I need some direction on how to accomplish my goal. What I am setting out to do, is to build some kind of programmable robot and possibly later add a xbox kinect too it for facial recognition. Optimally i would like a robot that could approach a person and recognize their face and says “hello your name”. I realize this is probably a long shot for a beginner and figure that I could just start with basics of building/programming a robot and hopeful build a base that may go will with a kinect later. This is for a university project and I will need to do some kind for programing for the robot. I am very familiar with microsoft programming products such as visual studio. Though I haven’t messed around with robots much I am a fairly techy mechanically inclined programmer, so hopefully all that will help. If anyone could give me guidance on some base robots that might fit in well with this whole schema as well as give me direction oh how to accomplish my goal it would be well appreciated.
Thanks
Curt
ps cost is an issue, as I am a student. hopefully I could keep it under $400 or less if possible
Hey thanks for the quick response! I actually found an old computer (dell.com/downloads/us/products/optix/sx270_spec.pdf) and an old motorized rover thingy on tracks that my dad is mailing to me. Once I have get it all together Ill post what I have.
I was thinking this computer probably had a mini-itx but I dont know. Do you think it would be worth while to strip the comp down to basic components to reduce power consumption? I did have some concern about using the kinect sdk because the system requirements ask for 2.66 dual core which is pretty high for most of the mini-itx’s that I seen. I do have a large battery (apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1300G&total_watts=200) that I could scalp from one of my workstations that is pretty powerful. It would change the scale of the project due to its size and weight though. I also have a few 15" laptops that I could use also. I could buy stuff but I figured I would go through the computer stuff I have to see what could be used.
Welcome to the RobotShop Forum. If you plan to use a Kinect and do facial recognition, and also want to save money, consider a standard mini-itx compatible motherboard (they are all in one and sell for about $100). That can do the processing you will need for facial recognition, and you can use the USB ports to add other devices. You can often power this directly from a battery pack, though you may want to ensure it’s filtered. The DC Power Plug to Tamiya adapter may help a lot. To determine which motors you need, check out that Drive Motor Sizing Tool. For flat surfaces, you won’t need anything too powerful. So long as your battery pack is not too heavy, you might consider a normal spur gear motor with BaneBots wheels. Based on the motor, you could then choose a USB motor controller. We suggest the first thing you do is to get the robot moving around, then work on speech, then on facial recognition. You could in theory load Visual Studio directly on the robot.
Be aware that a full desktop computer can often be power hungry, which is why their power supplies are often 230W to over 750W. If you want your rover to be mobile, you will need a motherboard which consumes less power, so the battery lasts longer.
Stripping the desktop would be critical - don’t include a full sized DVD drive, frame etc. A laptop is a good choice. That looks like it’s a massive lead acid battery. If you want the robot to be mobile, you really need to start being concerned about the weight since you’ll need beefy motors and a powerful motor controller.
