Robot Cube?

While this may not be as awesome (or mobile) as the other robots but its something i've been wanting to do for a while ever since i saw one on youtube. Right now it consists of two 2x2 LED squares and a 2x1 line, in the end it will be 3x3 however i somehow lost LEDs : /. This is very basic however seems like a source of near endless fun, it also helps to reinforce simple programming knowledge. I also didnt have time for a video or a real demo but if people want one i guess i could make it before its complete.Questions or comments, ill take both.

obviously suposed to be an "L"

"M" fail..

"r" somewhat fail (just realized this but this is not the first image upside down : / hopefully this will look better when its 3x3

Wirings still a mess but ill worry about that after its morecube like

 

 

Entertains people/self

  • Actuators / output devices: LEDs?
  • Control method: Controlled
  • CPU: 28x1
  • Operating system: XP
  • Power source: 3 AA bats
  • Programming language: BS2
  • Sensors / input devices: none atm
  • Target environment: somewhere decorative

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

F-PWM

Pulse Width Modulation (this one is for free) will control the brightness of a LED.

In order to control more LEDs than you have outputs on your Picaxe Micro, you will need clever use of POV. That one is for you to Google.

BIG WINKIE HERE

alright thanks guys, i didnt
alright thanks guys, i didnt know the correct term that i should have been searching for. Progress update after i finish the second and third manual

Search LMR also

Zanthess did a Tip / Walkthrough

https://www.robotshop.com/letsmakerobots/node/3561

yea charlieplexing is your
yea charlieplexing is your best bet cause leaves you with ton of digital pin left to use for what ever. LED = N x (N-1) So 5 digital pin would be 5 x (5-1) = 20 LED. Its really is a cool idea to use for stuff like this.

i read through the
i read through the charlieplexing info on wiki, however my programming abilities are very basic (no pun intended). Three level logic sounds a bit intimidating

74HC595
You could try using SIPO shift/latch chips. As these cascade you can drive as many LEDS as you want with only three output pins. It took me a while to find a supplier, but eventually I got 25 74HC595s from eBay for £7.50.

alright thanks mike ill look
alright thanks mike ill look into it. I was also checking out some RGB LEDs they have at the radioshacks near my house. Might be worth it to make a smaller cube but with RGB LEDs instead.

RGB LEDs have 4 pins so you
RGB LEDs have 4 pins so you need more output pins if you want multiple colors to work.

How about a pre-made matrix

How about a pre-made matrix http://futurlec.com/LEDMatrix.shtml very cheap!!!

Oh and they also have the 74595 registers Mike was talking about, pretty cheap at just .50 cents, http://futurlec.com/IC74HC00Series.shtml

nice!

cool, but this project brings back bad memories. I once tried to make electronic dice (okay, different than what you are doing) and I fried my $100 BASIC Stamp. I only owned it for two days… it was horrible… (choking back tears dramatically) I COULD SEE THE SPARKS!!! waa waa

…but now I have a PicAxe. YAY!

Futurelec’s not so useful
Futurelec’s not so useful for those of us in the “old country”.