First robot Arduino vs Boe Bot

Community General Discussions
1

Hi everyone! I am interested in learning more about robotics. I plan to begin building my first robot shortly. I do have limited programming experience with Python and Java. Basically I know more than anyone who has never programmed before, but less than anyone who has lol.

  • Is building a bot with an arduino chip a lot more difficult? I read that if you run linux (which I do) that arduino I s the way to go, but I dont know why.

  • How much "estimate" would it cost to build a bot comparable to the Boe Bot, but with a arduino chip. ( a link to a kit would be much appreciated)

  • Will going the Arduino route require difficult soldering? My experience soldering is rather limited.

Thank you! 

 

2

I will offer my opinion.

The arduino IDE is written in JAVA. It will work easily under linux/windows/mac. The PICAXE software is windows/mac only, WINE might let you use the PICAXE software.

I am guessing the BOEBOT is similar to the SHR that is the basic starter bot that is explained in detail here. A triplet of servos, two that are continuous rotation, an ultrasonic sensor, a couple of CDs for use as wheels, some form of battery power (battery pack or LiPos), and, you should have a decent mix of hardware. servos $30, ultrasonic $5, CDs free, batteries (alkaline $6, rechargeables $12, LiPos $??) estimate $50 +/-

I think most arduinos are presoldered as well as some shields, if you decide you need to go that route. However, you should probably spend some time working on your soldering. Someday you will want to build your own boards and probably want to feel confident that your soldering is up to snuff.

Once again, all this is just my opinion. If you were to decide you need to go the gear motor route, the price will go up as you will need a motor driver which will likely be on a shield(more soldering).

3

The only reason I can think

The only reason I can think of for going with Linux over Windows or Mac is that ROS is a Linux project only slowly being ported to Windows.  There IS however Microsoft’s Robot Developers Studio, which runs only under Windows, and (last time I took a good look.)  not quite as adaptable as ROS.http://www.adafruit.com/products/749

That being said, ROS and MSRDS are well beyond the radar of SHR style hobby robotics.

Linux could actually be somewhat of a disadvantage for a beginner at robot hobby.  Typical microcontrollers often don’t support Linux well, or at all.  The current version of the Arduino IDE in the Ubuntu repository is outdated, (tho the current software IS available for Linux on the Arduino web site–You’ll just have to work a little harder at installing it.

Picaxe support for Linux is also sparse.  The FTDI driver is part of the Linux kernel, but has to be patched to work with the official Picaxe cable, and popular tools like Logicator are not available at all.

If you’re running a Windows box, and just getting started with robots, and have certain robots or kits in mind, check out some videos of those products, and make your decision.  Windows will serve for just about anything you see, and when you’re advanced enough to need something like ROS, or MyRobotLab, or Roborealm–you’ll know.

Edit–I missed the fact that you run Linux already.  Upon checking the Parallax web site, there ARE downloads for Linux, but they are not supported by Parallax.  With this in mind, for the price of a boebot, you can probably go farther and accomplish more with Arduino based robotics.

And here’s a link to an Ardunio/Boebot kit.

http://www.adafruit.com/products/749

4

I second the link to the

I second the link to the Arduino BoeBot Robot. The Parallax BoeBot uses continuous rotation servos for driving instead of geared DC motors that require an H-Bridge motor driver. The servos will use only 1 data pin from the microcontroller opposed to the H-Bridge that will use at least 2 per motor (usually 3 pins). The Shield also has the mini breadboard in the front of the robot that make experimenting with sensors a little easier. If you are a beginner in robotics, get this complete robot and follow the tutorial here: http://learn.parallax.com/ShieldRobot At the end of it you will have learned a lot of basic robotics to continue experimenting with other sensors. Since the robot uses the basic BoeBot chassis, you can also get the gripper add-on: http://www.parallax.com/Store/Robots/RoboticAccessories/tabid/145/CategoryID/22/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/311/Default.aspx 

 

5

Thank you everyone for your

Thank you everyone for your input!