Mechanics and Construction > Mechanics and Construction
[R]obot [Neo]phyte Needs he[p]
Polaris:
Hi everyone,
i need help in robotics construction. i will like to build a underwater robot, i had done some reading but i am not sure how to get the entire project going... ???
At this point, i had managed to put together a micro-controller kit minus the actually writing of code and burning into the micro-controller. I am not sure where should i start -> from the mechanical structure construction or from the electronics. Reason being the structure must be able to contain the micro-controller on the card plus the electronic stuff (e.g. power supply, motors etc) whereas from the other hand, should i concentrate on putting together the electronic components first, the entire electronic functionality? Pls kindly advise me!!
I also have been thinking, should i start off from building a robot that can run on land before it goes into water to build up my knowledge? ??? ???
JonHylands:
--- Quote from: Polaris on November 29, 2006, 06:56:00 AM --- I also have been thinking, should i start off from building a robot that can run on land before it goes into water to build up my knowledge? ??? ???
--- End quote ---
I would strongly advise that you do this. Underwater robotics is about as hard as it gets, and its not a good place to be debugging electronics or figuring out communications and such.
Build something that cruises around your floor, and then once you've got that stuff working properly, think about underwater again.
- Jon
Polaris:
Thanks Jon for your great advice... :) :) guess i have not thought of that
it can be quite tempting to build exotic robots without knowing the fundamentals...think i should reread the guidance..need to hold my horses :) :)
dunk:
yup.
i would completely agree with Jon.
most robot builders fail on their first project because they make things too complicated too soon.
my first robot was doomed to failure because i made things too complicated.
i decided i wanted the bot to be able to map the room and plot a path so i had loads of sensors and a lot of mathematical routines running on the processor.
the main problem though was i just picked motors that were too big.
the battery life sucked, it went too fast to be controlable and the interference caused by such big motors made my controller behave eratically.
my 2nd robot was far more successful after applying the leasons i learned the first time.
it was driven by 2 smallish servos and had only limited sensors but could still find the beacon on it's battery charger within a few minutes from anywhere in my (small) house.
you'll hear loads of similar stories from amateur robot builders.
start simple, learn and progress.
now with more experience, i'm back trying to make a fast robot that can map the room but i could never have done as well if i had not built more simple bots in the past.
i'm doing much better this time round so don't give up on that underwater bot entirely....
check these for future inspiration:
http://web.ticino.com/Submarine/
http://web.ticino.com/Submarine/E1_page1.htm
hapy building!
dunk.
JonHylands:
--- Quote from: dunk on November 29, 2006, 12:12:39 PM ---check these for future inspiration:
http://web.ticino.com/Submarine/
http://web.ticino.com/Submarine/E1_page1.htm
--- End quote ---
And of course, if you need even more inspiration, my AUV is fairly well documented:
http://www.huv.com/uSeeker
- Jon
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