My first robot

[kGrim]

Ok guys, I know next to nothing about robots (I have, however, read many tutorials of Admin's and reread some, such as the $50 robot, multiple times)

Essentially, I'm interested in making robotics a hobby of mine, and even pursuing it into college (WPI has a Robotics Engineering Major, which with some luck I might be able to take)

What I would like to know is this:  What should I do to learn about how they work and the details for designing my own?  The tutorials seems to be a little heavy on the directions, and a little light on how to determine it on your own.  If possible I am considering that instead of turning in my SAT scores (my math is unfortunately low due to my school's less-than-amazing math teachers)  I would send in a Journal/diary of my experience making this robot, troubleshooting it etc.  Right now about the best I could do would be to follow a tutorial like Admin's, however I just don't think that using a tutorial would be acceptable because I wouldn't really understand what I was doing, I would just be doing what Admin said to do.

So step 1 would be to learn as much as possible for myself, and then work on something I had designed.  I honestly don't know how far into it I should go either, for example, the only programming experience I have is HTML and not a lot.  I don't know how necessary it would be for me to learn to program my robot completely by myself (or how hard it would be), as opposed to using code composed by one of you guys or the manufacturer.  I guess I wouldn't have to at all as long as I put enough effort and work into the rest of it.

If anyone can offer some advice on this I would be very appreciative.  Also, I have until approx. November to work on it, and I'll pay pretty much whatever as long as I feel it will really help me.

[wil.hamilton]

well, first i would determine what you want the robot to do

once you have a goal set, you need to determine what you need to accomplish the goal

ie. should the robot walk or have wheels,
what kind of sensors should you have, tetc.

once you have a goal we can help you figure out what you need to accomplish it

[RoboticsProfessor]

It is difficult to give beginner guidance because there are so many options, and so many questions need to be answered.

I have my students build a line following robot because:
1. There is plenty of documentation on the web
2. They can be programmed in many languages (mostly in C or PBASIC or assembler)
3. They will work with just about any platform (BOE-Bot, 3pi and others)
4. The project is one of the easiest beginner projects that really show results.

The line follower can also be easily modified to be a line maze robot, but the programming is more complex, so I usually give this to students who have already done line following.

If this seems interesting to you take a look at www.richardvannoy.com and Google "line maze robot" and "line following robot" and start reading.

Another whole world of robots are created just to get around in some space (an office, a maze, a home) and they have a mission to get somewhere while avoiding obstacles.

Then there is the choice of locomotion... 2 wheels, 4 wheels, tank treads, biped walkers, hex walkers, water craft, airplanes, and on and on.

So - -
Do some reading... 
Find a topic or a type of robot that interests you...
Research or select the programming language you want to use or learn...
Do some reading...

For example: If you'd like a fast line follower programmed in C, go to Pololu.com and research the 3pi robot.
If you want a general purpose robot with great flexibility, and the ability to easily be reconfigured to do different tasks, and program in PBASIC (a Parallax variant of BASIC), then go to www.parallax.com and look up the BOE (Board of Education) and the BOE-Bot.

Unfortunately, you can't build everything just yet, so try to narrow down your selection to something that excites you.

Keep posting on any forums that have topics or robots that interest you.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[Truckstop]

lol @ less-than-amazing math teachers.. i agree with parallax . there basic stamps are easy to work with for beginner, its what i started with and what i still use. also check out there website www.parallax.com as you can download almost all of the books they sell for there kits and more for FREE!!!  if nothing else its a good place to start, and if funding is scarcely available don't be afraid to e-mail there customer service department asking for hand outs and discounts. ( i get free stuff from them all the time) however i also spend way to much money there...  anyway if nothiong else check out the free books you can download and there file size aint too big ither, most of them i can upload to my pda and read on the go

[kGrim]

Honestly, I wasn't sure if with a first robot I should be looking to make it DO anything, that it might be smarter to concentrate on making it move forward when i want it to before i decided i wanted it to be following a line.

Ok, I had visited Parallax and briefly looked at their BOE-Bot having seen it mentioned somewhere else, I'll look into that in more detail.  Line following is sctually something i wanted to do, but was unsure of the complexity of, and therefore if i would be wasting my time to try and do it with so little experience.

Wil: Since I know so little right now, really what I was wondering is which robot could i make that by the time i'm done i'll have learned the most?

At this point, what I would like to make is:
-A line following robot
-Using wheels, 4 unless there is a reason to do otherwise
-as small as is practical for following a line (i assume the line would be 2-3 inches in width, perhaps duct tape would be the line?)
-the motors wouldn't be any more powerful than necessary
-the MCU is what i understand the least, and i guess I would want that to have any additional features that might be handy

[SmAsH]

ok, a small, beginner friendly robot would be the $50 robot, it can be used to avoids obsticals, follow lines and avoid/follow light.
http://www.societyofrobots.com/step_by_step_robot.shtml
and its only $50

[wil.hamilton]

line following is a good first task, as is obstacle avoidance.  you could easily build a bot that is set up to do both, or with minor modification could do both

[kGrim]

Ok then, thanks to all who replied, I'll look into over the next couple weeks and see how it goes.

[blake]

well, first i would determine what you want the robot to do

once you have a goal set, you need to determine what you need to accomplish the goal

ie. should the robot walk or have wheels,
what kind of sensors should you have, tetc.

once you have a goal we can help you figure out what you need to accomplish it

hi , i am Blake and im a beginner here and if you all could give some tips on topic which is "what is the most easiest and cheapest robot to make " thanks , Blake

[MangoBot]

easiest and cheapest would have to be admins $50 robot, or cheaper but harder dane(?) of david cooks line following robot,sandwich. Sandwich doesn't involve programming, but isnt as detailed.

[Admin]

Right now about the best I could do would be to follow a tutorial like Admin's, however I just don't think that using a tutorial would be acceptable because I wouldn't really understand what I was doing, I would just be doing what Admin said to do.

Read through my $50 bot tutorial, it'll explain exactly what you are doing. You *will* learn quite a lot - its not a kit that only requires a screwdriver. It forces you to go through almost every step a professional engineer would need to do. Anyone who has made the $50 Robot now knows how to make a $50 robot from scratch.

[Kargin]

This seems as good of a post to introduce myself as any (aside from starting a new thread) so:
 
Greetings everyone, just getting into the hobby. At this point I'm essentially a "know-nothing" (though not the same as the political party, please google the term if you have never known of it, very interesting random fact) but hope to change that with completion of the almighty $50 robot...

Admin, I would like to know if you have a customer reference number for the digikey.com site or if that even serves the purpose I am seeking. My assumption is that when ordering the parts through them WITH a customer reference number then it will give you a commission type of credit. Not sure if that is possible or if it's more of a form of company specific ordering. If it is the prior then please post/email me your information as without your tutorial I would not be doing this and thus you should get something out of it (perhaps for future promotions/contests) If, however, it is the latter then I am sorry for this long and pointless paragraph.

It seems at this point that I have a lot of homework to do for the future with learning the various skills and languages involved. Don't let that statement fool anyone into believing I will stop at building the $50 bot before I learn anything aside from what the tutorial states! I feel this will be a very rewarding hobby in the realm of personal enrichment as well as victories over the course of time with new developments in robotics and just good old camaraderie with fellow robot builders.

Well, aside from the above I'm afraid I don't have any expertise to add to the group in this particular field of knowledge. I will be watching and reading though!

[Admin]

Admin, I would like to know if you have a customer reference number for the digikey.com site or if that even serves the purpose I am seeking. My assumption is that when ordering the parts through them WITH a customer reference number then it will give you a commission type of credit. Not sure if that is possible or if it's more of a form of company specific ordering. If it is the prior then please post/email me your information as without your tutorial I would not be doing this and thus you should get something out of it (perhaps for future promotions/contests) If, however, it is the latter then I am sorry for this long and pointless paragraph.tise to add to the group in this particular field of knowledge. I will be watching and reading though!

Do you mean like a net-30? No, I have no account with them for that.