Hello Everyone,
I am currently brainstorming a project for my two year nephew who lives on the other side of the planet.
I am pretty much a total newb with programming, but am pretty handy working with my hands, so i apologize if I miss the obvious flaws.
Looking to build a cross between a rover and a telepresence bot. There are no stairs and only a couple of rugs on tiled floors.
I want to make this a cheaply as possible, but will pay if it is worth it.
Goals in order of priority:
1, Telepresence: simple tracked bot that uses a phone or tablet that can tilt, and can be controlled over WiFi half way around the world with my pc. (skype phone could be a totally separate system, ie don’t control the bot functions through the phone), or if it is easier bypass the phone/tablet and use webcam, speakers, microphone, and screen with the micro-controller to stream video over the net.
2, Robotic arm/s: preferably two robotic arms, can be as simple as a rubber tip on the end of each, able to push things and pick up things two ‘handed’, with inverse kinematics and ability to program/teach gestures, like ‘dancing’, pretending to eat, hands in the air, etc.
3, Make this setup as user friendly as possible on the bot end, reduce lag and improve overall performance perhaps induction charging and auto startup.
4, Use/make a game controller/joystick to control all aspects of the robot.
5, Add grippers to the arms, a jamming gripper would be handy and one for drawing etc.
6, Improvements to the drive system and add a few sensors for collision avoidance or edge detection if it is on a table.
As I said i am a newb with programming, plug and play would be awesome lol, especially for the control over the internet part, but can learn on the fly if I know it is possible to achieve.
Going to 3d print the outer casing and any other parts I can.
Thanks in advance for any advice/wisdom.
Dom.