the 3rd $200 Robot Contest now open!

[Admin]

I am now declaring the 3rd contest:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/free_robot_contest.shtml

The rules are mostly the same.

The dates are choosen based on summer vacation - you have all summer to finish! If you have already written a robot tutorial and didn't win in a previous contest, you can enter it in if you want.

To make this easier for me, can everyone that is participating make a single post here declaring their entry? (dont email me)

Include two things:
1) Small paragraph that describes what your robot will do when its finished.
2) A single picture that represents your robot as a whole (yes, a CAD image is also ok).

IF YOU ARE NOT ENTERING THE CONTEST, DO NOT POST HERE
IF YOU ARE NOT ENTERING THE CONTEST, DO NOT POST HERE
IF YOU ARE NOT ENTERING THE CONTEST, DO NOT POST HERE

ASK ALL QUESTIONS IN ANOTHER POST, PLEASE!
ASK ALL QUESTIONS IN ANOTHER POST, PLEASE!
ASK ALL QUESTIONS IN ANOTHER POST, PLEASE!

Make it good: this is also a sort of 'pre-advertising' to win you more votes later.

As soon as you do this, I will set up a web account for you (if you do not yet already have one).

[maverick monk]

Im finaly gunna get this done  finaly... lol, will get a pic up when Im home

[superchiku]

this is the model of my robot






sumo robot using stampy edge detection, wall avoider ,wall follower etc etc etc

[benji]

The cowboy's IN

Position Feedback system for robot Navigation (by hacking an optical mouse sensor)

[jun9008]

my first post in this forum... but I would like to reserve this post for entering the competition.

(I will update this post soon after my AP exams...)

[TrickyNekro]

I'm in, I'm in, I'm in....

First I will finish my tutorial that already exists pointlessly...

Secondly I'm entering with a new bot...
As soon as I finish my board exams by the end of this month I'm free to do whatever I like...
So be prepared for something extreme...
I'm in between a biped or a dual rotor helicopter autopilot...
Maybe I'll just stay on earth an build a rover with a gripper...
I'll see and do alike...

Lefteris

[Lefteris]

I am in too actually.

I don't know with what yet. Something will be made for sure just for the fun of it ^_^ . I will update the post when I will have more info on it, now I am too busy with other stuff 

So in sort : Post reserved !

[Fredrik Andersson]

I'm in!

Some pics:

[Roberto]

I'm in. My new robot Roberto (yes, same as the username) could have a chance of winning, with a few upgrades of course. To RadioShack!!!

NOTE: I have edited my entry due to funding problems.

I want to finish the wall fob first, that will get me 1st place in the next contest! See you all next year!


A long summary:

I am working on mainly a security robot named Roberto-The All In One Robot™. (And yes it is trade marked for legal things and blah blah blah) It has a webcam with face recognition, a Parallax PIR Motion Detector, and a IR Rangefinder. It is autonomous, but can be controlled wirelessly using my Touchscreen Wall Fob. More about that can be found here: http://societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/167.

The PIR Sensor: When the sensor "sees" motion Roberto turns on. When Roberto turns on, a strip of lights going down Roberto turn on, which I think looks cool. Well, it sounds weird, but trust me, you'll like it.

Webcam: This is used for face recognition, and can be viewed wirelessly via the Touchscreen Wall Fob.

Touchscreen Wall Fob: *Work in progress* This may not be finished until next summer... But anyway, The Wireless Touchscreen Wall Fob is obviously a touchscreen with a white light switch style case around it with 2 buttons under the screen. It can be used to control Roberto, and get a live view of his webcam, and of course, remotely disable him.

IR Rangefinder: Just for obstacle avoidance.
 

[airman00]

I will enter Chives, my butler robot

he obeys voice commands, pour drinks, answers your calls ,talks to you , and has security features!


http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/140

[alovon]

I'm in now that ive got all summer to add extra stuff

--- Post Reserved For Entry ---

[vidam]

vidam is entering the robot contest officially. The robot is called Rigel. My robot is a 4WD Rigel platform from Budget Robotics. It can be used indoors or outdoors. It will have obstacle avoidance, and line following behaviors. It may also have encoders to correct for slippage.

Here are pictures:

[Judan]

I should be in with my robot im ive drawn up a 3D version on sketch up...
this is my first robot and its r/c battle bot style...
i hope to make a tutorial for who ever wonts to make a r/c battle bot to... (Not very pleased with the price of everything though ($350) but for starters it will be $250 as a wedge robot...

Pic's:

[dolinay]

I'd like to enter the contest with my robot Krabos.
Features:
Walking robot with 6 legs.
Intended as a beginner tutorial.
Price under $75.
Powered by only 3 servos.
Simple control board with with Atmel Tiny2313 microcontroller.
Autonomous operation or direct control from PC via serial line.
Control program for PC in C#, with the option to write your own algorithms in a simple way without knowing much about C# programming.

Picture is attached


 Here is the tutorial:

http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/176

[shrenik]

me too i'm in...

this will be my first time,in robot designing...

bt i'm in it....,

i'll b designing the robot for my tech fest...
which will b held on 25-27th september...

the main idea behind my robot...

will it will clear a tough obstacle course..,pick balls drop to a hole ,...and thn agn go through a slope agn pick balls and drop to a hole ,....and agn...a tough course baby...has to move all the up and agn move down through a series of steps....

so tht ,it agn picks balls and drops into holes....

agn go thru 2 more tough tracks....,

will b updating soon,,....i've jst got started...

[popayseaman]

I'd like to enter the competition too with my robotic platform for vision-based navigation.
If you've ever
1) found more fun in developing the intelligence in your robot rather than fiddling with the electronics
2) been frustrated for having to start almost all over again with each new robot you are making
3) needed more processing power than microcontrollers can offer
4) thought this is a cool robot http://www.rec.ri.cmu.edu/projects/lagr/   but found the price tag of $5000 - $10000 a bit over the budget
5) thought the Player/Stage robotic software platform http://playerstage.sourceforge.net/   is the road ahead,
but found it did not support any of the hardware you could afford
6) wanted to make your robot being able to see
well, you may find my tutorial interesting.

It's about building a reusable, flexible hw/sw robotic platform,
which allows the developer to rapidly prototype new applications
and focus on buidling the actual intelligence of the robot.

Here are some of the things it can do

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=L_rrS_1o3pE

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cLS2YiCQU_U

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nJpIAnvuZa4

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kVB0bBlA__Y

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8JJZ-gdnpJs

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6dY9tRy7hiY

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GTAe7WfMrbI

You could also easily add manipulators, which I haven't done yet, but will do soon,
and have your robot programmed to bring you beer from the fridge, for example.

[sotu]

First contest for me, but i'll try, so im in.

Im entering with my robot: iBB - Eye Biped Bot -  The wildest Disco bot through the time of robotic engineering. Lets Boogy!

The idea is a funny/wild looking robot that can in some degree dance. This is the mainly skill of the iBB but it can also walk. If you missed the robots name, its a biped robot . And for any confusement the initials iBB making Eye Biped Bot (Why the I makes a E*) is to make the name stand out, and because the letter I is pronounced "eye".

Heres my turtorial on how to build a biped bot:

http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/186       

[Ro-Bot-X]

Oh well... Here I am again. Finally a complete tutorial.

I'll show you how to turn your $50 robot into a simple balancing robot. Interested?

Check it out here:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/185

And some pics:

[Admin]

Please do not reply to this thread.

Voting has now started, and will run to September 6th.

Everyone gets 3 votes, and you can change your vote at any time.

I request that all contest entrants add the link to their tutorial by modifying their post in this thread.

I will have read all tutorials within the next 1-2 weeks, so if you make changes after that I will probably not notice. But feel free to continue to improve your tutorials before voting ends, as everyone is allowed to change their vote at any time.

As for those who weren't able to finish, you can reenter the next contest sometime this summer. Consider it an early start.

Oh, and I don't recommend signing up extra accounts just to get extra votes for yourself. I check server logs for stuff like this, and you wouldn't want to be banned from future contests anyway, no?

[Admin]

First place is airman00 (again!)
You get either $100 or another Axon.

Second place is Ro-Bot-X (again!)
You get either $100 or an Axon.

Third place is dolinay.
$20 off an Axon, to be redeemed whenever you want. Just send me an email.

Honorable mention:
sotu, who has come a long way since first joining SoR.
Sorry, no prize, but you get Admin props! (hopefully thats worth something )


As with previous contests, winners are chosen not just based on votes, but also my judgment as well.

[Ro-Bot-X]

Well done Airman00 and all other participants (me included...)!

I will chose the Axon, since I want one from the day one Admin has made public his intention to build it. I intend to study it and use it to build my own ERP. I think it will make a good Main Brain in my robot.

A big THANK YOU to all supporters that voted for my tutorial, I will continue to develop it to make a complete balancing butler robot tutorial!

[sotu]

Good contest!

And congratz Airman00

I also want to thank everyone who voted for me, alltough i didn't win, i really appreciate your support

[Admin]

You're robots are famous now:
http://blogs.spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/2008/09/19/robot_tutorial_contest_winners.html