This is a pet toy robot, not a pet robot like Aibo
But children like it more than pets do
this is second prototype of my Pettoybot. First one was on $10 toy RC car platform. but it runs too wild, so I made this gentle two wheel one caster version.
Mission of this robot is play with pet. So I give him a sensor to detect pets movement and tell him to follow the movement of pets.
Pet detecting sensor is just the same one in the portal lamp in ordinary house. the lamp automatically lights on when human step below it. It uses PIR (Pyroelectric Infra Red) sensor, that detect change of infra red right not the infra red light itself. Just continuous light up infrared light to the sensor dosen't make any signal.
Human and mammal pets radiate infrared lights so their movement make change of infrared light that can detectd by PIR sensor. And there are a lot of infrared light already in our environment so any thing that move can be detected by PIR sensor
But when robot with PIR sensor moves the PIR sensor makes signal crazily. so there was no robot using the sensor yet.
(Rodney Brooks already made robot Genghis with this PIR sensor in 1988.)
I made the solution :) When sensing, stop the robot. go and stop to sensing go and stop.. repeat this~
And I gave him a Sharp range sensor that detects 2~80 cm. I installed the sensor slantly to the down front so it can detect cliff and obstacle. When the range is too far it means there is cliff and the range is too short it means there is obstcle.
the brain of Pettoybot is Arduino. mmm Ah, it ha slaser pointer to play with cats
The case is made of fiberglass composite and paintng and long time of sand paper work.
It takes about two month to make this robot
and I will add auto self recharging function and recharging station with IRbeacon
major parts
MCU: Armega128 * 1 , Atmel
PIR sensor: LHI-878 * 4, Perkin Elmer
range sensor: GP2Y0A21YK * 1, Sharp
motor drive chip: L293 * 1
PIR sensor signal amplifying OPAMP: LM324N quad opamp
two Tamiya truck wheel and a caster
double gear box by Tamiya
Play with pets
- Actuators / output devices: tamiya double gearbox with 38.2:1 ratio setting, two motors in it
- Control method: autonomous
- CPU: atmega168
- Operating system: none
- Power source: 7.4V 1200mAh LiPo
- Programming language: Arduino
- Sensors / input devices: PIR sensor, Sharp IR Range sensor
- Target environment: indoor flat surfaces
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/pettoybot
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