Plank

This is the start of "Plank." My first successful attempt at a robot.

The base is made from a 3mm thick 4x12 inch piece of plywood. Wheels are model airplane wheels bolted on to servo horns. I modified two Futaba servos for continous rotation for locomotion. The tail wheel is a tamiya ball caster. I tried a couple of other casters but they were either too heavy or they didn't rotate well.

For sensors I have a Sharp IR sensor (GP2D120) for close range object detection. There are two bumper switches on the back sides that I still need to wire up. I also have a Ping to hook up with another servo for longer range scanning.

The Arduino & electronics are powered by a 9V battery using the Arduino's regulator. The servos have their own 6V supply (underneath the breadboard.)

 

Update 10/7/2008

The rear bumper switches are wired up. Added 2 more IR sensors for more front coverage. Playing around with the movement algorithm. Will randomly move in a direction other than forward.

 

Update 4/12/2009

Attached my code. It isn't pretty but it works.

Object avoidance

  • Actuators / output devices: 2 Futaba 9101 modified Servos
  • Control method: autonomous
  • CPU: Arduino Decimila
  • Power source: 9V - CPU, 4xAA batteries - motor
  • Sensors / input devices: Sharp IR, bumper switches
  • Target environment: Indoors - Carpet

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/plank

Info!
looks nice but more info would be apreciated. nice looking.

Lol i absoluteley love the

Lol i absoluteley love the Sharp IR’s placement!

Looks good. How do you like

Looks good. How do you like that ball caster? I used one from Pololu on my Harry The Discbot but it doesn’t roll very well at all, most of the time he just drags it.

Dan

Thanks
The caster works OK. It seems to be rolling most of the time. The only drawback is that it can get hung up on the slightest rise such as a throw rug or even molding strips. I tried a couple of different casters/drag wheels and found this one to be the best of the lot.