin5 Speed Control 1; Pin6 Speed Control2; Pin7 Motor Enable; Pin8 Motor Direction.
For further information, please contact:
Racing Robot Learnto Solder Kit
The Racing Robot Learn toSolder Kit features a three
wheel motorized chassis and acolorful robot face that flashes on and offas the robot races out of control. Race this robotagainst others to see which robot is the fastest. Kitfeatures 18 components that you install first to learn goodsoldering techniques. Once you have mastered solderingyou then install the one IC circuitry, Face circuit, motor andmechanical assembly. Operates from one 9V battery (notincluded). Size of Face PC board about 1.5 x 2. Size ofmain chassis PC board 2 x 4. Complete with all parts, PCboards, motor and instructions. Skill Level 1.
For further information, please contact:
New Products
CIRCUIT BOARDS
ROBOT KITS
MOTOR CONTROLLERS
6046461688 Fax: 6046441501Email:[email protected]:www.databitz.com
Far EastNoble Sdn Bhd
Tel: 8778981005Website:www.trossenrobotics.com
TrossenRobotics
Tel: 8002277312Website:www.chaneyelectronics.com
ChaneyElectronics
NEW PRODUCTS
Is your product innovative, less expensive,more functional, or justplain cool? If you have a new product that you would like us torun in our New Products section, please email a short description(300-500 words) and a photo of your product to:
Show Us What Youve Got!
26 SERVO 03.2008
Pin1
Pin2
Pin3Pin4
Pin5Pin6Pin7Pin8
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.databitz.com/http://www.databitz.com/http://www.databitz.com/http://www.trossenrobotics.com/http://www.trossenrobotics.com/http://www.trossenrobotics.com/http://www.trossenrobotics.com/http://www.chaneyelectronics.com/http://www.chaneyelectronics.com/http://www.chaneyelectronics.com/http://www.chaneyelectronics.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.chaneyelectronics.com/http://www.databitz.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.trossenrobotics.com/ -
7/30/2019 servo2008 03
27/84
The
Power SchmartModule
will power up yourcircuits with your choice
of -9, -12, +2.5, +3.3,
+5, +9, and +12 volts.
$15Very Schmart!
www.schmartboard.com
7KH(VFDSH
5RERWVEXLOWLQ
PLFURSURFHVVRU
HQDEOHVLWWR
WKLQNRQLWVRZQ
.65
VHFRQGYRLFHUHFRUGHUSOD\EDFN
PRGXOH7KHHOHFWUHWPLFURSKRQHLVRQWKHERDUG2QHEXWWRQUHFRUGVWKHRWKHUEXWWRQLV
PRPHQWDULO\SUHVVHGWRUHSOD\WKHPHVVDJH
SUHDVVHPEOHG$
PP:KLWH
ZDWHUFOHDU/('9
PFG
$%
7KH9HOOHPDQ3HUVRQDO6FRSH
LVQRWDJUDSKLFDOPXOWLPHWHU
EXWDFRPSOHWHSRUWDEOH
RVFLOORVFRSHDWWKHVL]HDQG
FRVWRIDJRRGPXOWLPHWHU+36
7KHURERWIURJPRYHVIRUZDUGZKHQLWGHWHFWVVRXQGDQG
UHSHDWVVWDUWPRYHIRUZDUG!VWRS!OHIWWXUQ!VWRS!ULJKW
WXUQ!VWRS.65
6ROG
HULQ
J
UHTXLUH
G
7KRXVDQGV
PRUHLWHPV
RQ
RXUZHEVLW
H
$146.
Ask for our FREE 96 page catalog
VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE AT
www.allelectronics.com
WALL TRANSFORMERS, ALARMS,
FUSES, CABLE TIES, RELAYS, OPTO
ELECTRONICS, KNOBS, VIDEO
ACCESSORIES, SIRENS, SOLDER
ACCESSORIES, MOTORS, DIODES,
HEAT SINKS, CAPACITORS, CHOKES,TOOLS, FASTENERS, TERMINAL
STRIPS, CRIMP CONNECTORS,
L.E.D.S., DISPLAYS, FANS, BREAD-
BOARDS, RESISTORS, SOLAR CELLS,
BUZZERS, BATTERIES, MAGNETS,
CAMERAS, DC-DC CONVERTERS,
HEADPHONES, LAMPS, PANEL
METERS, SWITCHES, SPEAKERS,
PELTIER DEVICES, and much more....
ORDER TOLL FREE
1 - 8 0 0 - 8 2 6 - 5 4 3 2
THOUSANDS OF ELECTRONIC
P A R T S A N D S U P P L I E S
Robotics Showcaseobotics Showcase
SERVO 03.2008 27
SchmartBoard the developer of anew technology that has significant-ly simplified the creation of electroniccircuits for hobbyists, education, andindustry has announced the winnersof its second annual Schmartie Awards.
Schmartie Award participants, as apart of the SchmartDeveloper program,posted electronic circuit designs with abill of materials that included the correctSchmartBoards (prototype boards) to thecompanys SchmartDeveloper website.The grand prize winner receives a $1,000cash prize, and SchmartBoard will manu-facture and market a SchmartModuleproduct with the winners name on it. Inaddition, the winner will receive a com-mission on each of these product sold.
The circuits and information aboutthe winners and other applicants canbe found at www.schmartdeveloper.org. The winners of the contest are:
Grand Prize Giannis Kedros ofThessaloniki, Greece wins the grandprize for his Serial to USB Module.
2nd Prize Charles Wenzel of Austin,TX wins a DSO8502 500 MHz DigitalOscilloscope from Link Instruments forhis Low Jitter Quadrature Clock.
3rd Prize
John Day of Toronto, ONCanada wins a Weller WD1002Soldering Station from Cooper Toolsfor his