Hi all!!
I’m a freshman on this forum. I’m also a student in Taiwan.
Since a kid,I was very interested in Robot but did’t have the opportunity
to make one.
My major in college is not electronic related.
And I have no idea about any computer programming language, not to mention embedded system or MCU.
I only have little knowledge about electronics.
Even so, I still want to make a robot of mine.
So can anyone help me?
where should I get start?
Should I buy a robot assembly??
Which assembly is recommended?
And which is helpful for me to learn about the MCU and the programming language??
Can anyone tell me how to start when u r a freshman in robot field??
I found the Phoenix so cool that it can do so many motions.
I’m woundering if I can start from this robot.
Is is too hard for me?
Can I get the detail description of it if i buy this assembly from Lynxmotion?
Welcome at this forum! I’m glad you took your time to post your questions
sure
You’ve got some good, big questions and I think you have to answer most of them yourself before we can start helping. There are a lot of things going on in robotics and a lot op pads to follow. The first and most important thing what you have to do is set up your goal. What do you want to do with your robot? Do you want it to move things like a arm, explore and/or map a room. Do you want it to walk or drive around? Do you want it to find his won path with sensors or control it with a remote?
Since you’re a beginner I suggest you’ll get yourself a complete kit. This way you don’t need to worry if everything fits all together. You will know what I mean in time
Once you’ve got your goal you should check which bot could do the job
Don’t worry, you will learn to program if you start robotics. And there are a lot of people at this forum who can help you out if you’re stuck.
The phoenix isn’t the easiest bot to start with but on the other hand, you can find a lot of information about it now a day. It’s a great platform and there is a lot of things to explore. You won’t get bored soon
If you’re talking about a tutorial, Yep there is a complete tutorial which helps you from unpacking the part to programming the ATOM 8)
I hope I didn’t give you much more questions then you’ve already had but I think it’s better to over think what you want to do with your robot Let me know if you’ve got some new questions!
Dear Xan
Thanks a lot for your kindlky reply!!
It’s very encouraging for me!!
I always have interest in the hexapods because of it’s cool motion
probably bacause some movies i guess 8)
And I want my robot can be controlled by the remoter(wireless) just like
the Phoenix u guys made.
I don’t know whether the Phoenix can be counted as complete kit?
From the website, it only provide the body.
If I want to get the complete kit of Phoenix, what else sholud I prepare?
The electronic? The sevros?
And the software?
Dose the Lynx provide the whole set or not?
Because I’am in Taiwan(a small country in Asia), I must order it through the web, it will be good for me if the Phoenix have a cpmolete kit
Most improtant of all, it’s my pleasure to meet u
Are u an engineer?
I will also jump in here as well. I don’t have the phoenix yet, I have one of the other Hexs (CHR-3). They are a lot of fun to build and to experiment (better word than play) on!
As Xan mentioned probably the best thing to do is to get a setup that interests you. Also it is good to get one that will challange you as to keep your interest but not too dificult as to discourage you. I think the Phoenix is a great one to experiment on. I think the other hexes are also great . They have trade offs. The phoenix is great looking and moves great and you can use Xan’s great software or Zentas spreadsheet. The larger hexs can carry more and have more room for battery and other things like sensors, also the Powerpod program is currently available to generate the software and I have adapted Xans code to run on it. Either way you can not go wrong!
I don’t think they have a complete phoenix kit yet, but as a minimum you will probably need:
The phoenix bracket kit (Choose your color)
18 servos (HS-645 or better)
6 bracket pairs (either ASB-04 or ASB-04B) depending on color
You will also probably want the:
SSC-32 - servo controller.
Battery: 6v not sure which is best - I know some have gone to LIPOS…
Battery charger to go with your battery.
Since you talk about wireless remote I would assume you will need a microcontroller:
Bot Board 2 - holds the microcontroller
Basic Atom Pro 28 - The microcontroller Xan and most of us use…
Remote: Xan uses the PS2
Need the PS2 controller
Need the PS2 controller cable.
Zenta uses an RC controller I have tried both (PS2 and Hitec 6ch). Note some of use are experimenting with building our own remote. See the DIY thread in the remote control forum. But for now I would suggest getting the PS2 setup.
I would also probably buy the SSC-32 sequencer so you can experiment with all of the stuff Zenta did and create and save away other sequences.
I think that covers most of the basics. You can also add (now or later sensors if you like to detect things in front of you or maybe if a leg is touching, or maybe that it has come to a drop off… But that is probalby too much to talk about now!
Software:
1 x SSC-32 Sequencer Optional: Needed if you want to control the phoenix with your pc or want to download sequences directly in the SSC.
The ATOM programming software is freeware and can be downloaded here.
Extra’s:
You’ll need 2 batteries. A 9V battery for the logic and a big accupack (6V) for powering the servos. There are a lot of possibilities for the accu and I think the best way is to get them from a shop in asia. Mine came from www.hobbycity.com.
I think that’s it
It’s always a pleasure to meet other roboteers
Yes, I’ve got my degree in electrical engineering and work as a software engineer at the moment
Just curious, Jim, how come you don’t have a full kit of the Phoenix? I think with the recent coverage in Robot Magazine, I imagine you’re Phoenix sales/inquiry are increasing lately?
Hello everyone,
I have some question of the program of Phoenix.
From the list, it’s nessary to get BASIC Atom Pro 28 pin chip.
We should program the chip before the Phoenix can move.
I’m woundering which programming language should be used?
Is this language very popular(like C??) or it’s only for Robotic chip?
I found that there is a educational kit with BASIC Atom Pro 28 Pin chip and Bot Board 2 in it, and the manual book.
Should I get this package and learn the language first before make the Phoenix?
Also is this program is comptible with another chip(which means the other chip developed by another company)? So I can learn one language and once for all
Is there and help to have the background of writting C language?
Also I see a chip on SSC-32 servo controller.
So should we program this chip ?? With the same language as BASIC Atom?
After we program the two chip, is there any software(or firmware?) be installed before moving the Phoenix??
Sorry for so many stupid questions.
Thanks for anyone’s reply and it shall really be a great help to me!!
If you choose to build the phoenix, you have several options. You could simply use the SSC-32 connected up to a PC and write programs on the pc to talk to the phoenix. There are many ways to do this from playing around with SEQ or using Zentas PEP spreadsheet for Excel, or you could probably implement something using Microsoft Basic or C or you could try to use the Microsoft Robotics stuff…
Or you could have a microcontroller on your robot, such as Basic Atom Pro, which plugs into the Bot Board II board. This is the approach the Xan and others including myself use. Most people use a variation of Basic which is hosted on this processor to program the robot on the Basic Atom Pro. This is what Xan used to produce the code for the phoenix. This basic allows you to insert some native assembly code into your basic program, which Xan has in a few places. You can also program this chip using C or C++. The C compiler is downloaded as part of the IDE. You should download the IDE and take a look at the manual or simply go online and look at its WIKI(basicmicro.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page)
You can use other Microcontrollers instead of the Atom Pro, but not all basics (or C for that mater) are created equal. Also different chips have different capabilites (timers, IO pins, …) so depending on which processor you choose the job of converting the code may or may not be easy…
The SSC-32 controller does have a microcontroller on it, however it is preloaded with code to make it work. You simply send it Ascii text strings asking it to do things like move one or more servos to specific locations over a specific amount of time and it takes care of the details on getting it done. You should look at the manual for the SSC-32lynxmotion.com/images/html/build136.htm to see the format of the commands.
Can I so some experiment with this package(Is the manual includes some examples of experiment?)?
I want to be familiar with the work of Atom chip and it’s programming method.
By the way, is this package includes all the electronic board the a Phoenix needs(except the sevro controller)?? I want to go step by step to make my Phoenix dream come true and I’ll get the other component in the near future
The Atom Pro 28 is a great little processor, and powerful too! It’s perfect for the Phoenix. It includes the programming manual, the Bot Board II, and the processor. There are also some battery holders that are not required for the Phoenix walker.
Hello to you all…
I’m also a rookie/newbie/novice/etc in robotics.
I’m very interested of building a robot, ever since I was a kid I might say (I’m 32 y-o now… )
I was about to buy Wowee’s roboquad till I saw a Phoenix hexapod video on youtube. I just realized the difference of a toy and a real robot!
So, my first question is: Does Phoenix have the pottential of being an autonomus robot?
Why I’m asking that? Cause I want a robot as a guard mostly. I’d like to be able to connect to it through the internet (like meccano’s/erector’s spykee) and see what’s going on in my house while my family and me are away for vacation for example. I know that this requires a camera, but this is a minor detail I guess.
Last but not least, I’d like to recharge itself when it’s batteries are low (using a recharging dock perhaps?)
Is there a chance that I could have all these features on Phoenix?
Thank you in advance…
PS. Concerning servos… 18 servos by $40 each is quite an amount of money for me… it’s a customs issue mostly here in my country (Greece) since the tax for such an order is high… is there a cheaper servo with the same specs? Maybe a silly question…
all of your questions and ideas can work with the phoenix but with some work!
like many of us we love the phoenix! but like you say the cost for you is high. if you only want a guard type robot i would look more at the A4WD1 Combo Kit for Autonomous…(see link)
Since you are new to robotics, I suggest you start with a simple robotic platform for a surveillance robot (wheels or tracks). Use that to prove your ideas work, then move up to the more complex walking bot. You could start with an inexpensive R/C toy with a cam on it and develop from there. If walking surveillance bots were easy/practical you would see them in general use. Just a heads up unless you have plenty of $$$ and time to experiment with.
aww come-on… innerbreed just posted a link to the Nao video… it’s walking, has 2 cameras and a targeting system no less, is programmable by anybody in the house, and costs a mere $16K… everybody will have one for christmas next year.
sure 
