i need help in what i need to build a robot as far as what type sensors and how many, computer, etc etc,
Well basically its going to have to fit in a 12x12x12 square. Its going to be powered by 2 motors and a 3rd wheel is going to be a caster. Its going to have a crane that does a 180 from front to back on a Z axis using a servo motor and a gripping hand also with a servo. Its going to have 3 server motors at most.
But the crane arm will be on top. Basically its going to be following black tape and pickign up ping pong balls and dumping them in the rear of the robot. to give you a visual, its going to look like a tonka dump truck with a crane arm on top.
not everyone can help you unless they know what they’re talking about. Just because they see your post donset mean they will respond. Would you want someone to mislead you?
anyways, I don’t think I can help you as far as this goes, since my general area of robotics is RC, gearhead motors, and mechanical design.
You need to do some reading and research on what you want to do, and then develop your detailed plan. When you have actual specific questions on what you are doing, then ask them. Your origional post was more of a general statement of what you plan to do with no specific questions to be answered. What you described probably can be built, but it depends on your skills, your level of interest, and how much $$$ you have. Generally speaking, you need to solve the most difficult issues with your project first. I’d say you need to figure out how your bot will detect and determine the location of the ping pong balls. Figure that out and the rest will probably be a bit easier.
Finding an arm that can pick up ping pong balls, easy.
Putting the arm atop the follow bot, a bit more challenging but I do not see why you would need too much assistance there. The SES parts sold at Lynxmotion and the arm set should have you set up mechanically.
IMHO your problem is (based on assumption on my part since you did not state whether or not the creations arm would also be autonomous) setting up a vision/sensor system allowing the 'bot to recognise where the balls are, interrrupt travel along the line at the appropriate time and move the arm into position to acquire the prizes.
Physically your 'bot is simple. Its the electrics (controller/sensors) that are tricky. You could start by makeing the thing R/C. Make the stearing autonomously follow the line while you control forward and reverse motion on the base and fully control the action of the arm yourself.
Oh and about the responses… Get used to them being few a far between if you are posting absract ideas. I have a couple of threads here that have tens of responses versus thousands of views. Like you people are here to learn, to pick up ideas, to be inspired even. It is the rare fellow that will offer encouragement and or input on a new concept. There are quite a few of those here but you have to wait for them to find you.
probably 10 of the 34 were me coming back trying to figure out what you were asking.
anyway, if you are just looking for ping pong balls and they can be of a highly contrasting color to the background then maybe something like the cmucam will work. you don’t need a lot of resolution and I seem to think I remember those boards had a serial output giving x-y corrdinates of patterns… i.e it was doing the visual processing part for you and just sending the results.
I think you should brain storm some ideas on paper and also ck out the lynx stuff to see if you can put together a set of plans to add or subtrack ideas with whats here to make your creation come to “life”
