This is just the beginning ;D
This is just the beginning ;D
Nice! I see this as a good
Nice! I see this as a good way to do home navigation. How? Install 4 IR LEDs on the ceiling and have the IR camera on the robot looking at the ceiling. Camera being I2C, I suppose it is easy to interface with any microcontroller. Care to try that?
I’ve been thinking about
I’ve been thinking about buying a wiimote from dealextreme.com as they are pretty cheap. I miss using them for powerpoint presentations using GlovePIE.
RobotFreak made a good
RobotFreak made a good tutorial about using the camera as a standalone sensor and used it to make a firefighting robot. So I guess that it is not very hard. But I don’t want to destroy my wiimote for now, thats why I’m using it this way. I think I’ll try your idea soon, using processing.
I’ve tried the
I’ve tried the application IR Sensor Test and it works well, at least it detects my lighter.
Next thing I want to do is to modify that code to send data to my robot and make it capable of finding candles. I will post the result here or in my robot’s page.
I like it!
I am testing the Wii nunchuck, but i must say that the wiimote is really cool! wireless with a good skin. I used it at school, it is not very hard to obtain great results! I am improving my robot (https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/node/23509) and I am still having problems with the hardware. I tried to get some infos about yours but it seems that there is the dead link: could you just tell me what kind of motors are you using and were did you get them?
Thnak you, keep the good job 
I got them when I
I got them when I participated in a event organizated by the University of Minho called RoboParty, two years ago, where I built this robot. The motors are from MODELCRAFT and their specifications are:
- Operating voltage: 12V/DC
- Speed under load: 174rpm
- Max. gear load: 6kg/cm
- Steady gear load: 2kg/cm
Sorry, but I could only find this page in portuguese…
thank you for your quick
thank you for your quick answer!
but 55€ is a bit too expensive for me, and I will need 2 H-bridge too. Maybe I will try to adapt 2 motors from drills… still searching! ^^
You’re welcome!
Yes, I know, I think I’ll never buy things from that shop.
That’s what I’m planning to do, too. I’m waiting for this board to arrive to control the two drills motors from my tank. The drills where 30€, the board 6€ and the components about 18€ (shipping not included).
I found one
I can’t create my own printed circuits so cheap as you, so I found this:
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/k_cmd/
two H-bridges with protection, with a 5V regulator ( maybe it will power my arduino and my servos if I need to), for about 27$ (20€?) shipping include. Sure I would rather design it myself, but I prefer that it works well, to have time to improve other parts. And I will do the soldering… 
I think I will buy it, and the drills will follow 
I think you can…
DON’T BUY it before you buy and test the drills. My motors can pull up to 8A, I think that board can only handle up to 4A.
That’s why I decided to design it myself. My is made by this shop, I think they make pcbs for around 0,10€ for cm2.
argh
8A ?! whoa, hum, I thought the batteries were not able to supply so much current… and I was wrong! so back to the start ^^ I will take a closer look to your PCB… But I think that mechanics is the really most expensive part of the robotics!
Why don’t you buy the drills
Why don’t you buy the drills and see how much they pull? That’s what I did…
PS: The guy form that shop says that the shipment of 100g to France should be around 3€.
Yes, it would be probably
Yes, it would be probably the best way, but I just wanted to ensure that drill motors can be used, for cheap driving components. But I guess I just have to “jump” ^^ . Just a question, why do you use so much pin IC socket? I thought that 3 or 4 per motor will be enough?
Sorry
I’m sorry, but I can’t understand your question :S.
Could you explain it better?
Wow, very well done!Its a
Wow, very well done!
Its a pleasure to read your posts XicoMBD !
Will need to get a wii remote soonish … maybe Santa will pull through for me…
Thanks!
It’s funny, I think the same of your posts
ok, I made a mistake, no
ok, I made a mistake, no problem. Today I will go to my favorite electronic components seller see how much I have to pay for all of this, and I think I understand the way it works ^^
Drills? 8 Amps?
Not 8 amps… 80 amps!
If we are talking about drill motors, i.e. 12-18V cordless drill motors, they pull a lot more than 8 amps. I am not speaking from data sheets here, I am talking from my actual set-up. My motors draw around 8 amps with the wheels in the air, spinning freely. At start-up, they can draw 15 to 20. If you were to actually stall a motor (this is not easy to do) you can actually reach 80 or 100 amps. Seriously. If using drills, I would not use anything smaller than a 20amp x 2 controller. Bigger the better. Also, a fuse is manditory. I run a 40 amp “slow-blo” fuse and it has saved me many times.
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE DRILL MOTORS!
I am planning to use drill motors
are you serious? how can a drill battery supplies 100Amps? the small resistance of the wires between battery and motor would make them burn!