Lets start with some background. I want to have a robot that automates all combinations between 0001 - 9999. what i want it to accomplish is a machine that can find certain combinations on a hand held GPS system. the easiest way i can see it working is having an mini actuator for the individual numbers 0-9. and maybe 1 more to aknowledge the current combination entered.
This one on youtube is the essential of what i want to be done… but i know there is a more simple way to do this without this elaborate setup.
This is the more ideal version of the robot that i like. but i know getting the gear system programmed is somewhat more complicated. please help! i think this will be a fun project once its all put together. where to start? what equipment would i need? i think i can program this one myself. but any help would be appreciated. Thanks Again!
ok, so… i want to start building the programming. i know what i want but i am very unfamiliar with the arduino programming. any ideas where to begin? i decided to go with the first videos setup. the solenoids are going to be stationary. first i need to assign the 11 different solenoids to a pin on the ardunino. then i need to assign numbers for the individual solenoids pin 1 = number 1 on the keypad of the gps etc… then i gotta program it how to go from 0000 - 9999… this may be more complicated than i anticipated… HELP!!!
Welcome to the RobotShop Forum. Small solenoids would be able to push the buttons (the concept of a spring at the end to dampen the impact is novel). The second system seems to still use three solenoids and something else for fast vertical travel. If the solenoids are small, you can use a standard microcontroller to control them. If you use a linear actuator for the vertical motion, you may need a DC motor controller or servo controller. We would suggest an R/C linear actuator like the Firgelli L12 since it provices position feedback (to get you to the right heights).
Programming the system to run through numbers should not be all that difficult either, the question which arises is what happens when the code is finally cracked - how will the system know to stop? You might try a colour sensor or a harder scenario would be to use a camera and image processing.
If you are entirely new to programming on the Arduino, you may want to think ahead as to what will stop the system when the right code is reached. This is far harder to do than to move solenoids. There are quite a few examples and tutorials on the Arduino website to get you started.
