I only scanned the posts. I don’t know if anyone has suggested JALv2 as a possible programming language. I also don’t know if anyone has suggested the inexpensive r/c cars one can pickup at thrift shops and dollar stores, but, they often, it seems, have a common tx/rx pair that also includes a turbo function which would allow for a third channel without the need of a more expensive hobby 3 channel tx/rx and hobby rc car(s). If what I have read is correct, with a total of 5 pins you should have steering and throttle control, though it won’t be proportional as your hobby r/c car is. $10 vs $100 is still a noticeable difference when teaching.
I first tried 1/12 scale toy level (about $25 retail). Not enough room under the skin to keep the original radio receiver (the better to stop the car when needed) and my solderless protoboard based add on kit. Next I went to the hobby car with three channels. That was too expensive. I went to a 1/10 scale hobby car that comes with two radio channels. (The blue car in the video) This is still $200 - too much unless the company (HPI Racing) would give me and the schools a break. I got nowhere with that idea. Lastly the $50 1/10 scale Toy car that you see in the video in red. It has only bang-bang controls, but maybe…
I thought the bots structually too delicate and not exciting enough for middle school kids. In addition I think making the $2.45 PIC visible along with all the wires to and from gives some modern perspective on “how things work”.
I used LOGO way back in the 1970’s when I worked for General Turtle in Cambridge, Mass.
I have a new plan to control the much faster 1/10 scale toy car which is fast, but does not contain proportional controls. The trick is to turn the wheels only for a short period of time (150 msec at the moment) then ‘kick’ (supplement the springs) them back to neutral.
If the neutral is well calibrated (the 1/10 cars have a knob that centers the wheels) this method makes the car turn with little swerve. I need this while wall following. Otherwise the car crashes into the wall before the code/DPDT relay/steering wheels can react.
My toy car has neither toe in nor caster. But it should be able to react. It does not. If you are in a helping mood here is both a (disappointing) video, and a pointer to my code.
Could the PIC be resetting? Am in a looping loop? The whole thing is only 503 words compiled. My guess is that I am not seeing something is that right in front of my eyes… I brought the car home and put it up on blocks unaltered. It worked as I thought I designed using my hands simulating walls. Hmmm…
I have uploaded a toy car vs model car race video. Check out the beginning of this thread. The progression of this project is depicted in a series of videos.
At the very end as ask you all for advice. Please…
What are you doing Fridays around 20:00 GMT? I think we could have a very interesting discussion of your project in the LMR Live Show. We could draw some people with fresh ideas into this node (page). Or we could start a fresh node with some clear cut, direct and specific questions.
What is the LMR live show? If I can do the math correctly 20:00 GMT is 3:00PM Eastern Standard Time. I think we are five hours behind… Please correct me if I am not correct. Yes, Friday afternoon - the day before Christmas - is free for me, but not for many others. Let’s put this off, whatever ‘this’ is until 2011.
Some of us enjoy talking about robot making and about LMR, ive on a “TV” channel called ustream. You can watch older episode here.
You’re right: Christmas Eve might not be the ideal night to broadcast. Well, night for me (in The Netherlands), afternoon for you. Your timezone conversion seems correct to me. I’ll keep you informed of the most up-to-date schedule. I just saw the Friday after next is New Years Eve.
I suspect a major part of getting my robocar into public education is insecurity of the teachers. We are talking about ‘how things work’ in 2011. My 2004 General Motors automobile contains upwards of 20 PICs. Each tire air valve has a pressure sensor and enough of a computer to maintain a presense on the car internal wireless network. How did I discover this? I could not make sense of the little tire pressure warning messages. A previous owned had rotated the tires. How many public school teachers can explain that in a hands-on way?
Every tried to explain to a thirteen year old how a microwave oven works?
My robocars are very hands-on and available. All the components are visible including the hook up wire. The little cars react dramatically to programming changes. How do I communicate that to adults schooled in Education, not Engineering or Computer Science.
The LEXUS can parallel park itself. My robocars can race around the room. Same thing…
I’ve put up on youtube a new video which attempts to show the relationships between my autonomous radio control vehicles and the REAL WORLD - in particular the ability of the new LEXUS automobile to parallel park itself. What do you think?
Using the Lexus example as an introduction is a good idea. To the teachers it introduces the topic of the lesson. To the kids it connects your “toy robot” to “real robots”. After that, your video jumps straight into explaining your car modification to fellow engineers. None of you audiences will appreciate that for 4 minutes. I did, but they won’t.
So hooking a teacher to this idea for STEM eduction huh? I think Youtube might be a good way to go. Make a video like the many you produced before, but make it appealing rather than educational. As you are describing the public school system in your home town, I think you should include arguments like “affordable” and “engaging” or “hands on”. None of your videos have kids in them. Remember, the teacher’s mind is not geared towards 1:10 scale vehicles. It is geared towards kids who cannot get their eyes off of their study. In your case: a car that runs itself.
School administrators will ask you about money straight up. Having no exact answer is not the problem. Failing to volunteer an estimate might cause many of them to lose interest in the first two minutes of you talking to them. Either in person or through Youtube.
Just to make your video close the narrative loop, compare your $100 to whatever it costs to upgrade a Lexus to auto park ability.
Seems to me that using radio control vehicles as the base from which to build robots is a good idea - at least from an education point of view. Much of the design is done. They are exciting. They are robust. They misbehave.
Today I was thinking of adding a PIC to a electric motor R/C airplane. At our local RC store I discovered that it has already been done. The box claimed the plane had upward looking and downward looking sensors. With these the PIC could stablize the plane.
Your ideas would be greatly appreciated. What can I do with a PIC on a 36 inch long GOODYEAR blimp?
Thank you rik. You have opened up a whole world that I did not know existed. Everybody seem Arduino oriented. I stumbled upon the Microchip PIC family on solderless protoboard. Bad decision??
Very interesting and educationnal but hard to control I think. I have 3 RC chassis with the back dc motors and dc steering motors but I don’t know what to do with them yet. Watching your videos, it seems like when the car is too fast,the sonar’s response is too slow. The steering is a 3 states only (left,right or center) not analog. Is there a way to control the speed and steering variations? Would an Arduino board be able to do this? Thanks for posting your great videos and comments and keep up the good work.
