5th SoR robot contest now open

[Admin]

I am now declaring the 5th contest:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/free_robot_contest.shtml

The rules have changed slightly from previous years.

The dates are chosen based on winter vacation - you have the holidays to finish! If you have already written a robot tutorial and didn't win in a previous contest, you can re-enter it in if you want (but it must be improved).

Everyone that is participating make a single post here declaring their entry. (do not email me!)

Include two things:
1) Short paragraph that describes what your robot will do when its finished.
2) Picture(s) that represent 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).

Also, *do not* ask me anything about the Axon II, even though its the 1st place prize. No exceptions.

[dellagd]

hey guys, entering my SUPER easy to build BS2 robot for BS2 beginers with no place to go and are looking for a nice project.
My (w/ friend's help) wall-avoiding robot
The shake test for my robot
can be built for around $30
Great $50 bot alterative for under $50 if you have the board and are stuck with it.

PVC frame also makes it highly expandible off of.

(instead of pic I pit video)

This robot can scan its surronding and not run into walls, pretty self explanitory.
Also with the PBASIC language you could easily adapt this to a photovore robot.

This is a great beginner robot with its very easy to grasp language and nice interfacce.
The Della-WAHR is also much more expandible than having to BUY attachments for the Parallax Boe-Bot

Videos with some steps also help alot when following the tutorial

Before the break comes I also plan on making a motored (not servo) version and also more attachments


Vote for me!
http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/323

[thebeardedone]

My robot will be an entry for the RobotChallenge 2010 in Vienna.

Robot name: Ookami

Class: Mini Sumo Bot

Description: Ookami was inspired by the robot designs seen on the UK series of robot, especially Panic Attack built by Kim Davies. Although it is not a combat bot, I wanted to come up with a design that has a medium profile and a solid frame. It will utilise the sharp IR range finder mounted on a servo, green dot compound tires and will have a frame built using HDPE or ABS plastic. It will then be sprayed in black. I will also make use of a Roboduino and it will be programmed in C.

I have included some CAD images for your viewing pleasure (not to scale and not particularly accurate or pretty):
Isometric Left


Isometric Right


Front



This is my first robot build, but I have been doing electronics for some time.

Thank you.

[Asellith]

OK announcing my entry into the contest....



Concept is to be a 3 wheeled omnidirectional robot. The first iteration of the unit will be a simple object avoidance robots.

The main control unit will be the Axon connected to at least one, possibly two, if time allows, modules base on the OSCAR specifications. At this point the Axon can do everything that the modules will do but the idea is to make building blocks that allow users to easily create complex robots quickly and efficiently without having to learn the intricate details of how a sensor or function they want to perform is done.

The two modules to be included are:
1. Distance sensor module to include the EZ1 sonar sensors and possible sharp IR sensors. Object avoidance and wall following functions will be included
2. Servo control with options for simple navigation using omni wheels. I.E. Main controller says go at angle 45 or rotate 90 degrees on center and the module handles what the wheels do.

I plan to write 3 complete tutorials for this project.

1. Construction of the robot chassis
2. Implementation of Multimaster I2C communication using AVR MCUs
3. Code and Manual for use with any modules created

I want this little guy to be the first complete OSCAR robot and a test platform for future modules.


admin edit: as requested to add the link, http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/362

[offy]

I am going to enter my "SnR Robot" for Search n' Rescue.

Task: Find human in woods, signal for help, and drop off goods for human
Go back to base, and lead people to the human that needs help

Started: October 24th 2009
Est End: December 5th 2009

Chassis Progress:

[TrickyNekro]

Since I only got to finish the robot and document it, I think that I'll make it
and so I'm entering...

I'll be entering with my autoparking vehicle
This was first intend to be a GPS UGV but time was short and I need it to be ready for a
robotics exhibition at my country so I only made it to park based on the measured free space
through the encoders and the existence of free space or not... Not being able to park in tight situations...
I hope I'll be able to fit the sensors and to the programming until the end of the period available...

Here's a picture from the exhibition... (nice days!!!)

[awally88]

I'm looking at making a logo turtle based robot which can be controlled wirelessly.

The logo langugage for those who don't know is a an old simple language which was commonly used to program a turtle-like robot which could be controlled using statements such as forward 10, leftturn 90, back 20 etc.

The original design for this looked awful so I'm going to design a wireless version of this which will hopefully have a nice gui control as well as looking pretty sweet itself. The computer side programming will also have some functions which will aid in drawing shapes and hopefully words if time permits.

I will provide more details/CAD as soon as I finish my end of year exams.

[Hadamard]

I plan to finish building a carpet rover robot that uses ultrasonic range finders and a CMUcam. Its purpose is to avoid obstacles and follow a red object (such as a ball).

Major Parts:
1 Parallax Javelin Processor
2 Parallax Ping Ultrasonic Range Finders
2 HiTEC HS-422 standard servos
2 HiTEC HSR-1422CR Continuous Rotation Servos
1 CMUcam (1st Generation a.k.a. Boebot CMUcam)

Right now I have the entire robot built and working except for the CMUcam. I have just recently started tinkering with it and need to figure out how to mount it on my robot.



Later I will post a video of it in action.

[krockhouse]

Project: Autonomous Turret

I am building an autonomous turret that will shoot moving objects with an airsoft gun.  Aside from the autonomous mode, the turret will also be able to be controlled manually (we wouldn't want to give robots too much control   )

Unlike the conventional autonomous turrets of the past, this turret is controlled through use of an FPGA(Field-Programmable Gate Array)  The project will therefore include lessons on VHDL and FPGAs.  The FPGA truly is a powerful piece of hardware and this project was intended to create a solid understanding of how to use one in a fun and entertaining way.  The project is also very low cost, so far only amounting to about $60.

Currently we have a website where you can track our progress as well as see pictures and videos. http://autonomousturret.wikispaces.com/

[sebathorus]

Hello
I designed -=eXplorer=- as an indoor robot able to follow walls and navigate around and pick small objects.
So far, wall following program was written and successfully tested.
It's built around an Arduino 2009, propulsion 2 standard modified servos, sensors - Sharp IR.

Videos:
eXplorer with IR detection
IR scan head

Older video with bright Leds and photoresistors as collision sensors, shake test included 
Robotest 2

[Pratheek]

I will be entering my advanced line following robot for the contest. The robot will be a super fast line follower with PID control.The robot will have an LCD to change the PID control variables. I will be writing an extensive tutorial on how to build fast line followers, PID control for line followers, programming LCD menu routines and mcuh more detailed topics.

Here are some pictures of the robot -

Here is a video of the robot -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMqOVe3YFsU#

View the complete tutorial at http://www.societyofrobots.com/member_tutorials/node/350

[fiflak666]

Type: autonomous minisumo robot

Name: KISS 2 (upgraded version of KISS)

Description: My best robot, contains:
- optical mouse sensor PAN3101 (used to gain information about robots moves on dohyo)
- infrared sensors (8 SHARP-made proximity sensors, 2 of them mounted on independent miniservos; 4 white line sensors)
- bumpers
- 4 small DC motors
- Li-Pol accu
- custom designed and hand made chassis

Tutorial: Yet, I don't know what to focus my tutorial on:
1. optical mouse sensor PAN3101: how to write software for Atmega, where to get this sensor from, how to mount it on your robot, how to use information about robot movement
2. custom made 2D scaner (small enough to mount it on minisumo robot; made from 2 infrared SHARP proximity sensors and 2 servos)

[yash25]

I am planning to enter a robot that I recently built called the Gesture Controlled Intelligent Wheelchair (GCIW). As the name suggests, it's a robotic wheelchair model which can be controlled using gloves on which sensors have been mounted.
The project is simple and very easy to build for any amateur enthusiast. It's light on the wallet (the whole project cost me around 10-15 $)...and is an effective learning experience for the rookie robot builder. No fancy components and no complicated algorithms.
I will try and provide extensive information and I will make it as simple as possible for my viewers to understand and build this robot.
Here is an image of the robot...

[Admin]

The voting will begin in a few days.

Please do one of the following if you haven't already:
-modify your post to display the link of your tutorial
-email me to let me know you aren't competing

[Admin]

Voting has begun. Everyone gets three votes.

And please don't sign up fake accounts to vote for yourself, I track IPs/emails for this. Dishonesty results in a ban.

So far three people have a completed tutorial:
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=9224.msg72295#msg72295
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=9224.msg72416#msg72416
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/index.php?topic=9224.msg75866#msg75866

This means if you haven't yet finished your tutorial, get it up asap, and you still have a good chance to win! Last minute entries will still be accepted.


edit: I linked up Pratheek's finished tutorial

[Admin]

I've been a bit busy, it'll take me a few days to close out the contest and make the winners official. Apologies!

[Asellith]

So who won?

[Admin]

Argggg this is totally my fault. Just spent the last 2 weeks in Japan, a week before that traveling no-internet land, and now trying to catch up with a 1000 emails and other stuff, and then I just remembered my taxes need to be filed in a week or Uncle Sam will beat me up.

HUGE apologies! Give me another week!

As soon as I declare the winners, I'll announce the next contest. It's going to be different from previous years.

[Admin]

There are three winners this year. As in previous years, votes don't necessarily determine who wins first or second, but definitely influences my final decision and prizes to be given out. I have to be fair, but also ensure quality tutorials are ranked high.

That said:
1st - Pratheek
2nd - Asellith
3rd - dellagd

I'll give out three prizes this year. Each winner has a choice between an Axon, Axon II, or $100 (despite how you ranked). If you already own an Axon or Axon II, I can refund you if you don't want another.

To understand my decision making process, here is a quick review of each tutorial:

The first is Aselliths tutorial showing how to make an omni-wheel platform for idea experimentation, "ExMod The experimental module development platform". I like this tutorial for two main reasons: it makes building an omni-wheel robot look easy, and he offers a new way to mount those difficult omni-wheels to a servo. I think these ideas can carry over very easy to other robots.


Pratheeks line following robot tutorial, "An advanced line following robot with PID control", details the design of his 'Lord of the Lines'. (hey, thats what the little LCD says! lol) A takehome from his tutorial is the ability to tweak PID parameters on the fly, making field testing faster and more efficient. What I like about this tutorial is that it goes into details of theory, mixing it with helpful images to keep it interesting. PID is a very basic, yet very important concept to understand. A pratical example will definitely help beginners. I'm not big on using wood for a chassis, but the images made it very easy to understand how to assembly it. And of course the code and Eagle files, too. Pratheek, Im convinced that if the robot mass was reduced, it could go even faster . . .


dellagd's beginners-level tutorial covers the mechanical construction of a wall-avoiding robot with a BS2. The tutorial doesn't require the use of the BS2, so any mcu can be used. The take home is his use of PVC as a method to build a chassis and mount servos onto a robot. But I wouldn't recommend the heavy use of tape, despite it passing the shake test =P