Laptop Controling

[robokid]

How can I control my robot with my laptop with out destrying it???

[dsheller]

Was the qualifier "without destroying it" really necessary?

Anyway, you could run a serial cable to the bot from the laptop (easiest) but has the problem of using a fairly heavy wire attached to the bot.

There is also the blueSmirf module which allows for bluetooth connections from the robot to the laptop, if your laptop doens't have a built in blue tooth module (mine does so I almost always forget about this part) you will have to buy a bluetooth dongle that hangs off your USB bus.

Another radio method is using the Zigbee stack which is a wireless transmission protocol in the 2.4 GHz public band (i think that's correct, don't quote me). For this you would need two modules, one to somehow interface with the PC (havne't done this myself, but it is possible and I've seen premade cards for it), and a second to be on the robot. Zigbee is a low power low tranmission rate protocol, so you won't be getting outrageous ranges -- probably 100 meters outdoors with the 1 mW version.

I'm sure there are other methods, but those are the two that come to mind right now.

PS I mentioned the bluesmirf module... but that isn't the only bluetooth module available, I've seen it in use though and it's pretty good. IIRC Admin used it in his TX/RX IR LED tutorial, take a peak at that... not sure if he explains the bluetooth or not.

[IceMetal]

use the basic stamp from parallax, it connects to the usb port or you can use this usb controler but you need to know some more programming for that http://www.delcom-eng.com/products.asp

[pomprocker]

why would your laptop destroy your robot ? 

[Ro-Bot-X]

Or the robot would destroy the laptop?

You can also have the laptop on the robot, if the robot is large enough. You can see an example by reaqding the winning tutorial of the latest contest... Build a Butler robot...

[ceruleanplains]

I have my remotely operated vehicle GUI that I've been working on for my remotely operated submarine:

 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eAd2BdIgi0[/youtube]

This shows the GUI connection and compass operatation and relay card operation via serial cable.  I've also controlled the Boe-bot via Bluetooth and I made an Arduino-Clone bot of the Boe that operates over the serial cable.  The latter was used as a test platform for the submarine.

Feel free to ask specific questions - but I'd first recommend that you set up what's called a work-breakdown-structure (WBS).  It's a list of tasks you have to do in order to complete your project.  You can start at a high level and do research and add more to it - but it's a good tool for working through a project to completion.

[Admin]

Hmmmm put padding around your laptop? (I'm being serious )

[ceruleanplains]

True enough.  For my application I'm concerned about the laptop being drug(dragged?) into the water if the sub gets away from me in the current and somehow I lose control before running out of cable.  We have some precautionary measures in place such as anchoring the cable end (to a rigid surface on the surface not the seafloor) before going into the laptop.

Any sort of cabling though as Admin suggests can be pulled by the robot if big enough and then the laptop will get pulled with it come what may.  So it's just one of those things - if you have a pile of $ on the line think what should happen.  Think what could go wrong.  Then think about how to avoid the things going wrong or mitigating their bad qualities.  It's called risk management. : )

[Webbot]

You could always create some kind of cable connector that uses magnets rather than screws to glue the two sides together - so that when the force gets 'too big' - the magents pop apart and breaks the cable.