Dear all,
I need your opinions on how can I improve my hexapod robot.
Photos of my hexapod you can find in the following Picasa folder picasaweb.google.com/selyanko/Roboke
What would you suggest to improve my current design?
My aim is to build the robot that could be both remotely operated and at the same time could find its way autonomously. At this moment robot is controlled by user via wireless link with the help of web interface.
Presently robot can walk on the flat surface; my target is to build such system that could locomote on uneven and rough surfaces without interference from user. For example this means, that user just presses ‘move forward ’ button on the interface and robot starts moving in forward direction and decides for itself when leg has to be lifted higher to overcome an obstacle, or gait should be changed from tripod to ripple or wave gate, depending on the terrain. Second mode would be such that user inserts coordinates of the destination location and robot moves to that point independently.
I need your opinion and suggestions what additional equipment should be added in order to improve my current design.
In the first place I planned to change HS475 servos for more powerful ones, 7.2 V NiMH battery to LiPo battery for the servos and maybe change the webcamera.
Secondly I need to now exact robot’s body position in space. For this I planned to add Inertia Measurement Unit Combo Board (something like this sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=741). With the help of this sensor I will be able to determine robots roll, pitch, and sense movement in three dimensions (At least I hope so) Than I plan to install two compass modules (sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=236) , one on the body of a robot and second on the camera platform (this way I will be able to determine robots body direction and where camera is pointing at any given moment )
Also I thought of adding pressure sensors to the legs. Something like this (sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8712). This will provide me with some feedback from legs. In order to measure body’s height from surface I plan to install one or two IR distance measurement units to the bottom of the robot.
I have possibility to use phyCORE Single Board Computer (SBC) (phytec.com/products/rdk/ARM-XScale/phyCORE-ARM9-LPC3180.html ) on the robot, but I have no experience with it. What do you think is it worth it or Bot Board II – PDA combination would be enough? Main program will be on PDA, controller will only handle IK routines, control sensor readings and send command signals to SSC32
What else?
I am considering adding wheels to the legs, so hexapod would look like NASA ATHLETE robot (youtube.com/watch?v=Im90efP5hts) But it is not certain yet.
Surrounding area around the robot, or at least in the direction of its movement, will be monitored with the help of combining video picture from the camera and some sonar or IR distance measurement modules.
Please give your opinion and any suggestions. Any thoughts would be welcomed. What sensors I should additionally use, maybe what manufacturers are better, what equipment should be added additionally?
(All links in this post are given only for informational purposes)