Society of Robots - Robot Forum
Mechanics and Construction => Mechanics and Construction => Topic started by: erikgustaf on January 16, 2009, 02:51:53 PM
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Hi, Im making my own robot from scratch, But i have no idea how to build it.
Sure i have read some of the tutorial but there is no tutorial on how to create a 3-5ft tall robot?
But i have drawed him on a paper, written the functions, i know what materials should be used to build the robot except the main materials like servos,sensors etc.
Can someone link me to a site there i can buy parts from?
Or if not that, can you tell me what parts i should get and i should try googling them and then buy.
First i need to research, i wont waste my money on things that wont work, it must fit my robot,
Should i explain how it should be build, and what functions it will have?
P.S. The Robot will be programmed in C++, if you wont recommend that as a beginner, I could try something else but im a beginner at programming too...
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what country do you live in? because that then depends on the shops. also, what do you want your robot to do?
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I live in Germany, I just want my robot to walk around the house, thats the basic part, when i succeed with that, i will move upwards and then comes the programming of the camera, i want the camera to look around when it moves, not just look straight forward...
Is there anyway to do this?
It should also detect any sounds, any movements, light/dark etc.
Oh i almost forgot, The servo and the "engine" must be very powerful as i will add functions afterwards...
I also need many inputs because of the sensors and extra misc
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this is like the honda ASIMO. walking robots can be extremely hard to make so that they actually walk. do a robot on wheels or treads instead. for camera vision use a CMUcam, basic webcam etc etc. you need a microphone for sound detection, photoresistors for light detection and for the servos, for a 3-5 foot robot, i would scrap the servos and use wheelchair motors. don't ask me how to program it because i have no idea :D try googling for parts.
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Sure, I see but how should i know what parts i could get? I dont even know if they could match a 3-5ft robot...
I have a robot dog at home that walks and has sound detection, 15$ thats it, maybe i can take some parts from that one so my can walk? If i fail making it walk, go into electrokit.se and search for "41002498" i will use that as movement, cant remember what it was called...
And i have a crappy computer here also, can i use that motherboard in someway to put in the robot?
On my computer screen i want the robot to be mobile so i can controll it from the PC, i want to see from its vision, the cam should be Connected with the sensors and the "brain CPU" and the main CPU so they can send and get signals from eachother, then they will work together so on the screen it will be like a CMD that lists up everything, scanning the scene for any moves (from sensor) sound(from sensor) and then the 3d coordinate system (i can make self) it will see if it finds any objects in the way it will register the whole scene, shouldnt be that complicated even if it does sound like it?
Ive seen a similiar robot before made up by crap stuff.
It had the cam, searching and registering the entire area, listening for sounds, it seems pretty simple, the problem is to connect everything together.
Thats why i need the perfect parts.
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Oh one more thing, is it any way to do so the robot can take controll by itself so i dont need to do anything?
Ive also seen an example of that, the robot is just walking around the house and looking for some object that it was programmed to search after.
So if i program the robot to search for an item by coordinate or something, is it really hard to make or is it just a code that noobs cannot write?
Seen no guides on the code, tho this was a project for college or something.
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a motherboard generally wouldn't work fout the inputs unless it has header pins, so what you end up with is a computer in a robot that doesn't do anything. i would recommend buying the Roboduino MCU board and using that, but if you definately want it to walk smoothly, buy an axon MCU. look up webcams, photoresistors and anything else you need on google and buy them or scavenge them from old electronics. can you solder?
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that was probably a university project. you could program your robot to look for an object at a certain allotted coordinates. you couldn't get it to walk round the house on its on and do what it wants without programming it to do something because that would be autonomy which is still being researched and no robot has been built with full autonomy.
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can you solder?
I dont know, But Do you recommend me any good sensors or servos?
And i dont want the robot to be 2 noisy and scratchy, yes i want it silent and smoothly:P
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So if i program the robot to search for an item by coordinate or something, is it really hard to make or is it just a code that noobs cannot write?
Seen no guides on the code, tho this was a project for college or something.
That's quite ambitious! Ambition is good, but in my opinion the best way to success is take many little steps. I you want to go to the moon,
start by making a small rocket, then a controlled rockect, then a bigger rocket that goes on orbit, then manned flight,...
The kind of bot you describe is very complex to build and program. So start by a small robot, like the on in the 50$ robot tutorial.
You will learn mechanics, electronic and programming. Improve your bot (add a new sensor, a more powerful MCU, ...) as your progamming skills improves.
I know, a robot made of cardboard is less impressive than a biped robot with vision... But believe, it's still a great pride to see you first little robot move and react
as you planned ;)
Good luck!
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for servos, i would recommend the Hitec HS-311 as it is cheap, strong and moderately sized. as for sensors, to detect how far objects are away, use a sharp IR range finder. to detect light, use CdS photoresistors (AKA ligh dependent resistors). to sense sound, have a sound-activated circuit with a microphone and LED to indicate sound (optional recording of sound). webcams are perfect for camera vision if programmed correctly, but i wouldn't use C++ because it can get complicated (have you got libraries of code for the C++?)
[quote[chelmi]]
I know, a robot made of cardboard is less impressive than a biped robot with vision... But believe, it's still a great pride to see you first little robot move and react
as you planned
[/quote]
i agree with chelmi.
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you couldn't get it to walk round the house on its on and do what it wants without programming it to do something because that would be autonomy which is still being researched and no robot has been built with full autonomy.
Well, it depends on how you define "do what it wants". You can certainly program your robot with a limited set of action, triggered by external events (noise, light, whatever). Autonomous robots are common. What is still being researched is "creativity" and "improvisation". You can fake it with complex programming but it's limited.
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yes, limited as in not full autonomy but looks like it. semi-autonomy, i suppose
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So if i program the robot to search for an item by coordinate or something, is it really hard to make or is it just a code that noobs cannot write?
Seen no guides on the code, tho this was a project for college or something.
That's quite ambitious! Ambition is good, but in my opinion the best way to success is take many little steps. I you want to go to the moon,
start by making a small rocket, then a controlled rockect, then a bigger rocket that goes on orbit, then manned flight,...
The kind of bot you describe is very complex to build and program. So start by a small robot, like the on in the 50$ robot tutorial.
You will learn mechanics, electronic and programming. Improve your bot (add a new sensor, a more powerful MCU, ...) as your progamming skills improves.
I know, a robot made of cardboard is less impressive than a biped robot with vision... But believe, it's still a great pride to see you first little robot move and react
as you planned ;)
Good luck!
Lol i know, i told ya that in my 1 -3rd post.
First im going to succeed with the 50$ then build my own model of a humanoid
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So if i program the robot to search for an item by coordinate or something, is it really hard to make or is it just a code that noobs cannot write?
Seen no guides on the code, tho this was a project for college or something.
That's quite ambitious! Ambition is good, but in my opinion the best way to success is take many little steps. I you want to go to the moon,
start by making a small rocket, then a controlled rockect, then a bigger rocket that goes on orbit, then manned flight,...
The kind of bot you describe is very complex to build and program. So start by a small robot, like the on in the 50$ robot tutorial.
You will learn mechanics, electronic and programming. Improve your bot (add a new sensor, a more powerful MCU, ...) as your progamming skills improves.
I know, a robot made of cardboard is less impressive than a biped robot with vision... But believe, it's still a great pride to see you first little robot move and react
as you planned ;)
Good luck!
Lol i know, i told ya that in my 1 -3rd post.
First im going to succeed with the 50$ then build my own model of a humanoid
thank goodness for that. was hoping you'd say you'd do the $50 robot first. lol good luck with everyone ;)
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you couldn't get it to walk round the house on its on and do what it wants without programming it to do something because that would be autonomy which is still being researched and no robot has been built with full autonomy.
Then take a look at this, looks interesting http://www.reading.ac.uk/about/newsandevents/releases/PR16530.asp
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Yea, thank you guys will be interesting to see the results:)
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ar yes, the rat brain robot. the thing is, all they have done is figured out a way to wire neurons into a circuit. i mean, don't get me wrong, that is a heck of an achievement but all it does is like run into a wall. come on, if that is autonomy, then its pretty thick, admit it. when they get full-sized (humanoid) robots that can live in the big bad world like humans, then i'll admit to autonomy.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the definition of Automata that they operate with no external input? I.E. no human control
O.K. so almost every robot is pretty 'stupid' compared to sentient beings. But don't they still fall under the category of automata?
Once they're built (and programmed as/if necessary).
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want2learn, you are correct about automata. but, robots have to have a certain input by the human, if only in programming, but i suppose they would fall somehow into automata, probably with an IQ of 1 lol. even butler robots have to do what their "master" tells them,
eg,
master: "pur me a drink"
butlerbot: "certainly sir"
it is kind of awkward, is automata.
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What's your budget for this endevor?
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Hi, erikgustav!
I too am building a 3ft-to-5ft, robot called Nina. Nina doesn't walk, but rolls around. Nina is actually the first robot I've build without using a kit or anything like that. I went through all sorts of possible design concepts (four legs, treads, wheels...) One thing is for certain: Nina has been the most expensive endeavor I've taken, so if you're going to build a really expensive robot, make sure you know what you're doing. It can be done, if you have the budget, but make sure you know what you're doing.
As for two-legged robotic creatures, I'm planning to built a two legged robot as well, except mine's after the Ornitholestes dinosaur, not a humanoid. One, because a dinosaur is more unique than a humanoid, and second because it should be a little easier, since it's lower to the floor and can steer with its tail. I still have a lot to learn, though. I'm putting off into the distant future.
Also, you might try this site for robotic components:
http://www.robotshop.ca/ (http://www.robotshop.ca/)
They say they ship worldwide, so you might have some luck getting good parts there. The link above is for robotshop Canada...
Hope this helps!
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Hi, erikgustav!
I too am building a 3ft-to-5ft, robot called Nina. Nina doesn't walk, but rolls around. Nina is actually the first robot I've build without using a kit or anything like that. I went through all sorts of possible design concepts (four legs, treads, wheels...) One thing is for certain: Nina has been the most expensive endeavor I've taken, so if you're going to build a really expensive robot, make sure you know what you're doing. It can be done, if you have the budget, but make sure you know what you're doing.
As for two-legged robotic creatures, I'm planning to built a two legged robot as well, except mine's after the Ornitholestes dinosaur, not a humanoid. One, because a dinosaur is more unique than a humanoid, and second because it should be a little easier, since it's lower to the floor and can steer with its tail. I still have a lot to learn, though. I'm putting off into the distant future.
Also, you might try this site for robotic components:
http://www.robotshop.ca/ (http://www.robotshop.ca/)
They say they ship worldwide, so you might have some luck getting good parts there. The link above is for robotshop Canada...
Hope this helps!
Thanks SeagullOne!
the site rocks and im buying parts for like 500$, So i have the parts, but the thing is, i dont know what
Here's my list:
Axon Microcontroller: USD $136.50
Devantech Ultrasonic Range Finder SRF08 (Sensor) USD $61.74
4x Sharp GP2Y0A02YK IR Range Sensor USD $16.00 each
Hitec Light Sensor USD $8.99
Robotics Connection Ambient Temperature Sensor Board USD $10.69
Hitec Touch Sensor USD $11.49
Hitec HS-311 (servo) USD $10
Images Scientific SRI-02 Speech Recognition Interface Assembled USD $179.95 (Sound)
On Shine 433MHz High Sensitivity Transmitter/Receiver Pair (Network) USD $6.99
What i need:
Car battery
AVR Software, AVR ISP In-system programmer Mk2
A Tri-colour 5mm LED (Light)
And a laptop as the brain with 1.2-3GHz
Maybe i need a more powerfull servo?
From here i need help with all parts: http://www.robotshop.ca/mechanics.html
I guess ill need all that stuff except the wheels.
So at the mechanical part i dont know anything what im doing....
If you could check the list for me and see what mechanics i need for the parts im buying.
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thats a good list. :D
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Log into msn:D:D
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... but i wouldn't use C++ because it can get complicated (have you got libraries of code for the C++?)...
Of course C++ makes it simpler not more complicated. I use C++ for most of my projects. Check out my C++ members tutorial library.
We've already had the C, C++, Assembler, Basic war - so lets not go there again - search the forum.
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Erikgustaf,
You live in Germany, right? Your country has lots of robotics stores, unfortunatelly I don't speak german to be able to recommend any to you. Try to search on Google.de, it might yeld the best results. Robotshop Canada is a bit expensive store and also shipping is more expensive compared to any other US store. www.acroname.com (http://www.acroname.com) also ships internationally and they have better prices in USD. Also, if you need a european store, I also recommend www.robot-italy.com (http://www.robot-italy.com), but with less products.
Good luck with your robot!
Here are some links from Google.de:
http://www.robotstore.de/seiten/shop/index.php?tpl=double (http://www.robotstore.de/seiten/shop/index.php?tpl=double)
http://www.cube-robotics.com/index2.php (http://www.cube-robotics.com/index2.php)
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Hello,
Try this website: http://www.robotmarketplace.com/store.html
Best I've seen yet.
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If you have an old crappy laptop you could just put roborealm on it and some custom programs, get an interface board, and use a much cheaper webcam over a robot cam, use a much cheaper computer microphone, and have a crapload more memory and processing power. Check out this http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/140
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and i dont know if id use a car battery because of weight
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[quote[chelmi]]
I know, a robot made of cardboard is less impressive than a biped robot with vision... But believe, it's still a great pride to see you first little robot move and react
as you planned
i agree with chelmi.[/quote]
Agreed =D
Joe
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baby steps...
imagine spending 500 dollars on a humaniod and when you hook it up.....nada.
edit: whoops, post 3 mths old.
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Hi erikgustaf, I just went through some of the replies in here, and I would like to point a few ideas:
- using a motherboard
it is a very good idea, since it offers a lot of processing power, and no you don't need any special pins in it. To use a motherboard you simply need to have enough power for it, then the interface with the sensors and motors can be easily done using a microcontroller (like the atmega8) - this one communicates with the motherboard via the serial port, and it is not so difficult to build. then the microcontroller simply gathers sensor data and sends it to the motherboard, the motherboard does the processing and then send commands to the microcotnroller that triggers the motors accordingly.
-power consumption
since you need to have this robot walking around your house, keep it mind that probably you'll want it to do this for more then a few minutes - so the mechanical design is very important since it might help you save or loose battery power. and because of the power consumption- you might have problems using e the mother board: I have a mini-itx motherboard with a celeron running at 1.3GHz, and it stays in the closet because I can't provide batteries big enough for it. So I'm considering using an ARM microcontroller that has the computing capabilities for handling video processing tasks.
-microcontrollers
you can use instead a cheap atmel/microchip microcontroller like the atmega8 - for simple movement/sensor data will work nicely and the batteries will last long since it uses extra little power
(see this microcontroller board I've built: http://www.pocketmagic.net/?p=520 (http://www.pocketmagic.net/?p=520) )
-design
the design is important, since it can save a lot of power but also will be able or not to move where you want. I suggest big wheels, and geared motors.
Also you might want to make that a differential system since it will be able to turn around 360degrees.
Have a look on a design I've built from scratch recently:
http://www.pocketmagic.net/?p=520 (http://www.pocketmagic.net/?p=520)
Move to the bottom to see my recent work. Also there you'll see some other ideas like using a remote computer to control the robot - this saves you with the powering the motherboard problem.
Good luck with your robot!