I am brand new to robotics. I do have computing and programming experience though. I have spent the last couple days reading around on this forum and I am anxious to get started. I would like to attempt to build a BRAT, but I’m not sure which kit (if any) is right for me.
I would like to buy a wireless webcam and attach it to my BRAT. I would like to have a program run on my laptop that is capable of querying sensor data from the BRAT (specifically IR). Using the data from the sensors and wireless webcam, it should send a wireless signal to my BRAT that acts on the servos.
Can I use the BRAT combo kit for PC (sparkfun.com/products/158)? Would these items allow me to receive sensor data from my BRAT and send servo movements to my BRAT? Is there a better setup you would recommend?
Also the serial adapter I listed above is bluetooth, but I’ve read wireless adapters would have better range. Do you have a wireless serial adapter you would recommend? Also do you have a wireless webcam you would recommend?
This website seems like a great resource, so thanks in advance for all your help.
The PC version of the BRAT is tethered via a clunky serial adapter. To be fully autonomous i would recommend an SSC-32 Servo Controller to handle the servos, along with your favorite Microcontroller, i use an Arduino, Lynxmotion recommends a botboarduino or a bot board 2 with an Atom.
A stronger and faster module(also more expensive) would be one of the XBee kits, some of them have quite the range, but i dont think XBee or Bluetooth will handle webcam streaming, i dont actually know if its possible, it might very well be. Bluetooth will handle serial data IE “Move Foot Forward” quite well, but other than that i’m not sure, i havent done much bluetooth streaming.
I think you can and probably should separate this into a few different problems and steps to complete. First is to get a brat up and running. If it were me I would (and did long time ago) start with a PS2 version (lynxmotion.com/c-140-ps2-combo-kit.aspx). Take your choice between using Basic with (BB2 with Basic Atom Pro 28), or Botboarduino (Arduino) See if it gives you the range you like or not. If not, then it is possible to move up to another wireless technology like XBee, but then you will need something to talk to it using XBee… Or potentially add on a WIFI .
You can then add on a Webcam that has it’s own WIFI. One that has been used a lot is the Trendnet TVP-110. Not sure if that is still the one that people are using today or not, but was popular a couple of years ago.
