The first one has been built from scratch with parts found in the garage. This robot was programmed to hunt my cat. I stopped when my cat did a burnout
Basically, you can see the piezo bumpers in order to be able to detect obstacles. If you guys want to experiment with piezo ceramic discs, look at the book Robot Builder’s Bonanza. Adding to this, the robot has some servo motors for propulsion, one stepper motor hacked from a printer for the turret and one PIR sensor hacked from a hold motion sensor light. That’s it. You have the Cat Hunter!
For the second one, I wanted to be able to repeat trajectory so I was experimenting a master-slave model using a hacked model car. The microcontrollers were 2 Basicx-24working in network.
If you are new in this field and you are not sure where to start, maybe these two projects can give you some good ideas.
Have fun and hope you will post your projects here!
Yes, my cat is doing well now. Thanks for asking Jonathan.
You are right Richard. The PIR (Passive Infrared Sensor) detects infrared radiation. Building from scratch is fun but sometime it takes more time. Today, you can find specialized sensors that you can connect very fast to your microcontroller. If I was planning to build a robot that needs this kind of sensors, I will probably try the devantech 8 pixel thermal array sensorthat RobotShop offer. A little bit expensive, but in order to save time, that can worth it.
Hi asdf1234, when I wanted to build my first robot from scratch, I first read the book Robot Builder Bonanza. This book helped me a lot and can do the same for you.
I think people at RobotShop will help you better then me in this question, they can probably suggest some products to purchase. But for my part, I will suggest this:
1- Read this interesting article in the Wiki on how to plan a project.
2- Surf the RobotShop web site in order to find parts to integrate. RobotShop probably have all what you need.
3- Try to find existing products that do approximately what you want to do. You can inspire yourself looking at those products.
These things being said, I think you basically need a propulsion system, a microcontroller, a pan and tilt turret and a camera.
Look at the Pob Bot, I am sure you will enjoy the videos in the bottom of the description, specifically the pob-chicken-hunter.
I’m pretty new to the robotics area. I know this is small stuff compared to what you have achieved, but I wanted to ask for some help with a new project I want to get into.
I recently just learned how to program the Boe-bot device with IR and Sonar sensors. I was even able to make it go find its way through a maze. Pretty basic stuff, so I have a little knowledge of about robots.
I now want to get into taking apart cars and building them like you. The first project I want to do is Get a miniature tank, modify to be autonomous with various sensors, and also have it locate a target, and shoot at it.
Could you offer a newbie some direction? I have absolutely no clue how to go about doing this, like what microcontrollers to get, where to get the servo part, the battle circuitry, and most importantly how to put it all together to make it work.
First, I’d like to extend my Thanks to Jbrunet, and Cameleon for all the advice . I am definitely hyped up now to start creating my first “chicken hunting” tank. The micro-controllers, and the pattern tracking devices you suggested were both great.
I’m going to start on the actual plan for the project first before i get into any “heavy lifting”, and i’ll keep posting up my updates, and issues as it moves along. Wish me luck…
Hacking remote control toys can be very fun asdf1234 and isn’t all that different from what you’ve already done with your Boe.
The chassis, motors and mechanics can be left intact.
You would then require a microcontroller for autonomous behavior, a motor controller of some sort for locomotion and a power source for the entire system.
The choice of microcontroller depends mainly on your ability to program it. There are some better suited to beginners (Arduino, BasicATOM, BasicX, etc.) and some that are more advanced (PIC, AVR, etc.). That is also really a matter of choice and required processing power.
The Pololu Baby Orangutan for example is actually marketed for hacking of small toys. It incorporates the microcontroller (programmable with AVR studio via the USB programmer) and two 10V 1A motor controllers. Add a 9V battery with a variety of sensors and you’re done. All you need to do is program your custom logic.
Target aquisition using the CMUcam or POB-EYE is possible. You could also use infrared, heat or other sensor technologies to “find” your target. Adding gyro stabilization to the turret is even possible.
There are of course many ways you could approach this, with thousands of combinations of microcontroller, motor controller and sensors. Every project has its unique character. You might be able to reuse existing electronics for example. Experiment and have fun with it.
. I am definitely hyped up now to start creating my first “chicken hunting” tank. The micro-controllers, and the pattern tracking devices you suggested were both great.