GB101LMR "Jack"

Let's Make Robots Robots
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Update: Same video, but now also streaming from a different provider, as some complained that they could not see the first one.

I had 2 weekends to complete "something robotish that kids in the mall can play with", and I was paid to do the job :)

I invented this game; GB101LMR "Jack" (this robot) is radio controlled by the player. Object is to move chestnuts from one end of a track to the other.

The track was white polystyrene with black tape, and the player loses energy if crossing the black areas, or is lifted up or otherwise off track.

Inside the track I could place strong magnets, and the robot also could detect those; Magnet facing north up, meant "Power up" for the player, south up made "instant only 10% energy left".

"Rainbow-meter" on one side of Jack showed the amount of energy left. When at completely cloud, the game is over, you are dead!

What the player saw on the "hotspots of magic" was perhaps a flower and a scull .. or as on the video, an LED buried inside with the magnet, providing a "magic blue spot of full energy".

To make it harder and more fun, GB101LMR "Jack" had an enemy, named GB6777LMR "Ghost", that was trying to push him off track.

I would love to have made many more creatures and functions, score count and rumble on joystick, monsters that coordinated attacks via radio, "The big chestnut-scanner", that would have to accept a chestnut to let one inside the other half of the track etc..

It's very easy to get good ideas from old computergames for this, and it's actually really addictive to play, so I recommend you to copy the setup, make "a computer game" with robots, it's fun!

 

This one is RC-controlled, via a hacked old cheap RC-toy, that hooks up to the Microcontroller instead of as originally the RC cars wheels. Microcontroller then steers the action from there, it could not be simpler.

One reason that I could make these 2 robots that fast, including AmandaLDR and that kind, was that I was using parts from old robots. Maybe you also have an old robot that could be turned into a game? :)


 

 

 

Main character in my GBxxLMR "universe"

  • Actuators / output devices: servo for head, 4 completely ripped servos for drive
  • Control method: RC, with robot take over
  • CPU: Picaxe 28x1
  • Operating system: Picaxe
  • Power source: 4 AA batteries
  • Programming language: Picaxe basic
  • Sensors / input devices: LDR, Magnetic field
  • Target environment: GameBot tracks
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/gb101lmr-jack
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Excellent, again

Beautiful game. And ditto video. Glad to see the first good use of blip.tv on LMR too.

How does the ghost "work"? Does it search and push the Jack like a sumo bot?

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Thanks, and yes, I thought

Thanks, and yes, I thought we might as well try some different video providers, also since I recon YouTube is getting just a little too happy to advertize over the videos :slight_smile:

The ghost:

It was intended to trace and track for killing… But it turned out that if it just drove around with the simplest “bounce on walls”-routine, it had the best game value.

Because of it’s physics, the 2 “arms” in front, then once it’s "locked on to you, it doesn’t let go. Had the same going on the headhunter.

So it turned out that just beeping and flashing when something close in front would be all needed to give the impression that “once it got you, it knew it, and did not let go”.

Would have been fun to make it “sumo”, and I was planning, but when I got to that part, it already worked perfect, just by going through all the “am I on track-routines”, so I neverprogrammed more than a “return” in that sub-section :slight_smile:

 

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Hahaha

This is the funniest ■■■■ I’ve ever seen :smiley:

Brilliant!

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it’s a wonderland!

That’s just great!..

I have a few questions!;

Firstly, what does the “GB” in the names refer to?

How do you measure and differentiate the blue spot? - I suppose what I’m really asking is - if you were to play this game in very different light levels (or very dim?), would there be any problems?

The big green thing has a head that looks like it has a distance sensor on it - is that true? I’m not entirely sure what that would be for, since there seems to be no danger of collisiions etc. on the playing field.

 

Anyhow, it’s genius. I love it.

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:slight_smile:

Awesome! Fantastic video, this is real fun! Love the rainbow energy gauge :slight_smile:

It looks to me that this "head" is just turning whenever you make a turn. Does it carry any other functionality, Fritz?

PS

bliptv is a bit glitchy when played back from Ubuntu. Works fine in windows though.

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Thanks :)The head is just

Thanks :slight_smile:

The head is just turning whenever the joystick is moved, no other function.

I’m submitting an alternative video soon, thanks.

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Thanks :)GB stand for

Thanks :slight_smile:

GB stand for GameBot.

The blue spot coulld be anything. The robot just sees the magnet, hte blue is for the human. I hav variations where I drew a flower and a scull (when a magnet was flipped, and took energy)

"THe big green thing" is refered to as GB6777LMR "Jack". He has no distance sensors, is RC controlled, and is only looking for Black/white and magnets below him.

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Awesome Game
Love the paint job. You have a talent of making the maximum out of a group of simple parts. Kudos!

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This is amazing! Congrats

This is amazing! Congrats Fritsl! Seeing the kids playing and having fun is so cooolll !!!

Both little bots are so cute!! :slight_smile:
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cute. Did you color that :P?
cute. Did you color that :P?

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Pretty cool idea, looks like
Pretty cool idea, looks like the kids enjoyed it!

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This is definitely one of

This is definitely one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while

how does it know if it’s going off the course? or do you just cross your fingers and hope there are no mischievous kids?

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Thanks :)Underneath there

Thanks :slight_smile:

Underneath there are 2 sensors and one light shining.

One sensor is monitoring magnetic fields; if a magnet is present (with the right side up, hidden in the track), it acts as a "Power up".

However, if the light shining is not reflected (black area OR robot off track / lifted up / tipped over), energy is quickly lost, nd when at zoro (blue cloud), it stops, plays a sad tune, game is over!

:slight_smile:

I can only recomend making games with robots like this, makes it much more fun for others to see the stuff you have made! (and even hard not to play a little yourself, to see if you can beat their score :wink:

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oh, I see. I assumed you

oh, I see. I assumed you would need some sort of magnetic ‘fence’ around the course.

Is the ‘health meter’ just a servo?

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Yes, the “meter” is just a
Yes, the “meter” is just a small servo :slight_smile:

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I’d say it is the coolest

I’d say it is the coolest set of bots i’ve seen on LMR! Really nice, and yes, it gives lots of inspiration. I might start doing something similar to that too, a game bot! :=)  

One thing i still have to understand: those black lines on the board, not the ones on the side that make him lose life, but the ones in the inner part, are they to limit the ghost’s movements?

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Yes, the Ghost can only move

Yes, the Ghost can only move on white areas. But as he stops on the black, he pushes chestnuts out on the black line, and leave them there. Or he pushes Jack out and leaves him there. Jack has omni wheels, and Ghost has rubber tires.

Either way, it is not so fun for jack; Chestnuts or himself on black lines :slight_smile:

You should absolutely go for making “a game” - it is so much more fun to test and all, because you get o play with it. And then afterwards, people can see it more as “a robot that drives around”. It is good fun!

I still take thes out for a game when I have guests with children or something!

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** Too Funny, I like it.Also.**

 Too Funny, I like it.

Also. The music goes well with the bot.

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Would it be easier/possible to stay out of the r/c?

I love this too. I am trying to get my 7 year old daughter interested in the Arduino. I showed her your video, and she was (briefly) interested. I have added this to my list of projects.

I think that the homemade covers makes this project more accessible to kids, it would be neat if there was a tutorial or perhaps a subtutorial from the Start Here robot that engaged kids by covering how to personalize the Start Here bot with kids. Maybe there is already a tag for “kids”, and that covers it completely.

A quick question, is it even necessary to tie the arduino into the r/c? Could you start with a cheap r/c car, and not tie into it at all, just add the micro-controller and sensors to just do the black/white sensing, magnetic detecting, and servo health displaying?

Thanks!