New to the forum and new to robotics!

Community General Discussions
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Hello there everyone!

Im really excited to start creating my own robot. I currently don't have any real experience with programming at all but love to build things with my hands so really want to get a robot up and working. Does anyone know of a hardware/ software package that would allow me to add and remove functions and features without knowing how to code??

Thanks in advance for the insight guys! Looking forward to hearing back from you.

1 Like
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Thanks Dan!I’ll take a peek

Thanks Dan!

I’ll take a peek around and see if I can learn some more about picaxe. I want to make a robot that I can talk to. Would this be able to do that?

Anyone else have any input or other suggestions! Like I said I’m new and want to have all the options laid out before I make the plunge :slight_smile:

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I second Dan’s

I second Dan’s recommendation on PICAXE. Pretty easy to get started. Take a look at the start here robot for an excellent example.

Can you build a robot that will talk to you? Not without some experience and ability to program. Start simple and build on your growing knowledge.

Another very simple way to get started on a no-programming robotics project is with this simple SpurtBot line follower. If you are itching to build, you can try tis one while you are waiting for your PICAXE parts to arrive. 

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pic the axe

i too have to agree - i’m learning from scratch myself and got a picaxe28x1 . The combination of running the programming editor, reading the enclosed instructions and chatting to these guys meant i had a pretty good idea of why the program on the “start here” robot worked within one night…a few nights later i understood all the chips, pins and bits and bobs of the pcb.

its a great place to start and you will be well supported here.

dom

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Atmega 328

I say Atmega using C

this will open the world of programming and the world of micro controllers involving arduino, suppino you name it

 

Oleg

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Thanks for all the feedback

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I have spent some time online browsing around and came across this site - www.ez-robot.com It looks like a very powerful controller and it has software that looks like you don’t need to know how to program. Does anyone have any experience with EZ-Robot? Any comments or input?

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seem kind of expensive

just to avoid learning how to program. PICAXE boards complete are about $17.95 or £9.95 and BASIC is pretty easy to catch on to. Arduinos are only slightly more expensive and definitely more powerful.

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I understand that you can

I understand that you can get a picaxe or arduino’s for a lot less than that EZ-Robot kit but once you break it down it doesnt seem that bad. 235 for what looks like a very powerful board, 5 servo’s, distance sensor, battery pack, and a wireless camera. That isnt too shabby at all. And learning to program is a LOT of effort. I don’t have to time or patience to do that so for me the extra couple bucks seems worth it.

I need more than 1 persons opinion though!!! Common guy’s! Any more thoughts on the EZ-Robot kit?? 

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I suppose if you have an

I suppose if you have an aversion to programming then that setup might work for you. I personally find programming to be part of the goodness of this hobby so I can’t really promote that kit lol I’m another advocate of PICAXEs for the beginner. The english-like nature of the programming language it uses is relatively easy to pick up. If you want to do what all the cool kids are doing then go Arduino. If you like to ride the razor’s edge and laugh at the devil then you shoud start with the Spin language on the Propellor platform.

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The EZ-Robot site has a lot

The EZ-Robot site has a lot of software gadgets that will work with the ez-robot board.  If you want to say, display a sweeping sonar output, it’s easy to plug together the proper sonar and servo modules together and get a nice display without much in the way of programming.  It’s easy to make, and see things work.

But, if you want to experiment with more advanced AI, they point you towards Visual C.

But the site has a lot of traffic and they’re doing interesting things.  My only problem with the EZ-Robot board is it’s Windows only.

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Thank you for your input. I

Thank you for your input. I do think they are doing some very different things from anyone else in the industry. I noticed today on their forum that a new firmware release is out. looks like some pretty neat feautres - http://www.ez-robot.com/Community/Forum/posts.aspx?threadId=976

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cheers!

hello and welcome to LMR, i would recomend arduino or picaxe, they are easy to programme