This is my second test platform robot. All parts on it are modular and it is meant to be very flexible and expandable. Each feature on the robot is going to have its own board, similar to how a computer has a board for the video, the sound, and network (a video card, a sound card, and network card.) As you can see in this first picture, there is a board for the processor, and another board for the H-Bridge. Right now, I am using a breadboard for the IR receiver, but I will eventually give it its own pcb board. Once that is finished, each board will stack on the others and I will be able to swap components and features.
Here are some pictures of some more modules that I will add to the robot. The module to the left contains circuitry that can drive five infrared LED's. It will be able to send out an infrared signal that my other robots can detect and identify as the signal coming from this robot. The right module will be able to receive infrared signals from multiple robots and be able to tell the difference between the different robots. These boards will also be able to stack onto the rest of the robot.
As of right now, the servo motors and sonar sensors are not attached yet. But, I did get a universal remote control to control the robot. As you can see in the video, I did not put PWM into the code, so the robot goes very fast. Eventually, I will make it so that the speed can be varied by using the remote.
In case you are wondering, the 40X1 microcontroller on the breadboard receives the IR signal. The 40X1 microcontroller under the breadboard (on its own board) uses I2C in order determine what signal the other microcontroller is getting from the remote control. I will post a new video once the servo motors and sonar sensors work.
- Actuators / output devices: Tamiya dual gearbox
- Control method: Semi-Controlled
- CPU: 2x Picaxe 40X1
- Sensors / input devices: MaxBotix Sonar, TSOP2138 Infrared Receiver
- Target environment: anywhere
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/tp2-test-platform-2
