Now that robot #1 is almost complete, (Ajax Harbinger of the Robot Apocalypse, robot entry coming soon), I have begun to plan out robot #2.
Robot #2 will be named "Bert the Bling Bot". The goal of course is for Bert to be bigger and better than robot #1. To that end Bert has the following requirements/goals.
- Bigger - Aiming for something between 60 and 90 centimeters (2 to 3 ft) and no more than 22 kilograms (10 lbs).
- Dual Power Sources - Bert will use 4-D cell Nimh batteries at 9000 mA to drive his motors and servos and use 4-AAs to run the micocontroller(s) and sensors.
- Ultrasonics - Bert will use several ultrasonic sensors both for obstacle detection and room mapping/identification.
- Infrared - Bert will use several IR sensors for obstacle/edge detection.
- LCD Display - Bert will include an LCD display for status readouts and to teach me how to add an LCD display.
- Amplified Sound - Bert will use an amplified speaker for sound.
- Remote Control - Bert will accept commands from an infrared Sony TV remote control.
- Fuses - Bert will include fuses for fire/electrical safety.
- Bling - Bert will include clusters of blinking LEDs for robot Bling.
- Four Wheel Drive - Bert will use four motors to drive him around.
- Voltage Monitoring - Bert will include voltage monitoring on both the primary and secondary power supplies.
Bert will be expected to execute the following functions when completed:
- Stop - Stand still do nothing.
- Wander - Move around avoiding obstacles.
- Guard - Stand in place and alarm if intruders are detected.
- Drive - Drive around controlled by TV remote control.
- Identify Location - Identify room by measurements taken from ultrasonic and/or IR sensors.
- Find Door - Find open doorways using ranging sensors.
- Waypoints - Navigate from current location to new location based on internal map table.
The current, very, very preliminary design is:
- Bert will drive around on 4 wheels driven by 4 motors. These motors will be controlled by a Sabertooth 2x5 motor driver and powered off of 4 Nimh D cells.
- Bert will either use a PICAXE 40X1 as his microcontroller or 2 PICAXE 28X1s linked using i2c.
- Bert will have two IR sensors in his base, mounted on servos and pointed slightly downward to look for both tripping obstacles and as edge detectors. These may also be useful when trying to find and move through the center of an open doorway.
- Bert will have one ultrasonic sensor mounted in his chest at mid-height to act as an obstacle detector.
- Bert will have two ultrasonic and two IR sensors mounted in a "sensor turret" on top of his head. These will be used to detect high obstacles and to take distances measurements to identify rooms and scan for open doorways.
I have ordered the following parts for Bert.
- Dimension Engineering Sabertooth 2x5 motor driver - Solarbotics
- (2) PICAXE 28X1 - Solarbotics
- PICAXE 40X1 - Solarbotics
- (2) Sharp Analog IR Sensor 10-80 cm range - Solarbotics
- (2) Sharp Analog IR Sensor 20-150 cm range - Solarbotics
- (4) GM14a metal gear motors - Solarbotics
- (4) D cell Nimh batteries - Jameco
- Battery holder 4 D cells - Jameco
- Parallax 2x16 LCD display - Jameco
- (3) EZ-4 Ultrasonic sensors
- Assorted wire, connectors, fuse holders,etc...
Bigger is of course more expensive, Bert is already about $370 dollars in parts so far. As the project moves along, I will post updates in my blog. Wish me Luck.