Servo 2005.01

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Cover.qxd 12/9/2004 3:54 PM Page 84
SERVO 08.2004 83
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Circle #81 on
the Reader Service Card.
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6
Mind/Iron
8
Rubberbands
14
GeerHead
30
Menagerie
60
Brain Matrix
64
Ask Mr. Roboto
68
Robytes
70
Robotics Resources
80
Appetizer
Check out our new column
dedicated to hacking robots
to do things they were never
designed to do but can!
76
Twin Tweaks
Witness the ups and downs
involved in transforming a
four-legged walker into a
biped.
6
Publishers Info
7
Bio-Feedback
37
Robotics Showcase
38
Events Calendar
58
SERVO Bookstore
62
New Products
82
Advertisers Index
Columns Departments
Take a Sneak Peek!
Coming 2.2005
See what the st See what the st ylish RSs are w ylish RSs are wear earing! ing!
SERVO Magazine (ISSN 1546-0592/CDN
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4 SERVO 1.2005
TOC.qxd 12/8/2004 10:00 AM Page 4
Features & Projects
17
BEAM Robotics, Part 4: Seeking the Light
by Thomas Gray and Wolfgang Goerlich
23
Hack-a-Sapien: Sci Fi Becomes Reality
by Jamie Samans
29
Hack-a-Sapien Contest Winners
31
Bot Brain Basics
by Kerry Barlow
39
Navigating Robo-Magellan
by Daryl Sandberg and Larry Geib
43
Virtual Robotics
by Thomas Braunl, Andreas Koestler, and Axel Waggershauser
51
IR Remotes for Your Robot
by Karl Williams
1.2005
VOL. 3 NO. 1
SERVO
SERVO 1.2005 5
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There are some things we were not
meant to know. Fortunately in the area
of robotics this is not the case. Each
year brings new advances in the art,
borne on the back of previous
accomplishments. Some of these
achievements are incremental and some
are major shifts in current design
paradigms. Either way, things move
forward. In the past year and a half of
interviewing various robot protagonists,
interacting with robot clubs, and
observing the research money that
companies spend, I have made some
predictions of the hot topics for 2005.
Active sensors: In the December,
2003 issue of SERVO, we published a
project on an active sonar mapper. I
wonder how many of you built this and
integrated it into your room-exploring
robot? It's easier to learn about your
environment if you send out a known
pulse and then measure the return signal,
inferring environmental features from
how it is modified. We need more
research in this area and that is why
many large companies are working on
such devices. As Guy Marsden's project
demonstrated, the typical robot hobbyist
can also jump in.
Locomotion gaits: Not every robot
rolls on wheels some walk. When
constructing a walker, the builder needs
to implement a gait or sequence in which
the legs move to affect motion. Consider
a horse: it walks, trots and gallops three
different gaits, each uniquely suited for a
different application. As walking robots
gain in popularity, the two-, four-, six-, and
eight-legged machines will necessarily
require different gaits. In the September
2004 issue of Nuts & Volts, author Mike
Keesling demonstrated a number of
different gaits for the hexapod in his
column. Which is best? A clearer
definition of this question leads us to the
answer.
Better power supplies: Better battery
technologies allow longer run times and
more complex behavior by providing
energy for more motors and sensors. This
increases the overall functionality of
robots and extends the "design cap" of
projects. You should be taking advantage
of the hot new batteries as much as you
take advantage of new R/C servos and
advanced math routines on CPU boards.
Better competitions: From the start
of the Mind/Iron column, I've
encouraged robot clubs to move on to
more clever competitions. Some have
stepped up to the plate with ribbon
climbing and SRS' Robo-Magellan. This
trend will continue as the excitement of
tackling new challenges continues to spur
builders.
Ultimately, that's the future of 2005
in our avocation staring down
challenges with good designs. We are up
to our ears in cheap CPU processing, low
cost sensors, low weight frame materials,
and the like. It's time to step into the
game and make robots that solve new
problems. I know my words would fall flat
if I didn't also take up that challenge and
that's why this is my last Mind/Iron in
SERVO. I've accepted an engineering
position at a top-notch R&D company,
where I'll be designing and building
robots to solve some of the big problems
we face in the world. It's a tall order, but
it's what all my years in the field have
given me the ideal toolkit for the task.
I encourage you all to make the most
of what you know and use it as best you
can. As mathematician Ren Descartes
said, "It is not enough to have a good
mind. The main thing is to use it well." SV
6 SERVO 1.2005
Mind / Iron
by Dan Danknick
JanPages6&7.qxd 12/9/2004 9:44 AM Page 6
Dear SERVO,
You folks have been terrific in
providing copies of SERVO for our
students in BEST ROBOTICS. Thank
you so much for that!!!
Robert Steele
via Internet
Dear SERVO,
The Tetsujin exosuits in the
December 2004 issue are incredible!
How can I find out more about them?
Tony Schnyder
via Internet
Dear Tony,
We promised you ongoing
Tetsujin coverage and well deliver!
Keep reading over the next few
months and youll find in-depth articles
about the suits, the builders, and the
motivation behind Tetsujin 2004.
Editorial Dept.
Dear SERVO,
In the December 2004 issue of
SERVO Robotics Resources article
by Gordon McComb on Metalworking
101 on welding and other metal fusing
techniques, he incorrectly states that
110 volt welders are, "limited to
welding fairly thin sheets of metal
down to about 12 or 14 gauge."
I happen to own a Millermatic
135 MIG welder that plugs into a
standard 110 V wall socket. You can
easily weld up to 1/8" stock with it and
if you're good 3/16".
The importance of him missing
this fact is that a 110 V MIG welder is
a versatile and powerful tool for the
home hobbyist. It is inexpensive, easy
to operate, and produces high quality
welds for steel or aluminum. 220 V
MIG welders are much more expensive
and are more for commercial
applications.
You can also get a low end AC
stick welder like a Sears "buzz box," but
they require a 220 V plug (I don't
recommend the 110 V). The advantage
of stick welders over MIG is they can
weld through rust and paint, in
addition to their ability to weld thicker
metals. The disadvantage of stick
welders is they require a lot more skill
than a MIG does to produce a good
bead. If you're going to weld clean
metal surfaces, go with MIG.
Also I have two more suggestions
for your readers:
1. Get a good book on welding. One
such book is New Lessons in Arc
Welding by The Lincoln Electric
Company. It's only $10.00 and can be
ordered from their website: https://
ssl.lincolnelectric.com/lincoln/apdi
rect/item.asp?prodnum=L
2. Welding requires lots of practice.
Take a class before you buy a welder.
Many regional technical schools offer
welding classes at night. At these
classes, you get hands-on experience
with many types of welders. You will
learn how to weld and get a good
idea of which welder is best for you.
Tony Rea
via Internet
7
Do you think your bot is cooler than what you see here every month?
Prove it!
Earn bragging rights by having your creation highlighted
in our Menagerie section!
Send us a high res picture of your robot with a brief description and well
make you famous. Sort of.
menagerie@servomagazine.com
What kinda bot do you got?
JanPages6&7.qxd 12/9/2004 11:28 AM Page 7
8 SERVO 01.2005
O
ne of the most frustrating things about working with
microcontrollers is that they dont have a nice display like
standard equipment, like your desktop computer does. In
fact, most of the time, all that you will have available is a
couple of LEDs to look at to try to determine what is going
on inside of it.
Sometimes, you will have a free serial port available
that you can send data to a terminal program, but if
your robot is mobile you will inevitably want it to roam
freely so a serial link isnt a great option. This months
column will show you how to connect to an inexpensive
alphanumeric LCD display that uses the HD44780 driver
chip hooked up to a PIC processor so that you can
have text-based feedback from your electronics,
wherever your robot may be.
The HD44780 chip is capable of driving LCD
displays of up to two lines of 40 characters. For this
column, an LCD that has four lines of 20 characters
each was chosen.
This particular LCD accomplishes this by splitting
each line of 40 characters into two lines of 20 characters.
If you are interested in working along with this column,
you can find the exact module used here at www.
mpja.comThe part number is 153640P. At $9.95 each,
you really cant beat the price!
The LCD module that is used in this column has 11
I/O pins. This is standard for modules using the
HD44780. Figure 1 shows the pin functions for the
module used here.
You can communicate with it by using eight of the
I/O lines in parallel to send bytes of data or you can
discard four of them and use a four-bit interface
instead. Here, well use the eight-bit interface. Although
Figure 1. Pin functions for the LCD module.
by Jack Buf fington by Jack Buf fington
Putting on a Display:
Spicing Up Your Robot With
an Alphanumeric LCD
I/D S Result
0 0 Moves the cursor to the left after a character is displayed.
0 1 Cursor stays at the same location. Line shifts to the right.
1 0 Moves the cursor to the right after a character is displayed.
1 1 Cursor stays at the same location. Line shifts to the left.
Figure 2. I/D and S truth table.
www.ccsinfo.com
Sells the C compiler for PIC processors
used in this column
www.microchip.com
Manufacturer of the PIC microcontroller
www.mpja.com
Sells the LCD module used in this article
RESOURCES
Rubberbands.qxd 12/8/2004 9:34 PM Page 8
it is wasteful of I/O pins on a microprocessor, it makes the
source code more readable.
If you were to choose to use the four-bit interface, you
would simply send the same commands as shown here,
except that you would send the high nibble of the byte
that you wanted to send and then follow it with the
low nibble.
There are three other pins that are exclusively inputs.
These are E, RS, and R/W. E is the line that you use to signal
to the chip that you are sending it data. Data is loaded into
the chip on the falling edge of E. RS is the register select line.
You can choose between sending commands that change
how the display driver acts or sending data that is written to
one of the display drivers registers using this pin. R/W selects
between read and write.
For the most part, you will be writing data to the driver
more often than you will be reading it. Still, the option is
there, so if you happened to be a hot-shot programmer
who was running low on RAM you could command the
display to turn off and use its internal registers to store up to
88 bytes of RAM!
The HD44780 has just a few commands that you need
to know (see Table 1).
Connecting the Display to
Your Electronics
In this column, a PIC16F870 is being used, but if
you happen to be using a different processor the
connections will be essentially the same. You will need an
eight-bit I/O port and three other pins for the E, RS, and
R/W outputs. Figure 3 shows how you would connect
the display to your circuit. For this display, there is a con-
nection labeled VO. By adjusting the voltage supplied to
this pin, you can adjust the displays contrast. In practice,
it turned out that simply connecting this pin to ground
Rubberbands and Bailing Wire
Do you use a lot of LEDs in your projects? With most
LEDs, you need to have a resistor in series in order
to keep the current through the LED below a certain
threshold. It is a pain to wire up all of those resistors.
A simple solution that lets you avoid this problem is to
use an LED that has an integrated resistor.
TECH TIDBIT
SERVO 01.2005 9
RS R/W Data Comments
0 0 00110000 Allows you to clear the display. It also moves the cursor back to the first character of the first line.
0 0 00000010 Will move the cursor back to the first character of the first line, but will not clear the display.
0 0 000001 I/D S Allows you to set the way that the LCD display responds to new characters that it receives.
The I/D bit allows you to specify whether you want the character position to increment or
decrement when you send it a character. The S bit allows you to specify if the whole line
should shift or if the cursor should move. Figure 2 describes how the display will act based
on the I/D and S bits.
0 0 001 DL N F 00 Allows you to set information about the LCD that the controller chip is connected to and how
you want to communicate with it. DL lets you choose between (1) an eight-bit interface or (0)
a four-bit interface. N lets you set the number of lines that the LCD can display. A 0 represents
one line while a 1 represents two lines. The F bit lets you specify either (1) a 5 x 8 pixel char-
acter or (0) a 5 x 10 pixel character. Most likely, the LCD display that you will be using will have
a 5 x 8 character.
0 0 01DDDDDD Lets you set the character generator address. Substitute the Ds for the address that you want.
The HD44780 allows you to specify eight custom characters, if you want. Their bitmaps are
stored in the character generator RAM.
0 0 1DDDDDDD Lets you set the display data address. The display data RAM holds the text or characters that
you want to be displayed on the screen. This data is the character codes and not the actual
bitmaps for the characters.
0 1 BF DDDDDDD This command switches the displays input pins to outputs for as long as the E line is held high
and then makes them inputs again when the E line is brought low again. While these lines are
outputs, the BF bit tells you when the display is busy executing the last command. If it is high,
the display is busy and you shouldnt send other commands to it until it is done. The remaining
outputs indicate the location of the address counter. This is how you could retrieve the
character codes of what is displayed on the screen.
Table 1
Rubberbands.qxd 12/8/2004 8:39 AM Page 9
provided the best contrast. The higher
the applied voltage, the dimmer the
display was.
Making the Magic
Happen
Before you can start to use the
display, you will have to initialize the
HD44780 driver chip. You will have to
send a number of commands. For
each command, you will place your
data on the eight-bit port and the RS
and R/W lines, raise the E line, and
then lower it again after a short delay.
Initialization can be done by following
Table 2.
Your display should be initialized
now and you could go ahead and
start sending ASCII character codes to
be displayed. If you are using a one or
two line by 40-character display, then
everything will work as
expected and the lines will
break as they should. The
display used in this column
broke each line up into two
lines of 20 characters, so
you have to be careful that
you dont send more than
20 characters in a row or
else the cursor will likely jump
to a place where you dont
want it.
Figure 5 shows the map
for the display used here. As
you can see, when the cursor
hits the end of the first line, it
will jump to the beginning of
the third line and after it
reaches the end of the third
line, it will go to the second
then the fourth. Thats not
quite intuitive. Ill show you
how to more easily deal with
that a little later.
For now, lets look at
how to send characters to
the display. Figure 6 shows a
chunk of C code that lets you
do this.
When sending any com-
mand to the display, the
procedure is to set up all of
your output pins and then
raise the E line. Although it
10 SERVO 01.2005
Figure 3. Connections between a PIC and the LCD module.
Steps RS R/W Data
Wait at least 15 milliseconds after power-up
before doing anything.
Send 00 00110000 by placing this data on the 0 0 00110000
output lines and then raising and then lowering
the E line.
Wait at least 4.1 milliseconds.
Send the same command by raising the E line
and lowering it again.
Wait more than 100 microseconds.
Once again, send the same command by
raising the E line and then lowering it.
Send the function set command. 0 0 001 DL N F 00
Wait for the command to finish by checking
the Busy flag or by simply waiting long enough.
Send the Display command. 0 0 00001DCB
Wait for that command to execute.
Send the cursor movement command. 0 0 000001 I/D S
Wait for that command to execute.
Table 2
isnt covered in the documentation, it
appears to be necessary to wait a few
microseconds to let the data settle before
lowering the E line again. After that, you will
need to wait until the display has processed
that command. This is what the lcdBusy()
routine is doing. Figure 7 shows the lcdBusy()
code, which will delay until a character or
command has been processed.
You now have the ability to draw
characters to the LCD. Lets take a look at
the issue of the lines being jumbled and how
you can specify where on the display you
would like to draw a character. Figure 8
shows code that will work for the display
being used in this column. You may need to
adjust the algorithm to match the display that
you end up using.
Now, you have the ability to draw any
character anywhere on the screen, but it can
be a little tedious to write the code to do it.
This final example will show how by using
the printf() statement you can reduce what
would be a long series of statements into just
one line.
Every compiler works differently, but the
CCS C compiler for the PIC allows you to
specify a routine that takes eight-bit variables
as the receiver of the data from a printf()
statement. This drastically simplifies the
task of writing to the display and allows you
to do things like printf(lcdPutChar,Button
presses:%u,presses); where you want to
display numeric data.
Dotting the Is and
Crossing the Ts
Throughout the code presented here,
you will see statements like
output_high(E);. If you were to use this
code in a program, you would want to
stick the statements at the beginning of
your code (see Figure 10).
void lcdInit(int1 showCursor)
{// gets the display driver chip ready to display characters
delay_ms(16);
output_low(E);
output_low(RS);
output_low(RW);
portB = 0b00110000;
output_high(E);
delay_us(20);
output_low(E);
delay_ms(5);
output_high(E);
delay_us(20);
output_low(E);
delay_us(110);
output_high(E);
delay_us(20);
output_low(E);
delay_us(50);
portB = 0b00111000; // 8 bit operation, 2 lines, 5x8 character
delay_us(20);
output_high(E);
delay_us(50);
output_low(E);
if(showCursor) // send command for how the cursor acts
portB = 0b00001111;
else
portB = 0b00001100;
delay_us(20);
output_high(E);
delay_us(50);
output_low(E);
portB= 0b00000110; // move cursor to right, dont shift
delay_us(20);
output_high(E);
delay_us(50);
}
Figure 4. How to initialize the LCD using C code.
void lcdPutChar(int8 theChar)
{
output_high(RS);
output_low(RW);
output_high(E);
portB = theChar;
delay_us(20);
output_low(E);
lcdBusy();
}
Figure 6. How to send a character to
be displayed.
SERVO 01.2005 11
Figure 5. Map of the LCDs display.
Using #defines is a good way to program because it
allows you to quickly rearrange your I/O connections if you
need to. This can
be handy if you
are switching the
processor that your
program will run on or maybe because you need to use a
peripheral that has its pins currently tied up by something
else in your program.
If you didnt use the #define statement, then you would
have to go through your code and manually change every
reference to that pin.
Adding an alphanumeric display to your project has
a certain cool factor to it, as well as an immediately useful
ability to instantly get feedback about what your robot is
doing internally.
Overall, this is a relatively easy part to add to your robot
and is well worth the effort.
Next months column will cover
some more advanced things that you can
do with an LCD display that should be
immediately useful to you such as creat-
ing your own characters, drawing bar
graphs and sliders, and then using one
of the bar graphs to give you visual feed-
back about your robots batterys voltage.
SV
void lcdBusy()
{// delays until LCD indicates that it is not busy
set_tris_b(0b11111111); // make LCD pins all inputs
output_low(RS);
output_high(RW);
output_high(E);
delay_us(10); // give the display some time to output
while(input(BUSY))
{// do nothing
}
output_low(E);
set_tris_b(0b00000000); // make LCD pins all outputs
delay_cycles(2);
}
Figure 7. Code that waits until the display is done processing
the last command.
Wires are a major source of failure in electronic
projects. Wires tend to break off right where they are
soldered to your circuit board. It is always best to try to
reduce the number of wires that will be necessary, but
for wires that you absolutely need, here is a trick that
will keep them from breaking: Lay your wire against the
board after it has been soldered. Using some E-6000
glue which can be bought at many craft, hobby, and
hardware stores put a dab of glue over where the
wire comes out of the board. E-6000 takes a while to
dry, but when it does it is like hard rubber.
Attaching the wire to the board in this way makes it so
that any wiggling of the wire happens at a point where
there is insulation on the wire, which significantly
increases the longevity of the conductor inside.
TECH TIDBIT
void lcdMoveTo(int8 line, int8 character)
{// move to the position on the display that was specified
int8 position;
if(line == 2 || line == 4) // If you want the second or fourth line
position = 0b11000000; // on the LCD, select the second line in
else // the drivers memory.
position = 0b10000000;
if(line == 3 || line == 4) // If you want the third or fourth line
position += 20; // on the LCD, add 20 because these lines
position += character; // are actually the second halfs of the
output_low(RS); // drivers two lines.
output_low(RW);
portB = position;
output_high(E);
delay_us(20);
output_low(E);
lcdBusy();
}
Figure 8. Code to move the cursor to where you want it.
LcdPutChar(L);
LcdPutChar(C);
LcdPutChar(D);
LcdPutChar(s);
LcdPutChar( );
LcdPutChar(r);
LcdPutChar(u);
LcdPutChar(l);
LcdPutChar(e);
LcdPutChar(!);
printf(lcdPutChar, LCDs rule!);
Figure 9. The first 10 lines and the
printf statement do the same thing.
Figure 11. Although not robotic, this
is a fun application that uses an LCD.
#define E PIN_C0 // enable
#define RW PIN_C1 // read/write
#define RS PIN_C2 // register
select
#define busy PIN_B7 // busy flag
from LCD
Figure 10. #define statements for the
various LCD pins.
12 SERVO 01.2005
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03-Introb (cert) ....................... $225
Oscilloscope Course
7 learning topics video
01-SCP01 (cert) ......................... $95
Soldering Course with Lab
3 lessons lab video
01-SD01 (cert) ......................... $195
PC Board Design with Lab
4 lessons lab CD ROM
02-261 (cert) ............................ $195
Intro to Information Systems
9 lessons certificate
01-CET111 ................................ $195
SERVO 01.2005 13
L
ast spring, four students at Johns
Hopkins (JH, Mechanical Engineering
Department) completed a robot that
can travel, locate metal objects, see,
and spray paint. Whats the big deal?
With these capabilities, it becomes a
plausible solution for detecting and
marking deadly land mines that are
waiting underground in far away battle
zones around the world.
The bots, which can be built for
under $1,000.00 a piece (in produc-
tion), traverse the grassy or jagged
terra firma found in war zones like little
two-part tanks. A metal detector to
be replaced by top-notch sensors devel-
oped at JH locates suspected land
mines. The robots camera eye sends
back pictures of the target, which can
be manually spray painted from the
controller and later neutralized.
The little mine detective is in the
welcome hands of explosive detection
scientists. They are using it as the
14 SERVO 01.2005
geercom@alltel.net
by David Geer
Tiny, but Mighty!
Small Bot Saves Lives by Marking Land Mines!
Mini metal muscle and brilliant
minds appear together in this
shot of the Mine Miner and its
designers: (L to R) Dat Truong,
project sponsor Carl V. Nelson,
Edoardo Biancheri, Dan Hake,
and Landon Unninayar.
Uncle Sam and Others Are Looking for a Few Good Robots
* All photos are courtesy of Will Kirk. *
Geerhead.qxd 12/8/2004 8:44 AM Page 14
model for an effective, inexpensive
solution to help circumvent the
24,000 mine deaths and maimings
that occur each year. (Over 100
million mines from as far back as
WWII surround the globe, still
undetected and fully capable of the
job they were initially planted for.)
Land Mine
Detection, Project
Inception
The story began when John
Hopkins physicist Carl Nelson
presented the student engineers turned
robotics team with a problem. He had
created these great new sensors targeted
at detecting land mines, but he needed
an appropriate contraption to get the
sensors through the brush, rocks, and
sand to the mines. The students were
tasked with creating a mini-off-roading-
all-terrain robot that could get to the
mines without being blown up itself.
Robot Dud
On its maiden test run, the mine-
detecting bot looked more like one of its
exploding adversaries than a proponent of
protection. When the student roboticists
first attempted to run the rascal via the
joystick, they got no movement and a
load of melted connectors.
They found out that their supplier
had shipped the wrong motors; the
current demanded by the ones they did
get was beyond the capacity of the
connectors. The team ended up
scrapping those motors and finding
new motor and gearbox pairs.
Robot Racer
With the front vehicle more on
that later ready to go, the team tried
again. The new, high torque drill
motors worked perfectly. The bot
zoomed around the lab, navigating all
terrains including peoples toes. The
bots operator had the vehicle spin
brodies like a racecar. The mini-tank-like
vehicle could spin in place at 60 RPMs.
The vehicle was detailed with an
inverted cow catcher up front to move
obstacles out of its cameras path. The
robots design was dictated by the
requirement that it not set off the land
mines. The paint used to mark the spot
where each mine is located is a very
light and, yet, a very easily recognized
SERVO 01.2005 15
GEERHEAD
This effective controller guides the robot
and receives video from its camera eye,
sounding the alarm when a metal object
possibly a mine has been detected.
Rugged bot mine detective finds its prey
a metal target that represents a land mine
in a test demonstration.
The mine-detecting robot looks like
two robot tanks one towing the other.
The front vehicle moves the bot by means
of its two cordless power drill motors,
which are powered by a sealed lead-acid
battery. This front vehicle is topped off
with a color video camera, which lets the
bots operator see what it sees.
The rear vehicle carries the metal
detection coil that is used at this experi-
mental phase to detect the land mines
(in this case, metal objects that are surro-
gates for the mines themselves). This
detection device was scavenged from a
common consumer treasure hunting
product; it will be replaced by Professor
Nelsons specialized mine-seeking sensors
in the funded research phase.
The rear vehicle also carries the
paint and paint nozzle for marking mine
locations. At this point, the mechanism
can only house enough paint to mark
about 40 mines before it needs a refill
but thats still four times the minimum
requirement for the project.
Keeping a Safe Distance
A joystick controller steers the bot
from up to 500 feet away. The video
feed can be received from up to 100
feet away. The controller video screen
can display real time images of what the
bot sees. When the bot detects metal,
an alarm a beep sounds in the oper-
ators headset. The operator must throw
a switch on the controller to mark the
place where the metal detector reacted.
The bot was constructed using plastic
and other non-metal parts in order to save
on weight, costs, and false positives from
the bot detecting itself instead of the
mines. The two part front and rear vehicle
design spreads out the robots weight so
that it is less likely to set off a mine.
CONSTRUCTION
The eyes have it as the robot camera
enables the operator to have a glimpse
of everything the bot itself sees.
shade of yellow.
Finishing Touches
The young roboticists wanted their
machine to look as cool as it ran. The
students chose an all-black construc-
tion and appearance (where possible).
They worked diligently to cut and
attach black acrylic sheets on the
back where there were still some clear
panels showing.
The roboticists also machined all
the applicable parts themselves. The
four shared in the cutting, drilling,
gluing, sanding, mounting, and CNC
programming for the project.
Maintaining this added project control
gave them an edge in creating exactly
what they wanted within the time
constraints they had to work with.
Lessons Learned
The type of laser cutter that Johns
Hopkins made available for the
mechanical engineering class and the
Polycarbonate that was being used did
not mix. The combination created
chlorine gas.
One of the young engineers
discovered the hard way how easy it is
to have drill bits break on you and have
the pieces come flying at you, hitting
you in the forehead.
The roboticists also suggest that
anyone engaging in similar projects test,
break, rebuild, test, break, rebuild, and
repeat until not broken; this is the best
way to find your path to a solution. SV
16 SERVO 01.2005
GEERHEAD
The controller can steer the robot while operators
steer clear, up to 500 feet away. Video transmissions
reach out up to 100 feet from the bots camera.
Tank-like treads enable mobility through tall grass, rugged terrain, and
any place mines may be laying in wait for their next victims.
Yes, the four robotics engineers in
this story have names; all but one have
graduated now. Landon Unninayar, Dan
Hake, and Dat Truong were seniors
working on this project before gradua-
tion. Edoardo Biancheri planned to
have completed his undergraduate
studies in December 04, with a double
major in mechanical engineering and
economics.
These young men were tasked with
building this successful bot project for
under $8,000.00; they did the job with
about $5,000.00 and believe it could be
mass produced for under $1,000.00
less the cost of better sensing. Professor
Nelson will soon have demonstrated this
prototype to US Army funding sponsors
to establish how an inexpensive mine-
detecting bot could help prevent death
and dismemberment from land mines
around the globe.
Challenges
Building a life saving bot is not a
goal without its obstacles. The biggest
one the crew reported was making a
pressurized paint sprayer out of almost
100 percent plastic materials. The
requirement included being able to
mark at least 10 mines before the
sprayer went empty.
There are no commercial sprayers
that meet all the specs they needed to
meet. So, the team set out to design and
test their own. They started by looking at
both Polycarbonate and soda bottles.
Ultimately, a Polycarbonate bottle was
found that would fit all constraints.
The only remaining spec was the
pressure test. How did they test it? They
filled it with water, suited it up with gas
fittings, and pumped it up with a bike
pump until it started to leak. At first,
leaks came from the pipe fittings. Then,
those leaks were fixed and the cap
broke off the bottle and shot out about
60 psi of water. Once they dealt with
the weaknesses in the cap, the paint
container was complete.
TIDBITS
Low-res versions of pics in this article
and more at:
www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/
home04/jun04/mines.html
and
home04/jun04/mines2.html
Robotic Mine Detector, Project Video at:
audio-video/mediamines.html
Johns Hopkins Department of
Mechanical Engineering at:
www.me.jhu.edu
RESOURCES
T
his is the final article in BEAM Robotics Step-by-Step.
During this series, we have touched on some of the
central themes in the BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics,
and Mechanics) design philosophy:
Keep it simple; minimize everything from cost to part count
to power consumption.
Use basic circuits to simulate biological nervous systems
and pattern generators.
We designed this final robot to illustrate these ideas
while tossing in a couple more BEAM bits.
Walking and Tumbling
At one time or another, every kid has spent an afternoon
poking and prodding insects. It is amazing how bugs move
around, handling rough environments.
Walking robots especially quadrupeds and hexapods
can handle rough terrain better than wheeled or tracked vehi-
cles. However, while there have been great improvements in
walking robots, they still lag far behind the tough-shelled
bugs!
One particularly tough problem faced by walking
robots whether they are BEAM
or microprocessor driven is what to
do when they fall over. A unique type
of BEAM robot called the Turbot has
no problem being inverted because it
spends half its time upside down! A
Turbot moves by flipping itself using
rotating flagella instead of legs. A
Turbot doesnt exactly walk; it scoots
and tumbles.
Its a bit tricky to give a Turbot
directionality (having it head toward a
light, for example) because every
time the bot flips over the motors are
effectively reversed and a different side
will be facing the light. What we will
need, then, is a circuit to decide which
way to go (Which way is brighter?)
and another circuit (Which way is
up?) to invert the decision when the
Turbot is upside down.
A Turbot can maneuver in much the same way as a
walker can. It can turn on the spot, climb up and over
obstacles, and traverse rough terrain, yet it only requires two
motors. Since motors cost a lot and draw a lot of power,
fewer motors mean lower cost and longer battery life.
Also, the mechanics of a Turbot are simpler than those of a
walker and do not require much balancing or tweaking in
order to work properly.
Simple and low power, cheap and versatile classic
BEAM!
Step 1: Whats Nu?
The Nu (pronounced new) Neuron looks like a Nv
Neuron with its resistor and capacitor mixed up. See Figure 1
for a side-by-side comparison. Theres nothing to it, but
as with so many BEAM circuits the resulting change in
behavior exceeds the minor part change.
When we say that the Nv Neuron is nervous, we
are being a bit cheeky. The Nv Neuron is an edgy neuron,
trigger happy, and all the other silly puns. The Nv Neuron
immediately sends an output pulse when an input impulse
comes in. Theres no waiting around the Nv Neuron
fires immediately, holds the output for a time, and then
by Thomas Gray and J. Wolfgang Goerlich
Figure 1. Comparison of the Nv and the Nu Neuron.
SERVO 01.2005 17
Gray4.qxd 12/8/2004 8:27 AM Page 17
BEAM Robotics Step by Step Part 4
18 SERVO 01.2005
shuts down.
The time period is determined by the Nvs RC Time
Constant. Again, this sets the time in seconds equal to the
resistance in megohms times the capacitance in microfarads.
T = R x C
4.7 seconds = 1 M x 4.7 F
The Nu or Neural Neuron waits a bit before deciding
to switch. It receives a high input signal, waits around for a
time period (again determined by its capacitor and resistor),
then turns on and stays on until the input goes low again. If
the Nu does not receive a low reset signal to its bias point, it
will stay active.
Basically, you are charging a capacitor through a resistor.
The capacitor takes time to charge up again determined by
the RC constant. When the capacitors charge passes the
240 switching threshold, the inverter will flip and send a low
pulse. The Nu is said to be active. When the Nu input
changes to Gnd, the inverter flips back to high and the Nu
is inactive.
Figure 2 shows the schematic for a single Nu. The first
part of this circuit is the Process Initialization Circuit from
the first article in this series. We have also added an
indicator LED to show whats going on. Breadboard this
circuit (Figure 3) and try different resistors and capacitors.
Be sure to try the circuit without the 100K (1K in the
photo) pull-down resistor. Add an Nv to trigger the Nu or
take the first Nu to another neuron and see how they
work in chains.
Play and have fun. Uh, we mean experiment and gather
data.
Step 2: Muxing Around
Often, it is helpful to be able to reverse a Nu or Nv
output, in order to change the motion of a robot. To do this,
we will use a gadget called an Inverting Multiplexor or IMx
(pronounced eye-mux or just mux) that can be built with
one half of a 74xx240.
For our Turbot, this means that we can stick the entire
circuit on a single IC chip, keeping the parts count down and
keeping life simple.
In Figure 4, Enable (A) is the enable line, which is
normally held high (off) in this case by the 100K resistor,
but can be sent low (turned on) by a push-button switch.
Input (B) normally comes from some neuron output; the
470 resistor holds the input high through the LED. If A
is high, then the inverter is turned off; the signal (B) is
passed through R1 to the Output (C) via the output LED.
In this case, C is the same as B and both LEDs glow. Push
the button to set A to low, though, and the inverter turns
on. Since the resistance of the inverter is less than R1,
the inverted signal takes this path and the output is the
opposite of B. The input LED remains on, but the output
LED goes out.
The IMx acts as an Exclusive Or (XOR) gate. Some BEAM
robots will use an XOR chip to get the same results. The
Solarbotics Scout Walker, for example, uses two gates on a
4030B quad-XOR chip.
Step 3: Putting the Pieces
Together
Figure 5 shows the Tumbler schematic. If you study the
photos, youll see indicator LEDs that have been left off the
schematic for simplicity. However, previous articles have
shown where these LEDs go and you are welcome to add
them to your project. The diagram shows a 74HC240 for
power efficiency, but a 74AC240 works just as well.
Figure 3. The Nu on the breadboard. A 4.7 mF electrolytic
capacitor (watch polarity) and a 1M resistor give a delay
of about 5 seconds.
Figure 2. Nu with indicator LED and PIC.
Mark Tilden built the first Turbot after being inspired
by Alan Turings state machines (Turbot = TURing + roBOT). A
couple of his delightful solar-powered Turbots are shown in
Figure 10 (photo courtesy of Solarbotics, Ltd.).
A LITTLE BIT OF INFO
Gray4.qxd 12/8/2004 8:29 AM Page 18
Pace-maker:
A Bicore, which we looked at briefly last month, sets the
pace for the Tumbler. The grounded Bicore is an oscillator
that sends regular pulses. The timing of these pulses is based
on the RC constant of the Nvs. If the resistors and caps are
well matched, the Bicore will have a 50:50 cycle. Remember
that the two outputs of a Bicore are complementary: when
one half of the Bicore is positive, the other side is negative,
and then they switch.
The optimal timing of your bicore will depend on your
motors. Wolf used 6.8 F caps, a 3M resistor for the tumble
phase (RX), and 1M for the reset phase (RY) with his
Solarbotics GM3s. Tom used 0.22 F caps and 10M resistors
on a prototype (not illustrated) that used video lens motors
from BGMicro. Different timing will give different results and
much of the fun is in training your own bot to give its best
performance.
The output of Nv(2,18) is fed to the bottom of a
reverse-biased photodiode voltage divider, used in the
first article of this series (August
2004 issue of SERVO, page 10).
This PD divider determines
whether the top or the bottom
side is brighter. Running the
photodiode divider from the
pacemaker instead of from
ground means it is turned on
only when needed.
The output of Nv(4,16) runs
to the decision circuit that deter-
mines whether the left side or the
right side is brighter. Again, it is
turned on only when needed.
This gives us a Turbot that
repeatedly ponders two deep,
existential questions: Which way
is up? and Which side is
brighter? AI, BEAM style.
Decision:
A Nu, as we saw earlier,
needs a high input signal to
activate. When Nv(4, 16) is
active, it sends a low signal to the
Nus. Nothing happens.
At this time, Nv(2, 18) will be
inactive because only one Nv in a
Bicore can be active at a time.
The Nv sends a high signal to the
photodiode voltage divider. Since
both sides of the voltage divider
are high, the mid-point is high
and the signal sent to the IMx
is also high. Again, nothing
happens.
After a while, Nv(4, 16) times
out (goes high) and Nv(2, 18)
becomes active (goes low). Now, things start to get
interesting.
The high pulse from Nv(4,16) is fed to the Nu decision-
Tumbling Turbots
Figure 4. Inverting Multiplexor (IMx).
Figure 5. Tumbler Turbot schematic.
SERVO 01.2005 19
Gray4.qxd 12/8/2004 8:30 AM Page 19
20 SERVO 01.2005
makers via the LDR. The brighter LDR with the lower
resistance will have the shorter delay, so it will turn on (go
low) first. A diode feeds this low signal to the bias point of
the opposite Nu, immediately turning it off. This ensures that
only one motor is affected.
Lets say the right CdS is brighter. Nu(8,12) will have the
shorter delay. It will fire first, its output will go low, and:
a) It kills the pulse in Nu(6,14).
b) It passes a low pulse to the IMx.
c) It remains low until the Nu is reset when the Bicore switches.
d) Only the motor connected to this Nu will run.
Touching back on biomimicry, this cross-wired design is
like an inhibitory neuron.
Whichever Nu decides to fire first is
the only one that can fire during
the current Bicore cycle.
XOR IMx:
At the same time that the
Nus are deciding which side is
brighter, the Turbot is deciding
which side is up. We are driving the
enable line using the same
Photodiode setup used in the
Bare Bones Photovore. Two reverse-
biased photodiodes form a voltage
divider at roughly Vcc/2. More
light on one photodiode raises or
lowers the output voltage of the
divider. In the Tumbling Turbot, this
output is fed to the enable pin of
Bank B.
Nv(2,18) connects to the
ground side of this voltage divider.
When Nv(2,18) is inactive, the
divider is high and the IMx is
disabled. The divider is grounded
when Nv(2,18) is active. The IMxs state depends upon which
Photodiode is receiving more light. The Turbot can then make
the Which way is up? decision.
When the Turbot is right side up, we want the Nus to
directly drive the appropriate motor. The bottom PD will be
dark and the top will be light, so the enable gate will be high.
The IMx will not be triggered. The active Nu input is passed
right on to its motor drive transistor, turning the Turbot to
one side.
When the Turbot is upside down, we want the Nus to
drive the opposite motor. The top PD will be dark and the
bottom light so the enable gate is pulled low. The IMx
triggers and inverts the Nu inputs. This means that the active
Nu signal is turned off and the motor on that side will not
9 cm
6 cm
13 cm
7 cm
9.2 cm
15
15
3 cm
4 mm
4 mm
3 cm
18.3 mm
46.4 mm
3.9
mm
3.9
mm
All holes 7/64" dia.
Figure 6. The chassis plan. Use Sintra or PVC.
Figure 8. Photo of Toms prototype. Figure 7. Assembling the Tumbler: autopsy photo.
Gray4.qxd 12/9/2004 1:07 PM Page 20
run; on the opposite side, the inactive
Nu signal is reversed so that its motor
does run.
Step 4: Building the
Tumbler
Check out Wolfgangs take on
the tumbling Turbot. Hes used Sintra
for the top and bottom shells (like a
turtle) and wire ties to hold down
the motors at an angle of about 120
degrees, as shown in Figure 8. (You
can try anything from 90 to 180
degrees. Different angles give
different patterns of movement). He
has also added some non-skid rubber
matting so the shell grips the floor
during tumbling.
The batteries and perfboard are
neatly tucked inside. The flagella
are brass welding rods (try old coat
hangers theyre easy to get!) held
to the motor shaft with European-style terminal blocks
removed from their plastic casings. A little heat shrink tubing
on the ends of the flagella (one flagellum, two flagella, isnt
he a clever fella?) keeps them from scratching the floor,
walls, or domestic livestock as they flail around.
Tom and Wolfgang connected online at http://groups.
yahoo.com/group/beam/ and hope someday to meet face-
to-face for coffee and conversation or perhaps a friendly
mini sumo match.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tumbling Turbots
Figure 9. Photos of Wolfs finished robot.
Check these websites for more BEAM projects and information.
Photographs of Mark Tildens Turbots:
www.solarbotics.net/gallery/Turbots
Solarbotics BEP Turbot:
www.solarbotics.com/resources/static/bep/bep5_turbot.php
Grant McKees Turbots:
http://grant.solarbotics.net/Turbots.htm
Brett Hemes Solar-powered Turbot:
http://breadboard.solarbotics.net/misc_03.html
A LITTLE BIT OF INFO
SERVO 01.2005 21
Gray4.qxd 12/9/2004 9:24 AM Page 21
When you build your Tumbler, it may take a few tries to
get the motors hooked up properly. Youve got a one-in-four
chance of hitting it the first time. What you want is a bot that
will flop its way into a pool of light. Be patient and swap the
motor connections until you get it right.
Conclusion
In this series of four articles on BEAM, we aimed to
give you an introduction to the simplicity-within-complexity
of this approach to robotics and a chance to create some
fascinating little robots with relatively simple circuitry.
If you have tried these projects and enjoyed them, experi-
mented with them and extended them, or developed an
interest in going deeper and learning more, then weve
succeeded.
As Tom signs all his BEAM posts, Keep BEAMing and
dreaming. SV
Electronics
74HC240 Texas Instruments SN74HC240N Digi-Key 296-4305-5-ND
(74AC240 in a pinch) Fairchild MM74HC240N Solarbotics 74HC240
Solarbotics 74AC240
Photodiodes Siemens SFH 205f wide field Solarbotics IR1
Asst. LEDs Red, green, or yellow LEDs Digi-Key 350-1347-1-ND
(We use standard LEDs on the breadboard Digi-Key 350-1348-1-ND
and tiny LEDs in construction.) Solarbotics TLED
Resistors 4- 470 , if desired, for indicator LEDs See text for details
and a few in the 1M 10M range
Capacitors Assorted, 0.1 F to 6.8 F range See text for details
If electrolytic or tantalum caps are used,
observe polarity.
CdS Photoresistor Any of various types should work. Solarbotics CDS
Try for a matched pair.
PNP Transistors 2N2907 or 2N3906, for example RS 276-2032 or RS276-2034
Solarbotics TR2907 or TR3906
Diodes Two small signal diodes, RS 276-1122 or 276-1620
e.g., 1N914 or 1N4148 Solarbotics D1
Perfboard Perfboard or project board Solarbotics BEP BB1
RS 276-0050 or RS 276-1395
Mechanics
Motors Two matched hobby gear motors Solarbotics GM3
6 V Power Two AAA battery packs or one four-AAA RS 27-411 includes switch
battery pack (You can use four-AA, if you RS 27-413 x 2
wish. The AAAs are lighter and smaller.) RS 27-398 x 2
Solarbotics BHoldAAA x 2
Power Switch SPST toggle power switch RS 275-325
Use a slide switch, if you prefer. Solarbotics SWT2
Flagellum Connectors Euro-style terminal blocks RS 274-679
(get the smallest ones)
Misc.
Breadboard Generic solderless breadboard and ties
Body Use 3 mm Sintra or any suitable material Solarbotics
Wire ties Any hardware store
Flagella Brass welding rod or old coat hanger
Heat shrink tubing Or rubber tubing / model aircraft fuel tubing
PARTS LIST
Figure 10. Mark Tildens Turbots, courtesy of Solarbotics.
22 SERVO 01.2005
Gray4.qxd 12/8/2004 8:34 AM Page 22
SERVO 01.2005 23
I
n his landmark 1984 novel,
Neuromancer, William Gibson wrote of
a space station he called it a cluster
known as Zion. One of the character-
istics of Zion that always interested me
was its omnipresent music. Gibson
writes that his protagonist, Case,
boarded Zion and, gradually became
aware of the music that pulsed
constantly through the cluster. It was
called dub, a sensuous mosaic cooked
from vast libraries of digitized pop.
I first read Neuromancer in the late
1980s when I was in college and was
also discovering Jamaican dub spacey,
effects-laden instrumental versions of
reggae songs. To me, it was
the perfect soundtrack for
Gibsons futuristic vision. I was
hooked and, today, my collec-
tion of Jamaican dub records
numbers in the thousands.
What always intrigued me was
how to make this music
omnipresent ... until I thought
up this RoboSapien hack.
The Hack
My RoboSapien hack has
several different components:
audio, video, and control. I
have outfitted the robot with
a wireless camera, a radio
frequency receiver that
receives audio from my PC (or any
source), an upgraded stereo speaker
system, and an onboard stereo amplifier.
Using commercially available software
and a USB infrared transceiver, I have
also designed and implemented a
customizable PC control interface.
The result is an audio visual rover
that can be controlled via PC and over
the Internet from a remote desktop. I
can connect to the robot from
anywhere and walk him around the
house to check on the surroundings.
Of course, I mainly use him and his
hi-fi stereo backpack to fill my own
space station with Zion dub.
RoboSapien PC
Control Set-up
The PC control scheme I made for
RoboSapien uses MainLobby software
from Cinemar. The central, circular con-
trol button cluster controls movement
and leaning. The identical circular con-
trol button clusters in the top corners
control each arm (up, down, in, out,
macros for all the way up, all the way
down, all the way in, all the way out,
and arm reset). Three small buttons
run along the inside curve and are
macro buttons that can be assigned to
Heres the 1 watt mono amplifier that I used
in the early stages of the project. For the
final project, I used a circuit based on the
stereo Phillips TDA7053A.
My dogs despise RoboSapien, especially since
I use it to keep tabs on them when I am away
from the house! This image is captured from
RoboSapiens own camera.
Samans.qxd 12/8/2004 7:55 AM Page 23
whatever I have programmed in Girder.
Unlike the RoboSapien, Girder places
no limit on the number of steps you
can put in a macro.
The following is a detailed how
to on setting up a skinned PC interface
to control RoboSapien using the
USB-UIRT IR transceiver, Girder, and
MainLobby. This information was
originally published by me in the
forums at RoboSapien.tk
I used the USB-UIRT as my IR trans-
ceiver. I dont think it is the cheapest
option, but I had an extra one laying
around. The creator, Jon Rhees, hand
makes them and provides excellent
support; the device is also pretty much
custom made to work with Girder. If
you are just going to use it with the
RoboSapien, the base model will do;
however, if you also want to use it to
learn IR from a lot of stereo and home
theater components, you need to get
the version with the additional 56 kHz
IR sensor. After you plug in the
USB-UIRT for the first time, make
sure to install the latest drivers.
Girder is Windows automa-
tion software that is very popular
with the HTPC crowd. It can be
complicated and has a steep
learning curve, but in terms of
depth of control and raw power
it is the best thing out there by
far. We are going to use it
primarily to learn, organize, and
store the IR commands from the
RoboSapien remote and then exe-
cute them by pressing a button in
the MainLobby interface.
As stated, another extremely useful
feature of Girder is the ability to
program macros (called multigroups
in Girder) with unlimited amounts of
steps. We are really only using a fraction
of the softwares capabilities; you can
also use Girder to control your PC via IR
remote, to send and receive serial
commands, and a million other things.
MainLobby is made by a company
called Cinemar and is designed to be
an HTPC (home theater PC) front
end. It allows you to create a custom
graphical user interface (GUI) with
buttons that you can set up to launch
programs, execute files, trigger events
in Girder to send IR commands, and so
on. It is entirely skin-able, so the sky is
the limit in terms of graphics and the
design is accomplished via an easy
drop-and-drag interface.
For this project, I am using the trial
version of MainLobby and I just used
buttons and a background from the
included libraries. It will be
fun to design RoboSapien-
themed setups. ML Server is
the MainLobby application used to
interact with Girder.
Set-up:
So how do we get all these pieces
setup and communicating with each
other? The first thing is to make sure
that the USB-UIRT, Girder, ML Server,
and MainLobby are all installed and
running on your PC.
Girder Set-up and Configuration:
Go to File -> Settings -> Plug-ins tab
and make sure that the Internet Event
Server and USB-UIRT driver plug-ins
are installed (checked). Also make sure
that the Auto Enable Input device
box is checked. Click apply and then
click OK. You should now be back at
the main Girder screen and the light in
the bottom right corner should be
green (this means the plug-ins are
enabled and operational). If it is not
green, try going to File and choose
Enable Input Device(s) or hit F9.
Now that the plug-ins are set up,
lets teach Girder a RoboSapien
command. Go to File -> New. In the
large, white area on the left, right click
and choose Add command. A folder
named New and a command named
New will be created. Select these and
right click to rename them. The folder
is whats called a group and is used
to organize commands. Lets rename it
as arm commands and use it to store
all of RoboSapiens individual arm
movements. Select the command, right
click, and rename it R arm in.
While it is still selected, look in the
top right and select Internet Event
Server. Click on the learn button and
enter an event string for example,
rarmin. Notice that there is
a new item underneath the
command called an Event
String. This is the command
that Mainlobby will send to
trigger Girder to send out the
appropriate IR command.
Click OK. Now, make
sure the R arm in com-
mand is still selected and, in
the bottom right, choose
the Plug-ins tab. Select the
USB-UIRT driver in the list
and then click on Settings.
24 SERVO 01.2005
SERVO Magazine Hack-a-Sapien Contest Winner SERVO Magazine Hack-a-Sapien Contest Winner
Heres the early prototype of the RF receiver
with a RadioShack mini amplifier/speaker.
Great backpack, horrible sound quality.
The ZT-802 mini wireless camera.
The wireless camera installed in chest cavity. If you
werent looking for it, you probably wouldnt notice
it. Of course, the fact that you are being followed
by a robot would probably make you suspicious.
A USB-UIRT driver window will pop up;
click on the Learn ... button. Another
window will now come up and await
the IR signal. Take RoboSapiens
remote and point it at your USB-UIRT
then continue pressing the right arm
up button until it learns the command
and returns you to the USB-UIRT driver
window. I know that the instructions in
the window say to HOLD the button on
the remote, but RoboSapiens IR isnt a
constant signal (it is a burst), so you
might have to hit the Accept Burst
button if it will not fully learn.
Now that you are back at the USB-
UIRT driver window, point the USB-UIRT
at RoboSapien and hit the Test button
to make sure that the command was
learned successfully. If not, relearn it.
Also pay attention to the Repeat box.
You will want to set this to 1 in most
cases, so that Girder only sends the
command once unless you want it to
send the IR command multiple times.
For example, I have commands setup to
move the arm all the way up, all the way
down, all the way out, and all the way
in; these utilize the repeat function.
Congratulations! You have taught
Girder the first RoboSapien command.
Repeat the above steps for each
command on the remote and organize
them in groups as you see fit.
One other thing worth mentioning
in Girder is multigroups. These are
macros; you can take any girder com-
mand you have created, right click on it
to copy, and then paste it into multi-
groups. String together unlimited com-
mands, but keep in mind that you might
have to mess around with some more
advanced settings to get the timing right
when using RoboSapiens combina-
tion or attitude moves. Dont forget
to add an event string for them so
you can call them from MainLobby.
Once you have your IR com-
mands learned into Girder, save
your file, and then click File-> close
window to send Girder into your
system tray.
ML Server Set-up and
Configuration:
Open up ML Server and make
sure that MLGirder is listed in
the plug-ins at the bottom. Open
up Windows Explorer and find the file
gireventlib.dll (it should be in the folder
C:\Program Files\girder) and copy it to
your C:\Windows\system32 folder.
Alternatively, you can add the file to
your path. Select Option on MLServer
and choose hide to send ML Server to
the system tray.
MainLobby Set-up and
Configuration:
With MainLobby open, go to the
top of the screen to bring up the menu.
Select options and hit the Girder
button at the left. Setup both the
Girder.exe location and the Internet
Event Server (ieventc.exe) location on
your hard drive. They should both be in
the main Girder directory.
Click on the Scene button on the
left. Notice that this is where you
choose your background skin, any
animated effects, and so on. Click the
OK button in the bottom right to exit
the Options screen.
Now, move your mouse to the top
menu bar and choose design mode.
Click Add to add a button; any
button shape will do for now. You can
load custom buttons of your own or hit
the Library button to choose from
those included with MainLobby.
Once you see the button appear on
your background, you can drag and
drop it wherever you like. Hit the Edit
mode button in the top menu bar and
click on the button you just created. A
screen with tons of options will open up.
Here, you can customize your button.
In the MLServeCmd area at the
bottom, click on the A button. A new
window will pop up. From the drop
down list in the MLServeCmd Panel,
choose MLGirder. This will populate
the following statement in the box:
MLServeCmd.MLGirder|. Add the
Event String you created in Girder for a
particular RoboSapien command to the
end of this statement. Using the com-
mand we created earlier, the box would
read MLServeCmd.MLGirder|rarmin.
You can now test it via the test
button to make sure it works or press
OK and test it from the buttons prop-
erties panel. Click OK when finished.
You should now be able to choose
Launch from the top menu bar, click
on the button you created, and make
RoboSapien bring his right arm in.
Repeat the above steps in
MainLobby for each button you wish
to create.
SERVO 01.2005 25
RoboSapien with the RF receiver PCB
prior to installing it inside his back cavity.
The RadioShack mini amplifier/speaker gutted.
Oddly, it made me hungry for doughnuts.
The wireless camera installation
from the inside.
26 SERVO 01.2005
RoboSapien RF Sound
Mod
The next step in my Zion replica-
tion with RoboSapien was to develop a
modified sound system. The original
concept was to use the RF receiver
from a set of wireless headphones so
that RoboSapien could play MP3 music
files and, for that matter, any sound
from my PC. This ties in nicely
with the PC control scheme.
I gutted an inexpensive set
of Emerson EHP1000 wireless
(RF) headphones. Initially, I just
stuck the circuit board in the
little slot behind RoboSapiens
head. I did not want to make a
more permanent decision until
I could install a camera. This
allowed me to transmit sounds
played on my PC to the
RoboSapien speaker.
MainLobby lets you assign
multiple events to each control
button, so I can press one
button in the MainLobby GUI
and it will send an IR command
to RoboSapien and play an
MP3 file. With the wireless
set up, it plays this sound
through RoboSapiens speaker.
RoboSapien now says whatever
MP3 I send to him, plays music,
etc.
The possibilities are interest-
ing. You could set up separate
control schemes for
RoboSapien with separate
sounds. For example, with a
custom themed GUI created in
MainLobby, you could create a football
RoboSapien, programmed to dance,
play the fight song of your favorite
team, cuss at the refs, cheer for individ-
ual players, whatever you want.
Once I got into this hack, I found
that I had a real problem with amplifi-
cation more specifically, the lack of
it. I am a total newbie when it comes
to electronics, so when I
hooked this up I basically
just plugged the RF trans-
mitter into the headphone
jack on my PC speakers and
hooked up the RoboSapien
speaker to the wires that
were used for one of the
headphone speakers. The
volume was adequate
through the RoboSapien
speaker (slightly lower than
the default RoboSapien
voice) if I have the volume
turned all the way up on my
PC. To solve this problem, I
added a 1 W amplifier
that works like a charm. Now, there
was more than enough volume, but I
realized that the speaker was subpar.
The solution was found in a set of
10-year-old, unamplified Sony
Walkman speakers I had laying around.
The speakers are each 8 , 0.2 W, so I
wired them in series. This made a real
improvement in the sound quality. The
new problem was that the speakers are
pretty big 2.5 by 3/4 thick plus
a 9 V battery and two AAA batteries in
the mix, the amplifier PCB, and the RF
headset PCB. Obviously, I needed to
house all this hardware in some sort of
a backpack/project box.
Building the project box was an
issue. All of the boxes at RadioShack
were either too big or too small. I tried
a plastic box that housed a set of
hobby knives. I liked the size, but it was
too shallow for all the boards and bat-
teries. While searching, I came across a
decent little mini amplifier/speaker. Its
a nice little package about the size of
a handheld transistor radio. Its 200
mW and drives a 16 , 0.5 W speaker
a perfect robot backpack.
Using a couple of lids from tin
espresso boxes, I rigged up an enclo-
sure for the RF amplifier and the AA
battery pack. I then Velcro
ed it
all together and attached it to
RoboSapiens back. Its very secure and
it works pretty well. I needed to shield
his upper body motors; they caused
some interference. Im still not really
very happy with this mod; although it
works as intended, its just okay.
Once I had decided that I needed
to house all of the RF equipment and
improved speakers off site from
RoboSapien, I wired up a toggle switch
on the robots back that turns off his
internal speaker. I found I was missing
his caveman talk which I found
quite strange. I ran a set of wires out of
RoboSapien to hook up his internal
sounds with the external setup,
although I am not really sure now that
they are needed. I left them because I
figure any backpack arrangement will
end up blocking his internal speaker.
Now, the Sony speaker system
sounds fantastic and plays both the RF
receiver input (in stereo) and
RoboSapiens native voice (in mono).
The finished RF receiver hack. The project box
includes a stereo amplifier, batteries for the cam-
era and the amplifier, an on/off toggle for the
amp with LED indicator, volume control, and
inputs for both Robosapiens native voice (mono)
and the RF receiver output (stereo). The toggle
and indicator LED behind the head are for the RF
receiver, which is concealed in his back cavity.
RoboSapien at night with his new lighting system.
Its pretty much the coolest MP3 boom-
box ever!
At this point, there are still a few
loose ends that need to be tied down:
I am using industrial strength Velcro
to hold the speakers on RoboSapien
and the project box on the speakers. It
is pretty heavy. I will need to come up
with a better solution to attach it
maybe bolts or pegs of some sort.
The weight of the speaker system
slows down RoboSapiens walking
speed. This isnt such a bad thing, as it
helps to stabilize him and make the
wireless camera feed less jittery.
The amplifier eats through batteries
pretty quickly.
I need to make longer patch cables
so that the entire backpack can be
removed once RoboSapien reaches his
destination. I made them a little too
short.
RoboSapien Camera
Mod
Next, I decided to install a miniature
wireless camera in my RoboSapien.
Thanks go to RoboSapien.tk for the
initial idea. Some people have installed
a similar camera into the robots head.
This is great, since the head turns when
you raise and lower the arms and you
can pan the camera around. Getting
the glued head assembly apart is
extremely difficult, so I went for the
easier solution: I installed it into
RoboSapiens roomy chest cavity.
For this project, I used a small
ZT-802 type RF mini camera. They
are easily found on www.eBay.com It
will transmit both audio and video. The
actual camera is about the size of a
sugar cube and fits very nicely in
RoboSapiens chest cavity. The receiver
has composite (RCA style) outputs that
you can plug into a TV or a tuner card
in your computer. I build HTPCs as a
hobby and swear by the Hauppauge
WinTV PVR-250. It works great with
this mod, since it provides the ability
to record the audio and video (or
snapshots) on your PC.
Before you start cutting
up RoboSapien, though, it
is a good idea to test the
camera to not only make
sure it works, but to make
sure you are happy with the
quality and with the set-up.
Plugging it into a TV or VCR
probably isnt as much fun
as plugging it into a PC that
can control RoboSapien and
record the images.
The camera lens is
0.5, so thats the hole size
we need to drill in
RoboSapiens chest. Hell
probably have nightmares
about the drill for a long
time to come. I tried using smaller
holes, but the result wasnt as good as
letting the entire lens come through
the RoboSapien shell. It also looks
nicest when the camera lens is flush
with the robots chest.
I chose the center location in his
chest for several reasons. One, it is the
spot where his chest cavity is widest.
Also, it is the furthest point away from
his arm and waist motors, so interfer-
ence is kept to a minimum. I didnt even
need to shield his motors. This spot is
also one of the more stable points on
the RoboSapien and since it is dead
center it shouldnt affect his balance.
Finally, I felt it was the most aesthetically
pleasing place for the camera.
Here are a few notes on drilling
the hole: Make sure you take your time
and go slow; once the hole is there,
you cant easily fix it. I started with a
1/8 drill bit and drilled in the center
point on his chest, right where his
cleavage meets his black throat
piece. Once this hole was made and
cleaned up with a hobby knife, I moved
to a 1/4 drill bit; I enlarged it and
again smoothed the edges with a
hobby knife.
Finally, it was time for the big
daddy the 1/2 drill bit. This made a
I see London, I see France, I see RoboSapiens
headlamp underpants!
Webots 4
www.cyberbotics.com
Fast prototyping & simulation of robots
The choice of 200 universities and
research centers
worldwide
SERVO 01.2005 27
mess because the plastic is so thin
(comparatively) and required a lot of
the old in and out with the drill to
smooth the hole. It also required quite
a bit of sculpting with the hobby knife
to get the edges nice and smooth.
Once the hole is made, you will
need to fit the camera and make any
adjustments to the hole. There is no
place to attach the camera and I dont
really think it would be a smart idea to
hot glue it onto the chest shell where
the lens goes through. The threaded
lens screws in and out of the camera
body to focus and gluing would
eliminate its ability to do this.
I used a small piece of wood to
attach the camera to the robots chest
shell. I used a spongy sanding block to
make it nice and smooth and more
importantly to get exactly the right
size and shape. Note that you will need
to angle the camera upward slightly,
unless you want RoboSapien to film only
shoes. A custom sanded piece of wood
is perfect in this regard. Make sure you
fit it exactly how you want it before you
even plug in your hot glue gun.
Apply the hot glue to the piece of
wood and press the camera into place.
This makes it much easier to install. I
glued the apparatus to the center
support peg. I left the antenna for the
camera inside the chest cavity. Once
the camera is attached to RoboSapiens
shell, hook it all up to make sure it still
works and that the position, angle, and
so on are to your liking.
The next step is to elongate the
cables for the battery. I simply snipped
off the original battery snap from the
connector leaving the wires intact
and then used a RadioShack 9 V snap.
This gave me 3 or 4 of wire, which
was plenty. I also drilled a small hole in
RoboSapiens back shell to feed the
wires out of. If you are going to do
this, make sure you feed the wires
before you connect them. I used Velcro
to connect the actual battery to the
robot.
Put it all back together and you are
done. If you have other mods that
are taking up space in the chest
cavity, you may need to secure the
battery cable connector inside; its
pretty bulky, but I just let mine lay
where it wanted. One thing this
mod showed me was that there is a
ton of space inside the chest cavity.
Lights, Camera,
Action
As I mentioned, the main problem
with the mini cam is how much light it
needs. I knew that adding some lighting
would help alleviate this problem, so
when I came across a Coleman LED
headlamp for $10.00 I convinced my
wife that it would be great for camping
(which we havent done in three years).
Anyway, I had planned on gutting it,
but it turns out that it fit pretty well
right out of the blister pack in the
form of headlamp underpants on
RoboSapien. I like the design, as its
just one piece. Ive seen a lot of head-
lamps that have a separate pack for the
batteries. I still need to test how well
it works with the camera in terms of
upping the light levels, especially
during daylight indoors.
Now, I have my ever-present Zion-
style dub, in addition to remote control
via PC and a video link, all thanks to
this RoboSapien hack. And theres still
room for more mods ... SV
The MainLobby configuration menu.
28 SERVO 01.2005
SERVO 01.2005 29
Many cool and unique hacks were submitted to the contest,
but ultimately the winners were the ones who submitted
complete hacks that took the Robosapien out of the realm
of "toy" and into that of "tool." The decisions were hard,
but I think you'll enjoy my selections, which will be featured
this month and next. Editor Dan
1 1 s s t t P P l l a a c c e e - - J J a a m m i i e e S S a a m m a a n n s s
2 2 n n d d P P l l a a c c e e - - H H e e n n r r y y P P f f i i s s t t e e r r
Official Results:
Page29.qxd 12/9/2004 1:46 PM Page 29
Send us a high-res picture of your robot with a few
descriptive sentences and we'll make you famous.
Well, mostly. menagerie@servomagazine.com
Pat Stakem, Laurel, MD
The HERO was based on a Motorola M6808 eight-bit CPU and
had a Polaroid range finder, light and sound sensors, and voice
synthesis. The manipulator arm was a popular option. I built one
unit and borrowed the other machine from a research lab for some
co-ordination experiments.
Upper left: Let's think about this the Hero-1 on the left uses the
teaching pendant of the other Hero-1 robot ...
Middle left: Two Hero-1 robots solder a connection on a Hero-JR.
I built the Hero on the right and the JR.
Lower left: Here's a good use for the little fellows.
Lower right: The Hero-1 on the left uses a pencil to operate the hex
keypad of the other Hero-1.
Hero
30 SERVO 1.2005
menagerie.qxd 12/9/2004 5:00 PM Page 30
SERVO 01.2005 31
R
obot designers face many challenges in their quest
for the perfect robot. The most obvious decisions are
microprocessor type, wheel configuration, sensor modes,
prices of hardware, and software design. The list can be
endless and daunting. One of the first decisions we all must
face is the choice of microprocessor.
In my latest robot, I have chosen the Basic Micro Atom 24-
pin as the brains of my creation (Figure 1). I chose the Atom
primarily for its basic programming language and its compati-
bility with many thousands of pre-existing program examples
in the communi-
ty. The Atom comes in many variants 24-pin, 28-pin, and
40-pin. In addition, there are Atom Pro microprocessors with
extended capabilities above and beyond what the Atom has.
The Atom 24 is pin compatible with the Parallax BS2.
Basic Micro is a small company, so they put their effort
into designing new hardware and features for their product
line. A person will not find quite as much software support
as they would from a larger company, such as Parallax, but
the extra hardware capabilities of the Basic Micro products
make up for some lack of support. Basic Micro does have
excellent forums for their products. These forums cover both
hardware and software examples.
For those readers who have not been to
the Basic Micro site recently, please
BY KERRY BARLOW
Barlow.qxd 12/8/2004 9:26 AM Page 31
allow me to list some of the many features of this chip and
then I will go into further detail of how I implemented many
of these features on my robot.
14K contiguous program space no bank switching
necessary
368 bytes user RAM
256 bytes user EEPROM
33K instructions/second
Three hardware timers
Two hardware PWM
A/D three channels of hardware A/D
Interrupts, both hardware and software driven
32-bit math integer and floating point
NTSC video display generation
I
2
C bus
LCD commands
Servo direct control software command
In circuit debugger line by line execution as debugger runs.
Oscilloscope
DTMFOUT output DTMF signals on PIN
DTMFOUT2 two-pin DTMF, higher quality signal
HCAPTURE capture internal timer value based on external
event
HCOMPARE set pin when timer value equals compare value
IF .. THEN .. ELSEIF .. ELSE .. ENDIF conditional statements
LCDREAD reads RAM on LCD
LCDWRITE send text to an LCD
OWIN receive data from one-wire device
OWOUT send data to one-wire device
PAUSE delay (1 mSec resolution)
PAUSEUS delay (within 1 s resolution)
PAUSECLK delay based on internal hardware timer
PEEK ... POKE read
/write specific RAM
location
PULSIN measure
pulse width (10 s
resolution)
SPMOTOR control
any stepper motor
XIN X-10 input
XOUT X-10 output
The Atom 24-
pin, as stated, is pin compatible with the BS2. For the
additional A/D channels, Basic Micro has special pads
underneath the chip that a user may solder wires onto (see
Figure 2). Once a user does this, the A/D channels will be
active. To view the wires attached, see Figure 3.
The 28-pin version of the Atom has these additional A/D
lines already brought out to pins on the chip. The 40-pin
version has additional I/O channels. Soldering wires to the
tiny lands under the chip is not an easy task. There is a
walk through provided by Basic Micro and I certainly advise
reading this thoroughly before attempting the task. If you are
designing from scratch, I advise you to purchase the 28-pin
version of the Atom and save yourself some grief. I, myself,
have done the conversion; using a low wattage soldering
iron, panavise, and reading glasses, it can be done.
The Atom software code is 99% compatible with the
BS2; however, there are some small differences that should
be noted. Please review the sidebar for a list of differences I
have seen while programming the Atom.
Choosing the Microprocessor
I specifically chose the Atom for its A/D capability, the
large program space, Basic language, and its interrupt capa-
bility. While working with the Atom and designing my robot,
I found many more features that have made life much easier.
For my latest robot, I wanted all the bells and whistles I
could design within my budget. I wanted to stay with the
Basic program language. I had used many BS2 Stamp
products in the past and was happy with the language;
however, I was always running into the dreaded out-of-
memory problem. I was never happy with the idea of bank
switching. To me, it just confuses an already difficult
situation. In addition, RAM space was always tight in
my programs and even if I learned how to bank
switch I still would be running out of RAM space.
I also had run into problems on my previous robots
where a subroutine may be active and the robot is traveling
forward and hits an obstacle before the main loop can
process either a bumper switch or an I/R sensor. I was
hoping that a hardware interrupt could solve this problem
for me. I also had always wanted A/D capabilities. This
can be done externally, but then the processor has to run
through a software routine to read input. Hardware A/D
would be a much more worthwhile item to have.
THE ATOM 24-PIN MICROPROCESSOR
32 SERVO 01.2005
FIGURE 1 FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3
Memory Space
One of the biggest reasons I chose the Atom was its
contiguous memory space. The Atom has a 14K program
space. Simply put, all you need to do is write your program
no more worries about bank switching or running out of
memory space. I could not possibly have fit everything I am
doing inside the 2K memory space of a different processor.
Consider the robot program I will be discussing (available
on the SERVO website or my own see Resources). At this
time, there are 200 bytes of RAM free and 4K of program
space still free; 656 program lines show as being compiled.
This is non-optimized code. On my own working version of
the program, there are many lines of old subroutines still left
in my program only because I have the space and it is easier
to leave them in for testing purposes. I have never had any
worries about RAM space, as I did with the BS2. I have
variables declared that I am not even using.
The program on the SERVO website is cleaned up and
the unused code has been removed, but I simply wish to say
that variable and program space is so large that I never even
worried about it. The Atom does not have as much user EEP-
ROM available as a BS2. There are 256 bytes of EEPROM for
data storage. If you need more storage for something like a
data logger, then you will have to use an external memory
system. The simplest method for this is to use an I
2
C bus
based EEPROM memory chip. For my robotics work, I have
never needed to actually store memory, but I can imagine a
person who would want to map a location to memory. In this
case, I do recommend using external memory. The internal
RAM of 368 bytes for variable and array space is quite large.
Even with 35 variables and two arrays in my program, I still
have 200 bytes of variable space free in the Atom! Variables
can be bit, nibble, byte, word, and long. These are defined as
Bit 0 or 1
Nib 0 to 15
Byte 0 to 255
Word 0 to 65535
Long 0 to 4,294,967,295
As you can see, the Atom gives a programmer great
versatility in defining a variable, thereby freeing up that much
more RAM space.
Hardware PWM
The HPWM command outputs a user-specified Pulse
signal on either of two channels. Both channels may run
independently at different duty cycles, if you wish. Hardware
PWM is much more useful than software generated PWM.
The Atom will continue processing your program at the same
time it is generating PWM signals.
HPWM CCPx, Period, Duty
CCPx is a variable or constant of 0 or 1 that specifies the PWM
hardware to use. The Atom has two PWMs available. The first
is on pin 9, which is selected by setting a value of 1. The sec-
ond is on pin 10 and is selected by using a value of 0 for CCPx.
Period is a variable or constant from 0 to 16,383 that specifies
the period of the pulse width in CLK cycles.
Duty is a variable or constant from 0 to 16,383 that specifies
the duty cycle of the pulse width.
ENABLEPIN con 9
TrackLow:
HPWM 1,9890,8000 : Return 81% Duty
Return
TrackMed:
Return
TrackHigh
Return
IF .. THEN .. ELSEIF .. ELSE .. ENDIF
The Atom uses standard syntax for its IF decision state-
ments. There are two ways in which IF ... THEN can be used.
The first tests a condition and, if that condition is true, goto or
gosub to a point in the program specified by an address label.
33
34 SERVO 01.2005
If range <=130 then gosub OBJECT
The second use of the If ... Then can conditionally
execute a group of statements following the THEN. The state-
ments must be followed by Elseif or Else with an Endif.
If Ldist <=10 then Lflag = 8
Endif
Incircuit Debugger
I have used the ICD and found it to be a valuable asset
in debugging my programs. I can watch my variables
changing on the fly or watch the flow of my program code
line-by-line. It is documented that timing dependent code
may not work properly with the ICD. In my case, I found that
the SRF04 sonar would not
output values properly to the
ICD. To get around this, you
can send the SRF04 output to
a terminal window and
display the data in this man-
ner inside the ICD.
The Atom ICD has several
commands. Here are some of
them:
Animate
The animate button will ani-
mate the displayed program line-by-line, as it is executed on
the target device.
Run
The run button will start program execution on the target
once the connection is established.
Reset
Reset is used to restart the program currently running on the
target device.
Pause
The pause button will pause program execution.
Step Into
The step button allows you to step through the current
running program, line-by-line.
Step Over
This allows the program to step over a routine, mainly a
gosub and/or for .. next loop.
Step Out
Step out will allow you to step out of a gosub routine. This
allows you to skip any gosub in your program and go to the
next line after the routine.
Run To Cursor
Using the run to cursor function will allow the program to
run until the cursor is reached.
Show Variables
If clicked, the variable button will open a small new window
that displays all the current variables used in the current
program and the current values in HEX, decimal, binary, and
floating point.
Show SFRs
SFRs stands for Special Function Registers. These are the
registers built into the PICmicro MCU on the Atom.
Show Ram
If clicked, the RAM button will open a small window that
displays all the RAM values in the Atom.
FIGURE 4 FIGURE 5
The Atom is 99% compatible with the BS2; however, there
are a few minor differences. Basic Micro has a list of differences
between the Atom and a BS2 in their documentation, as well.
Debug code is different than with a BS2; primarily, the Atom
needs the command placed inside brackets.
debug [DEC val02, 13]
Reserved variable names include: smp, swap, sound, int,
dt, skip. N9600 is used for serial output to a LCD display within
the Atom: serout 1,n9600,[START] You do not need to
declare n9600 as you did with a BS2. An Atom may not be used
on a Board of Education unless you remove the capacitors on
the serial programming lines of the BOE.
Servo commands are much simpler to use with the Atom. I
have found a quicker way to program the Atom. This is not
documented by Basic Micro, but it works well for me. The Atom
IDE will do a WRITE command to the chip and then do a few
VERIFY commands to determine if the Atom was programmed
properly. I have found that I can cancel the IDE program
command at the end of the WRITE function and disregard the
VERIFY functions. The Atom will work fine. I have been doing
this for years without any problems. I also have found that you
do not even have to do a full WRITE of 100%. If you have a short
program, WRITE may be canceled at 25% or 50% and the Atom
will work fine.
THE ATOM
Show Gosub Stack
Displays the gosub stack. This
indicates where a program is
in a gosub routine.
Oscilloscope
Inside the Atom IDE there
is a built-in oscilloscope tool.
The oscilloscope supports two
basic kinds of data plots.
Y/time is where the Y-axis is
the data and the X-axis is
time. Note that this is not real
time. It is actually the time
between when the data points are received. So, if you are
only sending a data point once a second, thats when the
Y-axis will be updated.
I have not personally used the oscilloscope yet. There
is documentation on the Atom website (see Resources)
describing its full use.
The Robot
My robot has been in its design phase for many years now,
mainly due to a busy work schedule. It would take too much
space to go through all the iterations and design changes. I
feel, however, that it would be beneficial for the reader to
know of some of the worst problems I have had, in addition to
why I changed my plans and some of the hardware on the
robot. On this robot, I specifically did not want any mechanical
bumper switches. Bumper switches are fine and 100% reliable,
but an animal in nature does not really use them and I did not
want them on the robot, either. I had used servo motor-driven
drive wheels with a trailing caster previously and they work
fine, but a trailing caster would occasionally cause problems,
either catching on a carpet or catching while backing up. With
this in mind, I chose a dual track design (Figure 4).
It also was thought that edge-mounted I/R sensors would
be good as a final last-ditch obstacle detection system. See
Figure 5 for a close-up of the edge sensors. The Atom hardware
interrupt was to play a major part in the edge detection circuitry.
I will go into more detail on interrupts in Part 2 of this article.
You will notice two circuit boards on the robot. The
lower board has the Atom, H-bridge driver, and the 555 timer
for I/R and A/D connections (Figure 6).
The upper board contains a LCD, 4052 multiplexor, and
inputs for the three CDS cells (Figure 7). Ill also explain the
4052 multiplexor hardware and software in further detail in
the next installment of this article.
The Construction
Design must turn into hardware at some point, so I
chose a toy tracked power shovel as the main drive unit. I
was quite happy with the track drive unit for indoor use.
Motor control was achieved by the use of an SN754410
H-bridge motor control chip. I wanted motor speed control
and had plans for Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). The Atom
will provide hardware-based PWM. This offloads much of the
necessary overhead of software-driven PWM. At this time, I
have not used the PWM feature except as a test program. I
found that my robot runs at an adequate speed using full
battery voltage and I did not need any reason for speed
reduction at this time.
The H-bridge driver to the SN754410 has been detailed
many times in previous articles, as have the I/R transmitters
using a 555-frequency generator. For an example of the
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 7
P
erform proportional speed, direction, and steering with
only two Radio/Control channels for vehicles using two
separate brush-type electric motors mounted right and left
with our mixing RDFR dual speed control. Used in many
successful competitive robots. Single joystick operation: up
goes straight ahead, down is reverse. Pure right or left twirls
vehicle as motors turn opposite directions. In between stick
positions completely proportional. Plugs in like a servo to
your Futaba, JR, Hitec, or similar radio. Compatible with gyro
steering stabilization. Various volt and amp sizes available.
The RDFR47E 55V 75A per motor unit pictured above.
www.vantec.com
STEER WINNING ROBOTS
WITHOUT SERVOS!
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SERVO 01.2005 35
schematic of the I/R transmitter, review Figure 8.
Sensors
Sonar
Four SRF04 sonar sensors mounted on the front and
sides of the robot provide main object detection. These sonar
sensors are tied together using the 4052 multiplexor; look for
more details on the 4052 next month.
I/R Ranged
Secondary object detection is performed by a GP2D02 IR
range finder inside a small project box that is mounted on
top of a standard hobby servo. I can rotate this head to find
the largest openings around the robot.
I/R Static
Interrupt-driven edge sensors are a third and final
detector. On the front of the robot, I have transistor pairs and
two sensors at each corner. On the rear, I have two sensors
and transmitters aft facing. All transmitters are tied in parallel
and so are the receivers.
I am using the Parallax IR receiver modules. These output
a digital LOW or 0 state if an object is detected. All receivers
are tied to the Atoms interrupt hardware pin (pin 0). No matter
where the Atom may be in its main loop, if a detection
occurs, the hardware pin will immediately stop the program
and branch to a special subroutine. In this subroutine, a user
may do anything desired. I chose to stop all motors, back up,
and then search for a large area to drive into. Again, I shall
go into more detail on interrupts in Part 2.
CDS Light Sensor
I also have CDS light sensors mounted on the robot. One
sensor is mounted inside the rotating head and one is mounted
on either side of the robot. At this time, I only implement the
light sensor inside the rotating head. I use this light sensor to
prevent the robot from driving under tables. I am currently using
the Atoms A/D circuit connected directly to a standard CDS cell.
Reliability
This method has proven to be 95% reliable. I highly recom-
mend mixing sensor types in this way. I have often seen sonar
miss an obstacle that an IR sensor will detect and vise versa.
Final Notes
I hope this review of the Atom has given you an appetite
for a powerful microprocessor that is programmable in the
Basic language. So many times in the past, I have found great
sounding robots, only to realize they are based on a micro-
processor that either requires C code or uses such a convoluted
syntax for its Basic that they would nearly require relearning
the language. Basic Micro has done a good job of giving us
a high power processor wrapped in a high level language.
In Part 2, I will go into details of the Atom specific code
and how I have used that code in my robot design. SV
Atom 24, accessories, and supplemental info
www.basicmicro.com
I/R receiver
www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=350-00014
SRF04, PIR sensor, and GP2D02
http://acroname.com
SN754410 and CD4052
http://mouser.com/
Program, Atom 24, and Atom Manual 2.2
http://mntnweb.com/hobby/bolo/
SERVO Magazine code listings
RESOURCES
FIGURE 8
36 SERVO 01.2005
Smart Servos
www.Garage-Technologies.com
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Simple serial bus interface
31 motors on a single link
Position & load readout,
overcurrent protection
Full rotation mode
Modular connections
11 attachment pieces
Robot kits starting at $185
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SERVO 01.2005 37
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Showcase.qxd 12/9/2004 4:28 PM Page 37
38 SERVO 01.2005
We're starting a new year and tradition says it's time to
make some New Year's Resolutions. Here are a few to try
out for size:
I resolve to see at least one robot competition this year.
I resolve to enter at least one robot competition this year.
I resolve to build a better robot this year.
That last one is important. Competitions are fun, but
sometimes we get too focused on competitions and rules to
innovate.
Even worse, some competitions seem to have rules
designed to prevent innovation. If you have a great idea for
a new robot, go ahead and build it even if it
doesn't fit into the rules for a contest. Some of the best
robots that turn up at our local robot group meetings
weren't designed for a contest; they were created to try out
a new idea.
There continues to be a lot of talk online about new
types of competitions that would stimulate the construction
of more innovative general-purpose robots rather than more
and more specialized robots. I'm hoping some of these ideas
come to fruition this year and bring some much need
variety to the realm of robot competition.
R. Steven Rainwater
For last minute updates and changes, you can always find
the most recent version of the complete Robot Competition
FAQ at Robots.net: http://robots.net/rcfaq.html
J J a an nu ua ar r y y 2 20 00 05 5
24 Citrus Robotics Robot Combat
Inverness, FL
Radio-controlled vehicles destroy each other in
Florida.
www.citrusrobotics.com/
28-30 Techfest 2005
IIT, Mumbai, India
A nationwide science and technology festival for
Indian students. There are several robot contests,
including Yantriki and Survivor.
www.techfest.org/
F Fe eb br ru ua ar r y y 2 20 00 05 5
4-6 Robotix
IIT Khargpur, West Bengal, India
Organized for students of IIT Khargpur, this
contest includes events for both autonomous
robots and radio-controlled machines.
www.robotixiitkgp.com/
M Ma ar r c ch h 2 20 00 05 5
6-10 APEC Micromouse Contest
Hilton Hotel, Austin, TX
This will be the 18th annual APEC Micromouse event.
www.apec-conf.org/
11-12 AMD Jerry Sanders
Creative Design Contest
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL
The design problem for this contest is new and
different each year. Check the website for the latest
news and details.
http://dc.cen.uiuc.edu/
19-20 Manitoba Robot Games
Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Canada
A variety of events, including sumo, a robot tractor
pull, and Atomic Hockey.
www.scmb.mb.ca/
24-27 ROBOlympics
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Lots of events, including sumo, BEAM, Mindstorms,
FIRA, and robot combat.
www.robolympics.net
A Ap pr ri i l l 2 20 00 05 5
9-10 Trinity College Fire Fighting Home Robot
Contest
Trinity College, Hartford, CT
Could the fire have been set by a robot builder
frustrated with the voluminous rules?
www.trincoll.edu/events/robot
Send updates, new listings, corrections, complaints, and suggestions to: steve@ncc.com or FAX 972-404-0269
Events.qxd 12/8/2004 9:54 AM Page 38
SERVO 01.2005 39
A
message dated 8/3/04 on the
PARTS Yahoo! listserver:
SandbergDJ writes ...
Is anyone building a robot for
Robo-Magellan? Ive considered using
MRToo, but I dont have the time or
knowledge to do the navigation and
sensor modifications to the robot. Is
anyone interested in collaborating?
LJGeib responds ...
Time is short, so well have to
start stirring the pot soon if we want
to try to do this.
And so the race to build a robot
for the Seattle Robotics Society/
SERVO Magazine Robo-Magellan
began. We had less than eight weeks
to do the job.
Early Decisions
I had a robot chassis (MRToo) that
I had been tinkering with for two
years, but it would need a lot of work
to make it to Robo-Magellan in less
than eight weeks. Larry Geib had a
GPS that he had been playing with
for about a week, but didnt have a
reliable chassis to attach it to. With
an exchange of several Emails, we
decided that with lots of work and
a fair amount of luck we might just
be able to get a challenger assembled
for the contest. I registered the robot
right away to provide a little extra
motivation and, with that, we began
the project.
We decided that parallel develop-
ment was the only way that we could
succeed. I would make the chassis
functional and create the control
commands and Larry would develop
the GPS software and CMUcam
interface. Neither Larry nor I are great
programmers, so we decided that a
BASIC Stamp II was the best choice for
overall control. We felt that keeping
it simple and reliable provided our
greatest chance for success.
The Chassis
MRToo (pronounced M-R-2) is a
four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering
robot. The robot was built without
an overall plan or purpose. It just
evolved from parts that I had acquired
over time. The drive motors are
discarded rear wiper motors modified
for continuous rotation. There is one
motor for each wheel and all four
by Daryl Sandberg & Larry Geib
Sandberg.qxd 12/7/2004 4:38 PM Page 39
42 SERVO 01.2005
just to see if it could find the final cone,
but we had already turned the
robot off. That killed the Stamps
memory, ending our chances at hitting
the destination cone.
Lessons Learned
Entering the contest this year was
an excellent learning experience. It
gave us a good idea what works and
what doesnt.
This is what we learned:
Start earlier. By the time Larry got
the robot and put the sensors on it,
there were only nine days left to the
contest. Its remarkable that the robot
worked at all. The fact that the camera
didnt turn on at the first cone is
directly attributable to not having time
to debug the entire program. The
contest version looked at the wrong
variable to turn on the camera. We
couldnt test it after dark the night
before the contest, so we didnt catch
the error.
GPS is a very robust navigation
method. Even with the bad compass
(shorted wires on a sensor), the GPS
offered enough correction to get the
robot around the course. With a GPS
that has routes, you dont need to do
double precision math.
Next Year
For next year, we will build on what
we have. More time and cleaner
coding will smooth out the glitches in
the behavior. The camera code is a
good example. It works over a wide
field of view, but there are certainly
more elegant ways to do the task.
We will decouple the
steering from the GPS input.
Currently, the steering
corrects only refresh once a
second because the Stamp
spends most of its time
waiting in a looped SERIN
statement.
We will tighten the dead-
band on the steering
program and use tighter
tie rod ends for the link-
age. These three things
were the reasons for the
drunken duck behavior
that the robot exhibited
during the contest.
We will add proximity
sensors. Sonar, IR, and
vision are some choices. Well spend
enough time on sensor fusion to
improve behavior and speed up the
response to objects and hazards.
We will do tests to gain more speed
before next year. There are some really
fast robots out there!
Well add more of our own waypoints
and include a scheme for determining
which waypoints have cones attributed
to them.
TEST, TEST, TEST! What you think
you are writing isnt always what the
robot ends up doing.
We will provide alternate behaviors
for different parts of the course.
Well wear lots of orange and walk in
front of the other guys robots.
Conclusion
When Larry and I began this
project, I was genuinely concerned that
differences in style or disagreements
about how the robot should be put
together would lead to bickering and
possibly damage our friendship. Quite
the opposite happened. Working as
a team was one of the best parts of
this project.
Being able to bounce ideas
off each other and encourage
each other when the going got
tough made getting a robot
completed on time possible.
I now have a much greater
level of respect for Larrys abilities
and his creativity and weve
already begun working to
improve MRToo for next years
event. SV
MRToo Goes to Seattle
Testing the steering. Sharp turns are no problem! Note the strong design.
Testing the four-wheel drive.
MRToo poses with its prize.
Sandberg.qxd 12/7/2004 4:42 PM Page 42
SERVO 01.2005 43
The entry fee to robotics is not exactly cheap when you
consider the cost of all the mechanics and electronics
required. This suggests the use of a simulation system; how-
ever, very often simulation and reality are miles apart. The
goal for our simulation system EyeSim was, therefore, to
create a simulation package that is available as a public
domain and that models real robots as realistically as possible.
Not only should the outer appearance of the simulated
robot match the real one, but the complete application
programmer interface (API) should also be identical for both
the simulation and the real robot. This allows us to switch
between the simulation and real robots without having to
change a single line of source code! This simulation system
should implement all robot actuators and sensors of the
EyeBot robot family, including a virtual camera with
adjustable error models.
Simulation is not only an ideal entry
to the robotics arena, it is also
an important instrument
for research in many
computation-intense
AI techniques, like
genetic algorithms or
genetic programming
which can be exe-
cuted in the
simulation much more easily than on a real robot. We can
have hundreds of robots interact in a simulation and let robot
programs evolve through thousands of generations much
faster and with less trouble than on real robots. However, the
prerequisite for all this is that the so-called reality gap the
difference between simulated and real robots is minimal.
User Interface
The EyeSim user interface comprises two main parts: the
virtual 3-D world in which the robots operate and the user
interface through which the simulation can be controlled
(e.g., by changing a robots position or the timing of the
simulation). A simple 3-D engine based on OpenGL has been
developed for visualization. This provides for fast graphics
rendering, even on older style PCs and graphics cards. Newer
style graphics accelerators are supported and allow even
faster rendering, but are not a requirement.
Environment Definition
All models of robots and objects (walls, boxes, cans, etc.)
have been designed with Milkshape3-D (www.swiss
quake.ch/chumbalum-soft), a simple but efficient share-
ware module that is mainly used for
generating polygon
models for simulations
and computer
by THOMAS BRAUNL, ANDREAS KOESTLER, and AXEL WAGGERSHAUSER
FIGURE 1. Omni-directional robot in reality.
Braunl.qxd 12/8/2004 8:15 AM Page 43
games. With its large library of import/export filters, it is
possible to convert models designed with other 3-D modelers
to the Milkshape3-D format.
For defining the simulation environment, we allow two
different formats: maze format (see Figure 2, top) a simple
text format that was originally used to describe mazes in the
MicroMouse competition and world format (see Figure 2,
bottom) which was originally developed for the Saphira
simulation system and was extended for our
purposes.
After processing the information from model
and environment files, EyeSim displays the
scene from a standard viewpoint. The user can
change the displayed scene by turning, shifting,
or zooming to get a better overview of the
simulated world. Although the simulation could,
in principle, be executed without a complex
GUI (Geographical User Interface) or the 3-D
rendering of a scene, this simplifies debugging
tremendously. For example, the user can directly
see if a robot has been caught in a corner, as
opposed to having to go through tables of
numbers in a purely numeric simulation.
The user interface has been designed by
using the freeware fltk class library
(www.fltk.org) that allows the user to change
the simulation settings. Among other things, it is
possible to change the error probabilities of
sensors and actuators, have the robots leave a
visible trail, or change the simulation timing to
slow motion or fast forward. This is especially
useful for computation-intense algorithms like
genetic algorithms, which often require several
CPU-days to complete.
Another step towards realistic robot simula-
tion is the implementation of the identical user
interface of the EyeCon controller board with LCD output
and user input buttons (see Figure 3). This allows you to run
the robot application with exactly the same source code as
the real robots under the RoBIOS operating system.
Robot Model
Each robot type is characterized by two files: a definition
file (name.robi, see Figure 4) with all simulation relevant data
and an independent graph-
ics file (name.ms3D) for
its realistic 3-D rendering.
The robi file contains the
name of the robot type, its
physical dimensions, values
for maximum speed, drive
type (differential drive,
Ackermann drive, omni-
directional drive), wheel
base, wheel diameter,
maximum wheel speed,
and encoder ticks per
revolution. The robi file
contains all sensor data,
similar to the hardware
description table (HDT) of
the real robot, where all
sensors are defined (e.g.,
PSD sensors in Figure 4).
We modeled a number of
44 SERVO 01.2005
Mobile Robots Between
SI MULATI ON & REALI TY
FIGURE 2. Environment definition in maze format (top) and world format (bottom).
FIGURE 3. EyeSim user interface.
I I
I I
I I

I I
I o I
I I

I I
I I
I I
floor_texture ../textures/soccer.bmp
width 3100
height 1530
ball 1350 1028
; Wall (x1,y1, x2,y2), Thick.,Height, Col. (R,G,B)
180 0 180 515 18 100 255 255 255
180 1015 180 1530 18 100 255 255 255
0 497 198 497 18 100 255 255 0
0 1015 198 1015 18 100 255 255 0
0 515 0 1015 18 100 255 255 0
180 0 2938 0 18 100 255 255 255
180 1530 2938 1530 18 100 255 255 255
2938 0 2938 533 18 100 255 255 255
2938 1015 2938 1530 18 100 255 255 255
2938 1015 3100 1015 18 100 0 0 255
2938 515 3100 515 18 100 0 0 255
3082 515 3082 1015 18 100 0 0 255
robots from the Mobile Robot Lab
(http://robotics.ee.uwa.edu.au) and the
SoccerBots from Joker Robotics (http://joker-
robotics.com). However, it is easy to add your
own robot by providing a robi description
file and a graphics file.
EyeSim (and RoBIOS for real robots)
provides driving commands on three different
levels. High level driving commands allow the
application programmer to specify the vehicle
speed directly in terms of linear speed and
rotational speed. A PID controller provides
velocity and position control.
A low level interface allows the control of
individual motors and reading of their respective shaft
encoders.
For example, for differential drive, setting the same
speed for left and right motors will result in a straight
forward motion, while having different (positive) wheel
speeds will result in driving a curved forward path. For
Ackermann drives (the classic automobile drive system), the
rear wheels have one common motor, while both front
wheels are steered by a common servo. Using the patented
Mecanum wheel design with three or four driven wheels
allows a vehicle with omni-directional drive to move in all
directions, including forward and sideways, as well as to turn
on the spot.
Sensor Visualization
EyeSims sensor visualization can assist in locating an
error in a robot application program, as errors in robot pro-
grams are frequently related to incorrect sensor data reading
or incorrect interpretation. EyeSim provides a graphical and
numerical display of sensor values to assist the application
programmer. Read requests to the infrared distance sensors
(position sensitive device, PSD) are displayed as lines and are
stored for subsequent analysis. Camera read requests are
displayed with the cameras frustrum and sending and
receiving wireless transmissions is represented with graphics
symbols (see Figure 5). In many cases, simply watching a
robot program with sensor visualization switched on helps in
locating an error.
Implementation
The internal simulator structure is client-based and
object oriented. The central object in the server is an
instance of class Core. Each robot is represented by a
client, which communicates with the server through a
bi-directional message channel. The main tasks of the Core
are: initialization of the simulation, administering of current
states of the world (including positions of robots and
objects), synchronization of individual robots, and interaction
with the GUI.
The interface between the simulator and robot
application program are the functions from the RoBIOS
operating system (see Box RoBIOS API). In addition, the
RoBIOS functions are the simulators only way to influence
the execution of the robot programs. For every call of a
RoBiOS function, the simulator first calculates the current
status of the simulated robot and exchanges synchronization
messages with the Core, if required. It then follows the
simulated execution of the actual RoBIOS function, which
may have to communicate with the Core again (e.g., for
reading sensor values or for setting actuator commands).
The basis for a properly working dynamic model is a solid
model of time. For example, in order to be able to calculate
the simulated distance sensor values properly, it must be
known at which point in simulated time this sensor reading
FIGURE 4. Robot definition file for type S4X with differential drive.
name S4X
diameter 186
speed 600
turn 300
model S4X.ms3D
psd PSD_FRONT 60 20 30 0
psd PSD_LEFT 56 45 30 90
psd PSD_RIGHT 56 -45 30 -90
camera 45 0 72 0 -5 80 60
wheel 54 3600 1100 90
drive DIFFERENTIAL_DRIVE MOTOR_LEFT QUAD_LEFT MOTOR_RIGHT QUAD_RIGHT
45
takes place. Only then can positions of moving robots and
obstacles be properly calculated. Even more important is
a solid model of time for synchronizing multiple robots in a
simulation environment. Note that each robot program
can itself make use of multi-tasking by starting threads for
individual tasks.
EyeSim accomplishes this by giving each robot its local
time, which is being synchronized with a global simulation
clock. By default, the global clock runs in real time that is,
the simulation takes the same time as the real robots would.
However, it is possible to run the simulation slower or faster
than real time; the only limitation here is the processing
speed of the host computer system. Running the simulation
faster is especially useful when simulating a very long robot
program or a large number of robot programs (e.g., for
evolutionary processes, such as Genetic Programming).
Error Models
In the simulation environment, sensor values are
obviously not measured, but calculated. This leads to the
strange situation that simulated values are usually much
more precise than an actual robot sensor could ever be. In
the real world, there are always aberrations from the
true signal that are due to sensor error or noise. There are
several causes for noise, such as the black signal in CCD
chips, discretization errors in A/D converters, etc. Generally
speaking, the performance of most sensor types is limited by
some form of noise.
In order to keep the reality gap as small as possible,
we implemented artificial sensor errors and noise in our
simulation environment. Algorithms that have only been
tested under perfect, synthetic conditions are very likely to
fail in a real environment. The Gaussian noise used in EyeSim
is a simplification of noise encountered in real environments,
but is a tremendous help in the development of robust and
fault-tolerant algorithms.
While noise added to PSD sensors and shaft encoders
results in a normally-distributed aberration from the correct
sensor value, we additionally implemented impulse noise for
the simulated camera. This can be specified in the form of
salt and pepper noise (stray black and white
pixels) or 100s and 1,000s noise (stray colored
pixels). In real camera systems, these incorrect
pixel values can be the effect of information loss
or failures during data transfer.
Application Examples
A good start in getting to know a simulation
system begins with looking at some application
examples in detail. For this, we have selected some
typical mobile robot tasks. Camera and sensor
commands in the RoBIOS operating system are
largely self-explanatory. For driving commands, the
application program-
mer can choose
between direct motor
control in low level
modus (MOTOR and
QUAD commands) and
the high level VW inter-
face with linear and
rotational velocities
(e.g., VWDriveStraight,
VWDriveTurn).
Maze Exploration
Making a robot
that has to find its way
46 SERVO 01.2005
FIGURE 5. Visualization of PSD sensors and wireless communication.
FIGURE 7. Original, salt and pepper noise, 100s and 1,000s noise, and white Gaussian noise.
FIGURE 6. Some of the real EyeBot sensors PSD, inclinometer, and gyroscope.
in a maze has been a popular task for over 20 years.
Robots have been competing in the MicroMouse
Contest since the 1980s. A robot explores a previously
unknown maze, then has to return to the starting point,
and has several tries to find the goal files in the shortest
time.
What makes this task so interesting is the combina-
tion of algorithm design (we could call this the
Computer Science or IT side) and the required robust
implementation in order to navigate in a non-perfect real
world (we could call this the Engineering side).
The advantage of our simulation system is that it
can be used for both parts. First, we can deactivate all
error models. This means the robot will always drive
exactly the desired distance, turn exactly about the
desired angle, and return the correct sensor values.
This simplifies the maze problem to a pure algorithm
problem and the simulation system can be used to
debug the program logic. Once this stage has been
achieved, the program is still far from being able to
succeed in a real robot environment, since the
world is not perfect. There will always be errors of
a few mm in the robots distance sensors, the
robot will overshoot or stop short its driving
commands by a few mm, and it will turn a few
degrees too far or too short slowly drifting from
its ideal trajectory.
So, essentially, the robot program has to be
extended to allow robust or fault tolerant driving in
a realistic maze environment (while a maze with
fixed side lengths and only right angles is already an
artificially simplified environment). This much more
realistic scenario of a maze environment can also be
executed in EyeSim. We set realistic error values for
the robots sensors and actuators (e.g., found from
measurements with the real robots) and can now
test the extended robot program under these harder but
FIGURE 8. Robot during maze exploration.
shown actual size
2. Choose your motor.
With an operating range
of 6 volts to 18 volts and
up to 3 A of current,
youll have many
motor options.
3. Choose your
feedback mode.
Position feedback mode allows you to use a
potentiometer or other analog voltage source
to accurately move to exact positions.
Speed feedback mode allows for tachometer-
based control of your motors speed.
Motor Control Choices from Pololu
1. Choose your protocol.
RC servo protocol
lets you connect to
an RC receiver or
serial servo controller.
Analog protocol is
simple for quick tests
and demonstrations.
Serial protocol is great
for microcontroller- or
computer-based control.
N
E
W
!
Visit or call 1-877-7-POLOLU
for more innovative motion control solutions.
www.pololu.com
SERVO 01.2005 47
void explore_left(int goal_x, int goal_y) {
int x=0, y=0, dir=0; /* start position */
int front_open, left_open, right_open;
while (!(x==goal_x && y==goal_y)) { /* goal not reached */
front_open = PSDGet(psd_front) > THRES;
left_open = PSDGet(psd_left) > THRES;
right_open = PSDGet(psd_right) > THRES;
if (left_open) turn(+1, &dir); /* turn left */
else if (front_open); /* drive straight*/
else if (right_open) turn(-1, &dir); /* turn right */
else turn(+2, &dir); /* dead end - back up */
go_one(&x,&y,dir); /* go one step in any case */
}
}
PROGRAM 1. Follow the left wall.
more realistic conditions. If the extended program masters
the simulation with error settings, it is then ready to be
subsequently used on the real robots.
For now, lets only look at the algorithmic side of things.
If you have ever been trapped in a maze (or have watched
Stanley Kubricks film, The Shining), you may remember this
rule to find the exit: Always follow the left wall. (Another
rule that also works is always follow the right wall; however,
you must not mix these two rules!) This simple rule does, in
fact, find the exit for most mazes because quite often
the entry and exit are located along the outside border of
the maze. However, the rule does not work for mazes
that have the exit (or goal) somewhere in the middle
one (or the robot) will then be lost forever in the
maze.
Program 1 shows an implementation of the
always follow the left wall algorithm. In each field,
the robot uses its PSD sensors to check whether there
are walls to the left, front, or right side. It then tries
to drive to the field left of its current position. If this
is not possible because of a wall, the robot tries to
drive straight. If this is not possible, it tries to drive
right. If neither is possible (the robot would then be
trapped in a dead end with three surrounding walls)
it will turn around and back up to the field it came
from.
Unfortunately, the algorithm from Program 1 finds only
one path from start to goal, but not necessarily the shortest
one. To find the shortest path, we need to implement a
recursive algorithm that explores the complete maze (see
Program 2). The robot measures, in every field, the distance
to left, front, and right and enters the information about
surrounding walls in its data structure. This allows it to build
a complete reconstruction of the maze structure, step-by-
step.
The robot begins maze exploration at the start field. If
there are no walls at its current position (see Figure 9), it will
first explore the field to its left (then continue the recursive
search from there), then the field in front (and continue
recursively), then the field to its right (and continue recursively).
Every new field is being marked in a data structure, so the
robot knows which field it has already visited, which is
required for the algorithm to terminate.
Figure 10 shows the robots local data structure after
exploration. The robot now has a map of the maze and can
use it for finding the shortest path. For example, lets start
in the bottom left field with [y, x] = [0, 0] and search the
shortest path to the top right field [8, 8]. The algorithm we
are using is called flood-fill. From the start field [0, 0], the
robot reaches field [0, 0] in zero steps (of course, since it is
already there) and the neighboring field [1,0] in one step. We
now compute the distance from each newly reached field to
all their neighbor fields (in case there are no walls in
between). If field [y, x] is
reachable in k steps, then
neighbor fields [y+1, x],
[y-1, x], [y,x+1], [y, x-1]
are all reachable in k+1
steps, provided there are
no walls in between and
we have not already
established a shorter path
to any one of these in a
previous step.
We continue with this
iterative process until we
have reached the goal
field or until we have
void explore() {
int front_open, left_open, right_open, old_dir;
mark[rob_y][rob_x] = 1; /* set mark */
PSDGet(psd_left), PSDGet(psd_right));
front_open = PSDGet(psd_front) > THRES;
left_open = PSDGet(psd_left) > THRES;
right_open = PSDGet(psd_right) > THRES;
maze_entry(rob_x,rob_y,rob_dir, front_open);
maze_entry(rob_x,rob_y,(rob_dir+1)%4, left_open);
maze_entry(rob_x,rob_y,(rob_dir+3)%4, right_open);
check_mark();
old_dir = rob_dir;
if (front_open && unmarked(rob_y,rob_x,old_dir)) {
go_to(old_dir); /* go 1 forward */
explore(); /* recursive call */
go_to(old_dir+2); /* go 1 back */
}
if (left_open && unmarked(rob_y,rob_x,old_dir+1)) {
go_to(old_dir+1); /* go 1 left */
go_to(old_dir-1); /* go 1 right */
}
if (right_open && unmarked(rob_y,rob_x,old_dir-1)) {
go_to(old_dir-1); /* go 1 right */
go_to(old_dir+1); /* go 1 left */
}
}
PROGRAM 2. Recursive maze exploration.
FIGURE 9. The algorithm follow the left wall versus recursive maze
exploration algorithm.
48 SERVO 01.2005
.....................
._._._._._._._._._...
| _ _ _ _ _| |..
| | _ _ _ | |_ _|..
| | |_ _ _ | | | |..
| | _ _|_ _| _|..
| |_|_ _ _ _ _ _ |..
| |_ _ | _ | |..
| _ | |_ _| | _|..
| | | | | _ _ |..
|.|_ _ _|_ _ _ _|_|..
FIGURE 10. Maze representation.
visited all reachable fields (the goal would not be reachable
in this case).
Object Detection and Tracking
Simulation gets much more interesting with the capability
to perform image processing on the simulated robot. Like all
real robots in the EyeBot family, the simulated robots may
have a virtual camera onboard, which can be accessed
through RoBIOS calls in order to read an image
(CAMGetColFrame). Images can be displayed on the robot
console (LCDPutColorGraphic) and manipulated by using
image processing routines on the robot.
A simple problem is the detection of an object by using
its color. For this task, we have placed a red ball in the robots
environment and put the robot at a random position and
orientation. We use a top-down program design strategy. We
assume we have an image processing routine for ball
detection ColSearch, then write our main program around it.
Figure 11. Recursive maze exploration.
WWW.SOZBOTS.COM
These awesome kits are the latest craze in Japan.
Robot has 17 motors for fluid movements.
Programed and Controlled via PC.
Upgradable to Bluetooth wireless.
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SERVO 01.2005 49
In a loop, we read a camera image and display it on the LCD,
then call our detection routine ColSearch, and print its results
as text on the LCD (using LCDPrintf).
While we are not close enough to the object (val<20,
which means ball diameter is less than 20 pixels), we continue
driving. If the detected ball position is equal to -1 (no ball
detected) or between 0 and 20 (ball detected in the left
image third), we rotate the robot to the left (VWDriveTurn).
If the detected ball position is between 60 and 79 (ball
detected in the right image third), we rotate the robot to the
left; otherwise, we drive a short distance forward
(VWDriveStraight).
What is still missing is the actual implementation of the
ball detection routine ColSearch. Since color objects are
easier to detect in the HSV color model (hue, saturation,
value) than the camera output format RGB (red, green, blue),
our first step is to convert RBG to HSV.
However, this step is not always necessary. For example,
for the detection of a red object, one could more easily work
on RGB values directly.
In the next step, we generate a column histogram in a
loop over all pixels. This means we count for every column
the number of pixels with a color (hue) that is similar to the
desired object color (obj_hue). With this, we get a number
representing the concentration of the desired color value for
each column. We only have to find the maximum value over
all columns in order to find the balls position. As a result,
from function ColSearch, we return the column number
(pos) with the highest concentration (val) of matching color
values.
Figure 12 shows the execution of the object detection
program. At the beginning of the experiment, the robot is
facing the wall and is not able to see the ball. Following the
algorithm, the robot turns on the spot until the ball is being
detected in the middle third of its local camera image. The
robot then drives toward the ball and corrects its orientation
in case the ball drifts towards the left or right image border.
Note that this algorithm requires the ball to be visible
from every board position; otherwise, the robot would spin
forever. An alternate solution would be to drive to various
points in the environment and start searching for the
ball locally.
Downloads and Further Reading
The complete simulation system (version 6.1) for
Windows is freely available and can be downloaded from:
http://robotics.ee.uwa.edu.au/eyebot/ftp/rob61win.
exe (43 MB).
This package contains the full EyeSim simulation system,
robot models, environments, example programs, and docu-
mentation. Also included are the C/C++ compiler MinGW
and the RoBIOS environment for the real EyeBot robots.
See these general websites for more details and down-
loads of newer versions, as well as the EyeSim Linux version
(version 5.01):
http://robotics.ee.uwa.edu.au
http://robotics.ee.uwa.edu.au/eyebot/ftp/
Details on the EyeCon controller and SoccerBot robots
are available from:
http://joker-robotics.com
For further reading on robot design and applications
both simulated and real we recommend the book:
Embedded Robotics Mobile Robot Design and
Applications with Embedded Systems by Thomas Braunl,
Springer-Verlag 2003, 434 pages, hardcover, ISBN 3-540-
03436-6. SV
50 SERVO 01.2005
Figure 12. Object detection with onboard camera.
Thomas Braunl is Associate Professor at the University of
Western Australia in Perth, where he directs the Centre for
Intelligent Information Processing Systems (CIIPS) and the
Mobile Robot Lab. He has published a number of books and
created the EyeBot mobile robot family. Axel Waggershauser is
a graduate student who is just finishing his Masters Degree at
the University Kaiserslautern, Germany. He implemented EyeSim
version 5 under Linux. Andreas Koestler is a graduate student at
FH Giessen, Germany and has continued Axels work with
implementing EyeSim version 6 under Windows.
Contact details are available from http://robotics.
ee.uwa.edu.au
About the Authors
Many robotics experimenters
build small robots or devices
that are intended to stay within
the limits of a room in a house
or school. An inexpensive way to
remotely control these machines
is to use a television infrared
remote control transmitter.
by Karl Williams
SERVO 01.2005 51
Williams.qxd 12/8/2004 9:44 AM Page 51
Most of the published literature
focuses on using the Sony 12-bit
protocol. I think the reason for this is
because Sony uses a 12-bit standard
without any error checking, making it
easy to decode. I already have a lot
of IR remote control transmitters
lying around the house that have
outlived their AV units, but none of
them is from Sony not to mention
the three remotes in the living
room for my television, VCR, and
DVD player (Figure 1) that I could use
for experimenting.
This article will focus on analyzing
the signals generated by standard
38 kHz IR transmitters and then deter-
mining what information contained in
those signals is useful for
controlling small robots or
devices.
Infrared remote controls
use anywhere from 12 to 60
bits when transmitting
codes.
As you will see later in
the article, only 8-10 of
these bits are usually needed
when controlling a robot. If
you plan on using only the
television controls on the
remote, then as little as four
bits of the information is
necessary.
Infrared Signals
and How They Work
IR remote control operates by
modulating (turning on and off) an
infrared (IR) light source. Infrared light
is located on the electromagnetic
spectrum just below the visible light
that our eyes can see. The rate at
which the modulation occurs is called
the carrier frequency. This is done to
provide a transmission system that
allows operation in noisy lighting
environments. The remote control
information is placed on the carrier
using several different techniques,
depending on the manufacturer.
Three of the methods used are
pulse coded, space coded, and shift
coded, as illustrated in Figure 2.
With the space coded method,
data is represented by varying
the space (amount of time)
between pulses. The space coded
protocol is known as REC-80 and
is used by Panasonic. The shift coded
scheme uses the direction of transition
(phase) of the signal to represent the
data and all bits have a constant time
period. In the shift coded scheme, a
binary 0 is represented by the signal
switching from high to low within a
constant time period. A binary 1 is
represented by the signal shifting
from low to high within a time period.
The shift coded protocol is known as
RC-5 and is used by Philips.
The most common technique and
the one that we will investigate is
known as Pulse Width Modulation
(PWM). This method works by varying
the duration of the ON or OFF periods
of the modulated infrared. In order to
control a device, a unique number
representing the key that has been
pressed on the remote and possibly
information about which device this
key is intended to control needs to be
sent. This is done by representing the
number in binary or base 2. In binary,
there are only two digits 0 and 1
to deal with.
Therefore, only two distinct pulse
widths are needed to represent
each digit. This simplifies the process
considerably.
Using this scheme, the periods of
ON and OFF will need to alternate. If
they didnt, it would be impossible to
judge their widths. Either the width of
the ON period or the width of the OFF
period will vary, depending on the
manufacturer. In summary, IR transmis-
sions most often take place by varying
the ON/OFF times of an IR emitter to
represent binary numbers according to
an established pattern. All that needs
to be done is to capture
the entire signal, measure
the width of each pulse,
and then decode the
pattern.
Analyzing
an Infrared
Remote
Control Signal
To capture the
infrared packet being
transmitted by the remote
52 SERVO 01.2005
INFRARED REMOTE CONTROL SIGNAL ANALYSIS
Figure 1. A variety of infrared remote control
transmitters.
Figure 3. PNA4602M and TRM1038 infrared
receiver modules.
Figure 2. Information coding methods
employed by infrared remote systems.
control, an IR receiver module that
responds to a 38 kHz carrier will
be needed. These detectors have a
band-pass filter that limits the input to
38 kHz only. This means that the
detector will give an output only when
a 38 kHz infrared signal is received. I
experimented using the Panasonic
PNA4602M module and two others (a
part labeled TRM1038 and a generic
unlabeled module) that I picked up at
a surplus electronics shop and each
functioned with the same results
(Figure 3).
The PNA4602M detectors output
is active-low. That means that the
output is low when a 38 kHz IR signal
is being received. When no 38 kHz
signal is present, the detectors output
is high. Because I had a Sanyo IR
remote around, I decided to decode
the signals that it produces to show an
alternative to using the Sony codes.
Hopefully, the information that follows
will let you use all of those non-Sony
remotes that are piling up.
To analyze the signals that are
being received by the PNA4602M IR
module, an oscilloscope will be used
along with a Microchip PIC 16F819
microcontroller that is clocked at 8
MHz internally. The PIC 16F819 will be
interfaced to a personal computer
through the serial port of the PC. The
microcontroller will receive and store
the incoming infrared packets from the
PNA4602M IR module and then per-
form an analysis of each signal based
on the internal software
that will be written.
When the analysis is
being performed, the
information will be sent
from the microcontroller
to a communications
terminal window on a PC
so that you can see what
is going on. This method
was used instead of a
serial LCD because I
wanted to be able to
display a list of packet
information to see what
sort of patterns were
emerging.
While single chip RS-
232 level converters are
common and inexpensive thanks to
current RS-232 implementation and
the excellent I/O specifications of the
PICmicro MCU most applications
dont require level converters. Rather,
inverted TTL (N300..N9600) can be
used when transmitting from the
PICmicro to the computer. A 1K
current limiting resistor is suggested,
but not necessary.
The infrared decoding circuit
schematic (Figure 4) is simple enough
to construct on an experimenters
breadboard. When the circuit is wired,
attach the circuit to the computers
serial port using a straight through
serial cable. Attach the channel 1
oscilloscope probe to the output pin of
the PNA4602M module, as indicated
in Figure 4. I use a Tektronix TDS 210
two channel, 60 MHz oscilloscope.
Set channel 1 to 2 volts per division,
a horizontal time of 10 ms, and the
trigger mode to single.
If you need more information
about how to use an oscilloscope,
then check out the excellent
oscilloscope tutorial on the Tektronics
website (www.tektronix.com/
Measurement/App_Notes/XYZs/).
Before writing a signal analysis
program for the microcontroller, lets
take a look at the signal being transmit-
ted from the Sanyo remote control
using an oscilloscope. Apply power to
the circuit and set the oscilloscope as
described above. Pressing the 1 key
produces the waveform shown in
SERVO 01.2005 53
Figure 4. Infrared decoding circuit schematic diagram.
Figure 5. Waveform produced by pressing the 1 key on the Sanyo remote.
54 SERVO 01.2005
Figure 5. It is made up
of 34 pulses if you
include the last one
that represent bits.
As you can see, the
large amount of time
(relatively speaking)
of 9.2 ms goes by
with the output being
low (0 volts) before
the first pulse. This
indicates the start of
the transmission.
The first pulse in
the packet is much
wider (4.2 ms) than
those that follow and
will be used by the
microcontroller soft-
ware to trigger the
measuring and storing
of the width values of
each pulse in the pack-
et. All of the pulses
that follow are 5 volts
and either have a
width of approximately
0.4 ms or 1.6 ms, except
for the last pulse.
The space between
each pulse is 0 volts and is
consistently 0.7 ms. The 0
volt, 0.7 ms space is a
marker to differentiate
between each bit. The
5 volt pulses that are
0.4 ms wide represent
logic zero (0) and the
pulses that are 1.6 ms
wide represent logic one
(1). With the help of
the oscilloscope, we now
know exactly what
microcontroller software will need to
be written in order to capture and
analyze the IR packet.
The software examples are
given in the PicBasic Pro language
developed by microEngineering Labs
(www.melabs.com) for Microchip
Technologys powerful Picmicro micro-
controllers. The PicBasic Pro compiler is
BASIC Stamp II-like and has most of
the libraries and functions of both
the BASIC Stamp I and II. Being a true
compiler, programs execute much
faster than their interpreted Stamp
equivalents.
You will also need a hardware
programmer such as the EPIC Plus
programmer, also available at
www.melabs.com to program the
PIC with the .HEX files that are
generated by the compiler. I also use a
free integrated development environ-
ment called MicroCode Studio
(www.mecanique.co.uk) because it
makes editing, compiling, and pro-
gramming PIC microcontrollers easier.
One of the nice features of MicroCode
Studio is the serial communications
window that will be used to display the
signal analysis data.
Capturing and
Storing the Signal
The PicBasic Pro code segments
will be listed for each of the functions
as they are discussed and then the
entire program will be listed at the end
of the article.
The first thing that the microcon-
troller IR analysis program needs to do
is to determine the start of an IR pack-
et transmission. This is done by moni-
toring for the first high
pulse on the output of
the PNA 4602M, as
shown in Figure 5. The
PULSIN command is look-
ing to measure the width
of a pulse and since the
output is constantly high
PULSIN returns a value
of 0 when there is no
activity. As soon as the
start of the transmission
has been detected, the
program will measure the
START:
PULSIN IR_DETECT,ACTIVE_HIGH,IR_PULSE(0)
IF IR_PULSE(0) = 0 THEN START
FOR I = 1 TO 33
PULSIN IR_DETECT,ACTIVE_HIGH,IR_PULSE(I)
NEXT I
CODE 1
HIGH LED
FOR I = 0 TO 33
IF IR_PULSE(I) > 150 THEN
SEROUT COM,COM_BAUD,[PULSE , #I, - ,
#(IR_PULSE(I) * 53) / 10, US = 1]
ELSE
#(IR_PULSE(I) * 53) / 10, US = 0]
ENDIF
SEROUT COM,COM_BAUD,[13,10]
NEXT I
LOW LED
CODE 2
Figure 6. Pulse timing values and their binary
representations.
HIGH LED
FOR I = 0 TO 33
SEROUT COM,COM_BAUD,[1]
ELSE
ENDIF
NEXT I
LOW LED
CODE 3
width of each of the
following pulses
and then store
these values in an
array variable that
we will call
IR_pulse(33). The
PicBasic Pro code
segment is shown in
Code 1.
Now that the
pulse width infor-
mation has been
stored in the array, a
routine will deter-
mine the timing
values of each
pulse, decide
whether each pulse
represents either
logic 1 or logic
0, and output the
results to the serial
communi cat i ons
window on the PC.
The light emitting
diode (LED) will be
turned on at the
beginning of the
routine and turned
off when it completes so that the user
is aware that a packet is being
processed. One thing to note is that
the PicBasic Pro PULSIN command
calculates its values assuming that the
processor is clocked at 4 MHz.
Since we are using an 8 MHz
clock, the timing values that have been
obtained are smaller than the actual
times. This means that for a .4 ms
time a value of approximately 76 is
returned by PULSIN and a value of 302
is returned for a 1.6 ms pulse. To
get the proper measurements in
microseconds, those values will need to
be multiplied by 5.3. The 5.3 multiplier
was determined so that the PIC timing
values correspond to the accurate
oscilloscope timing values of the pulses
and to compensate for the actual
oscillator frequency.
Because PicBasic cant perform
floating point math and I wanted
better precision for the timing values,
I used the technique of multiplying by
53 then dividing the result by 10. Set
up a communications terminal with a
baud rate of 2400, parity
= none, byte size = 8, and
stop bits = 1. In order to
advance the cursor to the next line in
the communications receive window,
the numbers 13 and 10 decimal
are transmitted after each line of
output. This corresponds to the ASCII
carriage return and new line
characters (CR and NL), respectively.
Figure 6 is a screen shot of the
communications window displaying
the output produced by the routine in
Code 2 when the 1 key is pressed on
the Sanyo remote.
The next step will be to capture
and display the binary packet values
transmitted for each of the buttons
on the remote control so that we can
analyze and determine which bits can
be used to control a robot or device.
Code 3 will output all of the bits in
the packet to the communications
window. I transmitted the codes for
all of the keys on the remote so that I
could visually determine which bits
were consistent and which ones
changed from one packet to the other.
Once a complete list of key values is
output to the communications window,
it is easy to see from the binary
patterns that bits 15 through 23 pro-
duce unique values for each key
pressed on the remote control. To
make life easier, bits 15 through 23 are
converted to decimal values. Bits 0
through 14 remain consistent for most
of the keys and are probably used to
identify which device the signal is
meant to control. The next code seg-
ment will display the binary values of the
entire packet along with the decimal
equivalent of bits 15 through 23, with
bit 15 being the least significant bit.
The output produced by this routine is
shown in the code in Figure 7.
The decimal values that are
derived from the bits in the packet can
now be used to control a robot or any
other application that needs close
proximity remote control. If you plan
SERVO 01.2005 55
OUTPUT ALL BITS IN THE PACKET
HIGH LED
FOR I = 0 TO 33
ELSE
ENDIF
NEXT I
CONVERT BITS 15 THROUGH 23 TO A DECIMAL
VALUE
RESULT = 0
POWER = 1
FOR I = 0 TO 8
IF IR_PULSE(15 + I) > 150 THEN
RESULT = RESULT + POWER
ENDIF
POWER = POWER * 2
NEXT I
SEROUT COM,COM_BAUD,[ = ,#RESULT,13,10]
LOW LED
RETURN
CODE 4
Figure 7. Binary packet information with decimal
equivalents of bits 15 through 23.
on using only the television controls on
the remote, then bits 25 through 28
can be used to create unique values
thats only four bits!
To summarize, all you need to do
to control a device with an IR remote is
to capture the packet information in an
array, convert the useable bits to a
decimal value, and then use that
value to determine what events you
want to occur by using an
IF..THEN..ELSE..ENDIF or SELECT CASE
decision statement. The entire program
to analyze the packets from a Sanyo
remote is called ir-decode.bas and is
listed in Code 5. It can be used as a
starting point when writing routines
for other remotes. The PicBasic
program and the HEX file to program
the PIC 16F819 can be downloaded at
www.thinkbotics.com SV
56 SERVO 01.2005
-
NAME : IR-DECODE.BAS
COMPILER : PICBASIC PRO - MICROENGINEERING LABS
NOTES : IR REMOTE CONTROL DECODING PROGRAM
AUTHOR : KARL P. WILLIAMS
-
@ DEVICE PIC16F819, INTRC_OSC_NOCLKOUT, WDT_OFF,
LVP_OFF, PWRT_ON, PROTECT_OFF, BOD_OFF
INCLUDE MODEDEFS.BAS
TRISA = %00011111
TRISB = %00000001
DEFINE OSC 8
OSCCON = $70
IR_DETECT VAR PORTB.0
COM VAR PORTB.1
LED VAR PORTB.2
COM_BAUD CON N2400
IR_PULSE VAR WORD(33)
ACTIVE_LOW CON 0
ACTIVE_HIGH CON 1
RESULT VAR WORD
I VAR BYTE
POWER VAR WORD
LOW LED
- WAIT FOR START OF PACKET TRANSMISSION -
START:
PULSIN IR_DETECT,ACTIVE_HIGH,IR_PULSE(0)
IF IR_PULSE(0) = 0 THEN START
INPUT PULSE STREAM -
FOR I = 1 TO 33
PULSIN IR_DETECT,ACTIVE_HIGH,IR_PULSE(I)
NEXT I
- CALL SUBROUTINES
GOSUB PULSE_TIMING
GOSUB DISPLAY_PULSE
GOSUB CONVERT_BITS
GOTO START
- DISPLAY PULSE STREAM
DISPLAY_PULSE:
HIGH LED
FOR I = 0 TO 33
ELSE
ENDIF
NEXT I
LOW LED
RETURN
CONVERT USEABLE BITS DECIMAL VALUE -
CONVERT_BITS:
HIGH LED
RESULT = 0
POWER = 1
FOR I = 0 TO 8
IF IR_PULSE(15 + I) > 150 THEN
RESULT = RESULT + POWER
ENDIF
POWER = POWER * 2
NEXT I
SEROUT COM,COM_BAUD,[BITS 15 TO 23 = ,#RESULT, DECI-
MAL,13,10,13,10]
LOW LED
RETURN
DISPLAY PULSE TIMING VALUES -
PULSE_TIMING:
HIGH LED
FOR I = 0 TO 33
#(IR_PULSE(I) * 53) / 10, US = 1]
ELSE
#(IR_PULSE(I) * 53) / 10, US = 0]
ENDIF
NEXT I
LOW LED
RETURN
CODE 5
We accept VISA, MC, AMEX, and DISCOVER
Prices do not include shipping and
may be subject to change.
The SERVO Bookstore
M
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F
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tic
is
t
Mobile Robotic Car Design
by Pushkin Kachroo / Patricia
Mellodge
This thoughtful guide
gives you complete,
illustrated plans and
instructions for building
a 1:10 scale car robot
that would cost
thousands of dollars if
bought off-the-shelf.
But, beyond hours of
entertainment and
satisfaction spent creating and operating an
impressive and fun project, Mobile Robotic
Car Design provides serious insight into the
science and art of robotics. Written by
robotics experts, this book gives you a solid
background in electrical and mechanical
theory, and the design savvy to
conceptualize, enlarge, and build robotics
projects of your own. $29.95
Industrial Robotics
by Harry Colestock
With so many industries
taking advantage of the
tremendous advances in
robotics, entities ranging
from small family
businesses to large
corporations need
assistance in the
selection, design, set-up,
maintenance, and eco-
nomic considerations of industrial
automation. Industrial Robots shows how to
achieve maximum productivity with robotics,
classifies robots according to their complexity
and function, and explains how to avoid
common automation mistakes. $39.95
Electronic Gadgets for the
Evil Genius
by Robert Iannini
The do-it-yourself
hobbyist market
particularly in the area
of electronics is
hotter than ever. This
book gives the evil
genius loads of
projects to delve into,
from an ultrasonic
microphone to a body
heat detector, all the way to a Star Wars
Light Saber. This book makes creating these
devices fun, inexpensive, and easy. $24.95
58 SERVO 01.2005
ROBOT DNA SERIES
Three Volume Pack
Everything you need to program your
robot controller:
Microcontrollers in Robots
Software Development
The Microchip PICmicro Microcontroller
Microcontroller Connections
Designing the Robot System
Going Forward
Everything you need to build your own
robot drive train:
The Basics of Robot Locomotion
Motor Types: An Overview
Using DC Motors
Using RC Servo Motors
Using Stepper Motors
Motor Mounting
Motor Control
Electronics Interfacing
Wheels and Treads
Locomotion for Multipods
All the data you need to build your own
robot base:
Mechanical Construction
Electrical Construction
Operating Power
Robot Designs
Constructing a Two-Wheeled Rover Robot
Selecting the Right Materials
Glossary of Terms
Tables, Formulas, and Constants
Subscribers: $62.99 Non-subscribers: $69.99
Limited time only!
Offer expires January 31, 2005!
Robot Programming
by Joe Jones / Daniel Roth
Using an intuitive method,
Robot Programming
deconstructs robot
control into simple and
distinct behaviors that are
easy to program and
debug for inexpensive
microcontrollers with little
memory. Once youve
mastered programming your online bot, you
can easily adapt your programs for use in
physical robots. $29.95
Build Your Own All-Terrain
Robot
by Brad Graham / Kathy McGowan
Remotely operated
robots are becoming
increasingly popular
because they allow the
operators to explore
areas that may not
normally be easily
accessible. The use of
video-controlled
technology has sparked
a growing public interest not only in
hobbyists, but also in the areas of research,
space, archeology, deep sea exploration,
and even the military. Inside Build Your Own
All-Terrain Robot, the writers enable even
total newcomers to robots to construct a
rugged, video-controlled, talking, seeing,
interacting explorer bot with a range of over
a mile for under $200.00! $29.95
Robot Builder's Bonanza
by Gordon McComb
Robot Builders Bonanza
is a major revision of the
bestselling bible of
amateur robot building
packed with the latest in
servo motor technology,
microcontrolled robots,
remote control, LEGO
Mindstorms Kits, and
other commercial kits. It gives electronics
hobbyists fully illustrated plans for 11
complete robots, as well as all-new coverage
of Robotix-based robots, LEGO Technic-
based robots, Functionoids with LEGO
Mindstorms, and location and motorized
systems with servo motors. $24.95
Robot Building for Dummies
by Roger Arrick / Nancy Stevenson
Ready to enter the robot
world? This book is your
passport! It walks you
through building your
very own little metal
assistant from a kit, dress-
ing it up, giving it a brain,
programming it to do
things, even making it
talk. Along the way, youll
gather some tidbits about robot history,
enthusiasts groups, and more. $21.99
N N
E E
W
!
W
!
BookstoreJan05.qxd 12/9/2004 12:50 PM Page 58
Check out our online bookstore at
www.servomagazine.com for a complete
listing of all the books that are available.
SERVO 01.2005 59
To order call 1-800-783-4624 or go to our website at
PIC Microcontroller Project Book
by John Iovine
The PIC microcontroller
is enormously popular
both in the US and
abroad. The first edition
of this book was a
tremendous success
because of that.
However, in the four
years that have passed
since the book was first
published, the electronics hobbyist market
has become more sophisticated. Many
users of the PIC are now comfortable paying
the $250.00 price for the Professional
version of the PIC Basic (the regular version
sells for $100.00). This new edition is fully
updated and revised to include detailed
directions on using both versions of the
microcontroller, with no-nonsense
recommendations on which one serves
better in different situations.$29.95
Build Your Own Humanoid
Robots
by Karl Williams
Build Your Own
Humanoid Robots
provides step-by-step
directions for six exciting
projects each costing
less than $300.00.
Together, they form the
essential ingredients for
making your own
humanoid robot. $24.95
Robotics Demystified
by Edwin Wise
There's no easier, faster,
or more practical way to
learn the really tough
subjects. McGraw-Hill's
Demystified titles are
the most efficient,
intriguingly written
brush-ups you can find.
Organized as self-
teaching guides, they
come complete with key points, background
information, questions for each chapter, and
even final exams. You'll be able to learn more
in less time, evaluate your strengths and
weaknesses, and reinforce your knowledge
and confidence. $19.95
Machine Nature: The Coming
Age of Bio-Inspired Computing
by Moshe Sipper
Despite being marvels of
complexity and human
ingenuity, computers are
notoriously bad at
learning new things and
dealing with new
situations. Researchers
at the frontiers of
computer science have
turned to nature for
solutions to the
problem of machine
adaptation and learning. By applying models
of complex biological systems to the realm
of computing machines, they have given rise
to a new breed of adaptive software and
hardware. In Machine Nature, computer
scientist Moshe Sipper takes readers on a
thrilling journey to the terra nova of computing
to provide a compelling look at cutting-edge
computers, robots, and machines now and
in the decades ahead. $24.95
CNC Robotics
by Geoff Williams
Now, for the first time,
you can get complete
directions for building a
CNC workshop bot for a
total cost of around
$1,500.00. CNC Robotics
gives you step-by-step,
illustrated directions for
designing, constructing, and testing a fully
functional CNC robot that saves you 80 percent
of the price of an off-the-shelf bot and can
be customized to suit your purposes exactly,
because you designed it. $34.95
Robotics, Mechatronics, and
Artificial Intelligence
by Newton C. Braga
Accessible to all readers
including secondary school
students and
amateur technology
enthusiasts Robotics,
Mechatronics, and Artificial
Intelligence simplifies the
process of finding basic
circuits to perform simple
tasks such as how to
control a DC or step motor and provides
instruction on creating moving robotic parts,
such as an "eye" or an "ear." Though many
companies offer kits for project construction,
most experimenters want to design and build
their own robots and other creatures specific
to their needs and goals. With this new book,
hobbyists and experimenters around the
world will be able to decide what skills they
want to feature in a project and then choose
the right "building blocks" to create the ideal
results. $31.95
Designing Autonomous
Mobile Robots
by John Holland
Designing Autonomous
Mobile Robots introduces
the reader to the
fundamental concepts of
this complex field. The
author addresses all the
pertinent topics of the
electronic hardware and
software of mobile robot design, with
particular emphasis on the more difficult
problems of control, navigation, and sensor
interfacing. Its state-of-the-art treatment of
core concepts in mobile robotics helps and
challenges readers to explore new avenues
in this exciting field. The accompanying
CD-ROM provides software routines for the
examples cited, as well as an electronic
version of the text. $49.95
Robot Builder's Sourcebook
by Gordon McComb
Fascinated by the world
of robotics, but dont
know how to tap into the
incredible amount of
information available on
the subject? Clueless as to
locating specific
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Want the names, addresses,
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building material, programming language,
operating system, computer system, or
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to the Robot Builders Sourcebook a
unique clearinghouse of information that will
open 2,500+ new doors and spark almost as
many new ideas. $24.95
Robot Mechanisms and
Mechanical Devices Illustrated
by Paul Sandin
Both hobbyists and
professionals will treasure
this unique and distinctive
sourcebook the most
thorough and thoroughly
explained compendium
of robot mechanisms and
devices ever assembled.
Written and illustrated
specifically for people fascinated with
mobile robots, Robot Mechanisms and
Mechanical Devices Illustrated offers a
one-stop source of everything needed for the
mechanical design of state-of-the-art mobile
bots. $39.95
BookstoreJan05.qxd 12/9/2004 12:52 PM Page 59
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60 SERVO 01.2005
Cummins Industrial Tools
www.cumminstools.com
Mini Lathe 7 x 12 Variable, 100-2500 7 11.8 2.6 2.2 MT-3 0.78 2.5
Grizzly
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7 x 12 Mini
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Harbor Freight
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7 x 10 Precision
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Jet Equipment & Tools
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Jet 9 x 20 Lathe 9 x 20 6 speed, 130-2000 8.75 20 5 1.88 MT-3 0.75 1.56
LatheMaster
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LatheMaster 8 x 14
Mini Lathe
8 x 14 6 speed, 125-2000 8 14 4.5 2.3 MT-3 0.75 2.75
Micromark
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MICROLUX 7 x 14
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7 x 14 Variable, 100-3000 7 14 2.56 2.17 MT-3 0.787 2.13
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various third party vendors
Prazi MD200
Miniturn Lathe
4 x 8
3 speed, 690, 1200,
2240
3.94 7.87 2.16 1.97 Option MT-1 0.35 1.6
Prazi
various third party vendors
Prazi SD300
Materturn Lathe
5 x 12
4 speed, 300, 600,
1200, 2400
5.12 11.81 3.5 2.17 MT-2 0.438 1.5
Sherline
www.sherline.com
Model 4000 Lathe 3.5 x 8 Variable, 70-2800 3.5 8 3 1.5 Option MT-1 0.405 1.25
Sherline
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Model 4400 Lathe 3.5 x 17 Variable, 70-2800 3.5 17 4.25 1.5 Option MT-1 0.405 1.25
Taig Tools International
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Micro Lathe II 4 x 9 6 speed, 525-5200 4.5 9.75 1.75 Option 15 deg 0.343 0.63
BrainMatrix.qxd 12/7/2004 4:43 PM Page 60
S
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SERVO 01.2005 61
Upcoming topics include SBCs and H-bridges, sensors, kits, shop tools, and actuators. If youre a manufacturer of one of these
items, please send your product information to: BrainMatrix@servomagazine.com Disclaimer: Pete Miles and the publishers strive to present the most
accurate data possible in this comparison chart. Neither is responsible for errors or omissions. In the spirit of this information reference, we encourage readers
to check with manufacturers for the latest product specs and pricing before proceeding with a design. In addition, readers should not interpret the printing
order as any form of preference; products may be listed randomly or alphabetically by either company or product name.
by Pete Miles
MT-2 No 12 to 52 tpi
3" Three Jaw Chuck, Tool Post, Live
and Dead Centers, Drill Chuck, Face
Plate, Steady and Following Rests,
Gear Set, 5 Piece Cutting Tool Set,
Spare Fuse, Wrenches
110 250 13 x 30 x 13 90 $399.99
3" Three Jaw Chuck, Tool Post, Dead
Center, Face Plate, Steady and
Following Rests, Gear Set
110 250 13 x 30.25 x 13 78 $399.00
3" Three Jaw Chuck, Tool Post, Live
Center, Face Plate, Gear Set
110 250 13 x 26.4 x 13 89 $399.00
Center, Face Plate, Gear Set
120 400 W 13 x 30.25 x 13 85 $299.00
MT-2 Yes 8 to 56 tpi
4" Three Jaw Chuck, 7" Four Jaw
Chuck, Threaded Back Plate, Face
Plate, Single Tool Post, Steady and
Following Rests, Live and Dead
Centers, Threading Dial, More
115 550 20 x 37.5 x 45 235 $999.99
4" Three Jaw Chuck, 5" Four Jaw
Chuck, Face Plate, Four Way Tool Post,
Steady and Following Rests, Dead
Center, Threading Dial, Gear Set
110 550 17.5 x 17.5 x 34 190 $695.00
Center, Gear Set, Digital Tachometer
110 350 12 x 35 x 12.75 90 $574.95
MT-1 Yes None
2.6" Three Jaw Chuck, Dead Center,
Tool Post, One Cutting Tool
110 120 9.5 x 25 x 7.5 55
varies by
vendor
3" Three Jaw Chuck, Tool Post, One
Cutting Tool, Dead Center, Gear Set
110 250 11 x 31.5 x 8.5 97
varies by
vendor
MT-0 Yes Option
Tool Post, Two Dead Centers, One
Cutting Tool
100-240 250 7.5 x 24 x 6 24 $575.00
MT-0 Yes Option
Tool Post, Two Dead Centers, One
Cutting Tool
100-240 250 8.75 x 32.25 x 8 30 $675.00
Custom Yes None
3" Three Jaw Chuck, Tool Post, 1/4
Jacobs Drill Chuck, Pulleys
115 190 12 x 16 x 6 40 $399.00
BrainMatrix.qxd 12/7/2004 4:44 PM Page 61
Canadian Circuit Board Solution
P
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tures and ships their
quick turn around, quality
prototypes to Canada.
Due to the overwhelming
increase in Canadian cus-
tomers, PCBexpress has created
a specialized website dedicated to Canada
www.PCBexpress.ca Theyve incorporated the same
pricing, quality, and ease of ordering that they have been
offering for the past seven years from their US online
service. Combined with 29 years of PCB manufacturing,
they provide experience and reliability for your circuit
board needs.
Here are a few of the benefits of ordering your circuit
boards through PCBexpress.ca:
First online quote and order e-commerce site of its kind
for Canadas PCB industry.
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sion headaches.)
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Online pricing and simplified ordering.
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Excellent customer support, including live help.
Try out their seamless order process and receive two
free boards (when you order four or more). Just enter in
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For further information, please contact:
Botster Revolutionizes
Robotics Kit Market
S
ummerour Robotics
Corporation sets a new
standard in price, flexibility,
and style for programmable
robotic kits with the launch
of their new Botster plat-
form. Botster provides an
economical way for hobby-
ists, students, and educators to jump-start their robotic
projects. The provision of a ready-made platform allows
more time for enthusiasts to develop intelligent software.
The rugged, boxed chassis holds up well under
constant usage and is styled with a dynamic appeal that
makes it look fast and agile even just sitting still.
Users can easily implement autonomous behavior via
features that include an integrated wheel encoder system,
Sharp infrared sensor mounts, and differential drive
motors. The wheel encoder system provides 0.187 of
linear resolution and is used to provide speed and distance
information to the users controller.
The Botsters differential drive design allows it to pivot
around its center to easily navigate out of tight spaces. The
included heavy duty hobby servos power the Botster and can
be controlled from any controller featuring two Pulse Width
Modulation (PWM) ports. The Botsters weight is supported
by the drive wheels and the heavy duty steel ball caster.
The rear vertical deck folds down for access to the
inner cavities of the Botster and can accommodate the
following controllers:
PDA (largest currently available)
PC104 controller
Small single board computer
Up to two microcontrollers
The front vertical deck can be used to mount sensors,
recharging circuitry, or an optional breadboard that can be
used for robotic circuit experiments. The horizontal decks
can be used to mount communication modules, microcon-
trollers, sensors, or more power supplies.
A fully integrated turret is also available as an option.
It bolts into the middle deck and comes in two versions: a
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P
P
r
r
o
o
d
d
u
u
c
c
t
t
s
s
New Products
Website: www.pcbexpress.ca or
www.pcbexpress.com
(for small orders of prototypes)
www.pcbpro.com
(higher production volumes)
www.pcb123.com (PCB design software)
PCBexpress
CIRCUIT BOARDS PLATFORMS
62 SERVO 01.2005
JanNewProducts.qxd 12/9/2004 9:41 AM Page 62
that the Com port selected is
valid. It has a simple error trapping
routine to test if the Com port is
open or being used by another
application.
If the Com port is available, it
will open it for use or alert you to a
problem. It will then change the
name of the button to Close Port
so that it will close the port when
you press the button again.
The meat of this entire program
is in the Timer1_Timer() subroutine.
At the end of the Form_Load() subroutine, the variable
Timer1.Interval is set to 15. This causes the Timer1_Timer()
subroutine to execute every 15 ms. This value can be
changed up or down a little based on your needs,
but shouldnt exceed 20 ms, since this could have
adverse effects on how well your servos will maintain their
positions.
The first thing this subroutine does is check to see if the
Com port is open. If it is, then the MSComm1 object is
executed four times. Each time the MSComm1.output
command is executed, one byte of data at a time is sent to
the serial port. Since this command sends ASCII characters,
the CHR$() command is used to convert numerical BYTE data
into its ASCII equivalent. This is very important to remember
when modifying this program. All data is transmitted as
ASCII characters.
The first character that is sent is the ASCII equivalent to
the number 255. This is used to synchronize the Stamp to
the PC. At 9600 baud, this can be viewed, in essence, as
outputting a 1 ms pulse for the Stamp to look for before
accepting any further serial data. The next two bytes of data
that are being sent are positions of the two servos based
on the current position of their respective horizontal scroll
bars and the final byte of data that is sent is the option
(accessory) byte.
For simplicity, the accessory byte is configured to
output its results as a four bit binary number. Additional
data can be transmitted just by adding additional
MSComm1.output commands to the program. For example,
you could include variable data such as time or tempera-
ture so that your project does something different based
on this information.
Figure 3 shows a wiring schematic for this project. The
Check Box outputs are wired to LEDs to visually see the
results when the Check Boxes are clicked and unclicked. The
470K resistor and LED can be replaced with the relay
control circuit shown here for turning on and turning off
higher voltage/current devices.
When working with serial communications, it is
extremely important to make sure that the data that is
being transmitted is in the exact same format that
the microcontroller is expecting to receive. This is the num-
ber one problem people have when working with serial
communications.
First, make sure that the baud rate, number of data bits,
and number of stop bits are identical in the transmitting and
receiving programs. In this application, the serial data is
being transmitted at 9600 bits per second (BAUD), eight
data bits, and one stop bit.
Second, make sure the receiving program is expecting
Figure 2. Final user front end
for this project. Figure 1. Visual Basic Form layout.
470 ohm
BASIC
STAMP
2
+5V
11
12
15
Vdd
Vcc
2N2222A
RELAY CONTROL
1 Kohm
IN4001
5V SPDT RELAY
+5V
470 ohm
470 ohm 470 ohm
470 ohm
SERIAL DATA IN
SERIAL GROUND
13
14
STAMP I/O PIN
SERVO POWER
SERVO #2 SERVO #1
2
1
Figure 3. Project schematic drawing.
SERVO 01.2005 65
MrRoboto.qxd 12/8/2004 9:11 AM Page 65
to receive the same number of data bytes that are being
transmitted.
Third, the data needs to be synchronized
so that when the serial input routine starts
it will start when the first byte of data is being
transmitted. When first programming this,
start by transmitting one byte of data and use
a debug window to verify that it is receiving the
proper data, then transmit two bytes, then
three bytes, and so on.
The other sources of problems include
determining whether the transmitting signal
is inverted or not inverted or how the receiving unit is
interpreting the binary states of the serial data stream. Table
2 shows the various logic states for a data stream for a
microcontroller and standard RS-232 signal. Standard
RS-232 calls a Low state a Space and a High state is called
a Mark. What is interesting to note here is that the
voltage levels between the two systems are inverted. The
RS-232 voltage polarities are reversed when compared to
digital voltage polarities and their magnitudes are signifi-
cantly higher. Since the PC will output true RS-232 voltage
levels, they need to be converted to digital logic levels for
the microcontroller to safely handle.
Table 3 shows several companies that sell low cost
RS-232 into TTL voltage signal level converters. Also included
in the list is Pololu; they have a nice little USB to TTL signal
converter.
The other part of the conversion process that you need
to know is whether or not the voltage level converter inverts
the signal. Many of them do invert the signal. A voltage level
converter will convert the negative (-3 to -12 V) signal to 0 V
and the positive (+3 to +12 V) signal to +5 V. Under standard
RS-232 rules, though, a +5 V signal will still be a Space or
a logic 0; a 0 V signal will be a Mark or a Logic 1. This is
opposite of normal digital logic.
Since microcontrollers interpret a +0 V signal as a logic 0
and a +5 V signal as a logic 1, they will interpret the standard
RS-232 input signal as being inverted. This causes a lot of
people many nights of frustration trying to figure out why
things dont work until they finally realize that the signal is
inverted. Many of the RS-232 to TTL signal converters will
invert the signals for you, but you still need to know that
before you use them. Once you know that, you can tell
the microcontroller on the receiving side to receive the data
as either inverted or non-inverted (True) so that it properly
interprets the data.
The BASIC Stamp 2 family of Stamps receives its serial
programming via the Sin pin (pin 2). The circuitry on this pin
converts the voltage levels of the incoming RS-232 signals
to safe levels for the Stamp to receive. It also inverts this
signal. Internally, the Stamp is programmed to interpret this
inverted data as True serial data.
So, why is this important? When receiving serial data
through the Sin pin, all you have to do is tell the Stamp that
it is receiving a True RS-232 serial signal. When the serial
data is connected to one of the regular 16 I/O pins of the
Stamp, remember that there is no signal conditioning
circuitry on these pins, so the incoming Serial data is not
inverted. Since the Stamp is programmed to assume that
Microcontroller RS-232
Logic State Logic State Voltage State Logic State Voltage State
Low (0) 0 Low 0 V 0 Space +3 to +12 V
High (1) 1 High +5 V 1 Mark +3 to -12 V
Table 2. Serial communication signal levels.
RS-232 to TTL converters
Acroname, Inc. www.acroname.com
Team Half-Life, Inc. www.superdroidrobots.com
Progressive Resources, LLC www.prllc.com
Kevin Ross www.kevinro.com
USB to TTL converters
Pololu Corporation www.pololu.com
Table 3. Serial to TTL signal converters.
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66 SERVO 01.2005
True serial data is actually inverted, then
you have to tell the Stamp to receive the
data as Inverted data so that it will be
received correctly.
Figure 4 shows a schematic for a simple
serial adapter for hooking a RS-232 serial
cable to a BASIC Stamp. This schematic is
based on the one shown in the BASIC Stamp
manual. This cable will not invert the incom-
ing serial data, thus the Stamp needs to
receive the serial data as Inverted data (the
only exception is if you are hooked up to the
Sin pin on the Stamp).
The Stamp program shown here is based
on using a BS2p Stamp. As you can see,
there is not a lot of programming required to receive serial
data. The WAIT(255) command in the serial input line (Serin
command) tells the Stamp to wait until it receives a byte of
data that is equal to the numerical number 255. This is the
same synchronization byte that is sent first in the Visual
Basic program.
Once the Stamp receives the 255 value, the program will
then look for three more bytes of data. The next two bytes
of data tell the servos the commanded position they are
supposed to go to. Since the Visual Basic program sent
the Accessory Options Byte as a four-bit binary number
(representing which check box was checked), the BASIC
Stamp program only looks at the first four bits of that byte of
data and lights the LEDs accordingly.
That is about all there is to it. Once you have the serial
communication protocols setup properly, writing these types
of programs is not that time consuming and the programs
can be easily customized for your exact application. In this
program, moving the slider bars back and forth causes
the servos to move back and forth and pressing the option
buttons will cause the corresponding LEDs to light.
Hopefully, the information shown here is enough to get
you started in making your animatronic project a success for
next year. SV
TO STAMP I/O PIN
1 2 3 5 4
7 6 8 9
22 Kohm
DB-9 MALE
(CONNECTOR SIDE)
Figure 4. Simple RS-232 for connecting to a BASIC Stamp.
Robot Building
Blocks
Motor Speed
Control
PID Motor
Position
Control
Phone 530-891-8045
Solutions Cubed
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Affordable Motion Control Products
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SERVO 01.2005 67
68 SERVO 01.2005
Robots Move Towards True
Autonomy
Yeah, yeah, yeah, robots are going
to take over the world just as long as
they can do it within the four hour
charge of their batteries. Unless, of
course, they dont NEED batteries. Solar
power is nice and all, but it doesnt do
so well at night. So, whats a power-
hungry robot to do? Why, run off of
decomposing bodies, of course. Yes, my
paranoid followers of Bill Joy the
future is one step closer to not needing
us. The University of the West of
England has developed a robot called
EcoBot II that derives its energy supply
from decomposing bugs. The robot uses
microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to accomplish
this magic. Chris Melhuish head of the
project has designed the robot so that
it can catch flies and digest them in
the MFC-powered robot stomach.
MFCs are bio-electrochemical
transducers that convert bio-chemical
energy to electrical energy in roughly
the same manner as a normal fuel cell.
The bot has eight MFCs, each filled with
raw sewage (the robot is autonomous
and it smells good!). Bacteria in the slurry
eat the flies and release electrons into
the MFCs as the flies are metabolized.
The MFCs are so efficient that the robot
worked for five days on just five bugs.
On the plus side (for the current,
human leaders of the world), it takes
three hours for the robot to move
75 cm (30 inches), so for the near
future youll probably be able to
outrun it when it comes for you.
Shape Shifting Robots!
Who wants a robot that just
walks? Or one that just rolls on
wheels? Even one of Gavin Millers
cool snake robots can be limited. Gosh
dangit, I want a robot that does it all!
Well, Henrik Hautop Lund of the
Maersk Institute in Denmark has made
my Christmas wish come true! His new
robot ATRON is a re-configurable
robot made up of approximately 100
spheres, each about 5 inches in
diameter. The two connectors are
held together by two joints, allowing
the connectors to yaw and pitch with
respect to each other. Using this
approach, a number of modules may
form snakes, six-legged walkers, snake-
wheels, and many other structures.
Each sphere is split into two
segments and can rotate along its axis
with the internal motor. The spheres
then join together in many different
configurations snake, roller, or walker.
As for batteries, each segment has
its own, but can share power when
connected to the whole. They can also
disconnect from the group and move
on their own. Using infrared, they can
always find each other and re-connect.
The units each have their own
independent Atmel ATMega 128
processor, as well as a two-axis
accelerometer for sensing tilt. For further
external sensing, an ATRON module
can put its infrared communication
into a special sensing mode that func-
tions as primitive distance sensors to
tell if a neighboring cell in the lattice is
occupied or not. The distance sensing
offers all information needed in order
to recognize dead modules, external
obstacles, or modules to connect with.
Robots Clean Up!
Got pollution? Shanghai certainly
does. As one of the fastest growing
cities on the planet, its got all the
usual problems associated with big
cities and one of the biggest is pollu-
tion. The major type of pollution is air
pollution indoor air being filled with
cigarette smoke, shoddy home decora-
tions, factory spewage, and so many
of the other things that make modern
living so much fun. Many health
experts blame toxic indoor fumes in
Shanghai for the countrys rising prob-
lems with lung cancer and leukemia.
So, robots to the rescue! In
November, the Shanghai Environment
Protection Industry Association started
a promotion for this robot, which offi-
cials say will purify poisonous fumes
such as formaldehyde, cigarette
smoke, and other toxic fumes. The
robot acts as a dust collector and can
emit negative ions to absorb toxic
particles in the air while consuming
very little electric power, according to
Wang Fang, Secretary General of the
associations indoor division.
The robot or other air purifying
Photo courtesy of the University
of the West of England.
Photo courtesy of
Henrik Hautop Lund.
by Dave Calkins
Robytes
I
m back! I escaped from the
snarling, fire-breathing robots that
wouldnt let me finish my column.
Dreadful, you say! If readers had
sent me items, this wouldnt have
happened: david@robotics-society.
org Many thanks to Dan and Alexa
for filling in for me last month.
David Calkins
Robytes.qxd 12/8/2004 8:56 AM Page 68
facilities will become a trend as people
are paying more and more attention
to their living quality, said Ma Keqin,
Vice General Manager of Gree New
Technology Institute Company.
Can they make a robot that
will clean up the poisonous fumes
emanating from my laundry pile?
Mars Robots Go BOING!
The problem with extraterrestrial
robots is their range. Of course, the
Mars Explorers are cool and we learned
an amazing amount from them.
However, they never went much farther
than 30 feet from their landing places.
Wouldnt it be cool if we could send
something to Mars that would go all
over the place? Enter Pioneer
Astronautics, a tiny little company
making robots for NASA. Theyve come
up with the Mars Gas Hopper a cool
way for robots on Mars to use indige-
nous carbon dioxide from the Martian
atmosphere as a propellant to provide a
Mars explorer with greatly enhanced
mobility. The Gas Hopper acquires CO
2
from the Martian atmosphere and then
stores it in an onboard canister. When
the robot is done exploring a given area
of Mars, the propellant tank is heated
and then the gas is released through
directional nozzles to provide thrust!
It can also provide enough power for
altitude control and controlled landings
under Mars reduced gravity. The robot
can potentially go as far as 100 km over
Martian terrain, allowing a single Mars
Rover a far greater ability to explore!
Who needs wheels, anyway?
Robot Cleans Up the Past
The great thing about the web is
that you can access information from
just about anywhere on the planet.
The bad news is that you can only
access information that's on the web.
You can't access a 300 year old tome in
a crusty library. Well, not yet. The
University of Southampton in England
has developed a robot scanner that will
put their entire paper archives online.
This includes many legal documents
from the British Parliament, going back
to the 18th Century. The 1.4 million
(thats more than $2.5 million) project is
funded by the Joint Information Systems
Committee (JISC) and is part of an
ambitious 10 million digitization
program made up of all UK further and
higher education funding bodies and
financed by the government. The robot
uses lasers to detect the edges of pages
and a vacuum arm to turn them after
scanning. Unlike pesky grad students
who want to be paid, fed, and given
sleep breaks, this bot scans 600 pages
an hour, 24 hours a day. They hope to
scan a million pages a year.
Stanford University has one as
well, and the two universities are
working together to bring once
exclusive information to the masses.
I guess the grad students will have
to stick to founding dot coms. SV
Robyt es
Photo courtesy of
Pioneer Astronatuics.
Photo courtesy of the
University of Southampton.
SERVO 01.2005 69
Robytes.qxd 12/8/2004 8:57 AM Page 69
BY GORDON McCOMB
Robotics Resources:
Y
oud think that with the vast
informational resources of the
Internet printed books and maga-
zines would by now be obsolete. That
hasnt happened for a number of
reasons. On the top of the reasons list
is a simple matter of numbers: the
Internet has grown too big for itself
and the best information is getting
hard to find.
Search engines like AltaVista,
Google, and Yahoo! provide a window
to the Internet world, but theyve lost
some of their effectiveness because of
the sheer volume of websites and
pages. You must choose search terms
carefully or else youll be swimming in
a sea of worthless links.
Careful exploitation of the
Internets resources can be rewarding
on many levels. With the Internet,
you can find almost any piece of
information, part, or supplier, but
knowing how to look is as important as
knowing where to look. You can waste
a lot of time surfing the Internet;
there are better ways! In this column,
Ill look at several tools you can use to
find information on the Internet. Some
of it may seem obvious, but there are
still some tricks to make your research
more relevant.
Search Engines
The Big, the Bad, and
the Ugly
The basic tool for finding things
on the Internet is the search engine
a web-based program that collects
data about other pages. Search
engines catalog websites, assigning
keywords to them so you can locate
what you want among the millions of
pages available. The trouble is, most
search engines on the Internet are
rubbish. Theyve become nothing
more than cheap advertising vehicles
for the companies with the largest
budgets to spend and the search
results can be both misleading and
unproductive.
A few search engines are different.
At the top of the list are Yahoo! and
Google. Both are different in that they
strive to deliver quality results first and
profits second (though making money
is a key aim for both services). For
several years running, Google has been
the champ among search engines
boasting a clean, uncluttered interface
and text-only ads.
However, because of Googles
popularity, it has been the subject of
intense scrutiny by webmasters seeking
to game the system they figure out
how Google ranks pages so that
their sites appear at the top of the
list. Its not uncommon for many
searches to result in nothing more than
websites with links to other websites
particularly auctions on eBay and
books on Amazon.
These searches are commonplace
70 SERVO 01.2005
RoboResources.qxd 12/8/2004 8:58 AM Page 70
because both Amazon and eBay offer
referral fees for attracting customers.
The websites are set up to simply refer
visitors to other places. As a business,
they flourish when they appear first in
the search results; therefore, the web-
masters of these sites do everything
they can to maintain a high ranking.
Im not against this as a business
everyone has a right to earn an
income.
However, sales referral sites can
significantly slow down research when
thats your aim.
Search, but Search
Wisely
All search engines have a text box
where you enter a search term (called
a keyword) to find the information you
want. The keyword (or keywords) you
use greatly influence the relevancy
and effectiveness of your searches.
Enter robotics into the Google
search bar and youll get something
on the order of eight million web
pages! As you can imagine, robotics is
a popular field, but using a common
search phrase such as this will get you
nowhere, fast.
Fortunately, search engines
provide a number of ways to
narrow your search so that you
have a greater chance of finding
what you want. The following tips
and observations specifically apply
to Google, but they work on many
other search engines, as well.
Like most search engines,
Google uses keywords to match
your search phrase with the
content of a web page. Keywords
can be contained in the title or the
text of the page. How Google
ranks the relevancy of the
keywords it finds on pages is a
closely guarded secret, but
through observation its pretty
clear that Google tends to favor
sites where the keyword(s) youre
searching for appear in the title of
the page. Therefore, if a page says
Robotics Stinks, it will likely be
ranked highly among pages on
robots, simply because the word
robotics is in the title.
Knowing this, you can more readily
search for companies, products, or
information by using search terms that
are most likely to appear in the title of
web pages. Those web page creators
that use undisrupted titles or leave
them blank will be ranked much lower
in the search results. Thats too bad
for them.
Using Multiple Search
Terms
One of the best ways to insure
quality search results is to use multiple
search terms. By using multiple terms
in a search, you narrow down the
possible results. Its better to do several
small searches than one big one. For
example, instead of searching on
robotics and the eight million pages
you get as a result try robotics kits
or robotics schools or whatever your
interest is.
Theres no reason to limit yourself
to just two keywords. Try three, four, or
more. The more keywords you use, the
narrower your search will be. If you
find the search is too narrow and you
dont get any results, try removing one
or two of the keywords and searching
again.
ROBOTICS RESOURCES
FIGURE 1. Google.com provides the Big Picture. Use its features carefully to
find what you need.
So-called meta tags text embedded
in a web page, but not visible to the
user used to be a popular way for
webmasters to describe what their site
was all about. Trouble is, too many
people abused the feature, so many
search engines ignore these meta tags.
Most search engines nowadays look only
for text that is visibly displayed.
Though webmasters can be penalized
for trying other tricks like hiding text by
giving it the same color as the back-
ground search engines dont catch it
all. This is why you sometimes click on a
link from a search result, only to see a
page that has nothing to do with what
you were looking for. Odds are, theyll
try to direct you to a pornography site or
someone selling drugs to combat male
impotency. Oh, the tricks they play!
Trimming Web Page Fat
SERVO 01.2005 71
72 SERVO 01.2005
ROBOTICS RESOURCES
Do note that some common words
like a, the, of, and so forth are
ignored by the search engine. A search
for robots of mars will result in the
word of being left out as a search
term, though crazily enough (perhaps
known only to Googles program-
mers) searching for robots
mars (no of) will yield some-
what different results. Go figure!
There are some more
advanced tricks to combining
keywords that are detailed below.
Set Phasers to
Ignore
You can tell the search engine
to ignore keywords if they dont
appear in the title, thereby limiting
the search to only words that
appear in the titles of pages. You
do this with the intitle modifier (or
its close cousin, allintitle). Use:
intitle:robotics
to find web pages where robotics
appears only in the title. Note the
colon after intitle. Also note
there is no space between the
colon and the keyword. Why does
this work? You may find that at
least some of the so-called hits
Google provides are not about
mechanical robots, but about the US
Robotics brand of modems, fax
modems, and early Palm Pilots.
Unless you tell it otherwise, Google
doesnt know the difference
between robots that roll or walk on
the floor and products made by
the US Robotics Company.
There is another simple way to
remove these kinds of irrelevant
pages: use the minus (-) character
to tell Google to skip any web page
that contains a given keyword.
Heres one way:
robotics -us
This fetches all web pages with the
word robotics, then omits all
those pages with the keyword
us. This works, but us is, unfor-
tunately, a common word. The
better way is to use quotes to form
a keyword phrase, like this:
robotics -us robotics
This time, only those pages that
FIGURE 2. The MSN.com website offers a search facility within its
all-in-one portal design.
FIGURE 3. BuyersIndex.com searches online vendors, but not all results are relevent.
contain us robotics as a complete
phrase are omitted.
Its often handy to search for
multiple keywords, such as robotics
and vision. With few exceptions,
Google does not use Boolean searches
robotics AND vision, for example
like some other search engines.
Googles syntax is a lot easier, yet isnt
limited.
+robotics +vision
Finds pages with both of the word
forms
robotics vision
Same as above
robotics vision
Finds pages with the specific phrase
robotics vision.
Except for the whole phrase
robotics vision, the keywords in a
multiple keyword search do not have to
appear next to each other on the web
pages.
That is, robotics can appear at the
beginning of a paragraph and vision
later in the paragraph. That said,
Google appears to give precedence to
those pages where the keywords are
found closer together.
Note the plus (+) character in one
of the examples. Google automatically
ignores very common words and does
not include them in the results. Adding
a + character to the word ensures that
Google considers it in your search.
While both robotics and vision are not
common words and will not be
ignored, its a good practice to include
the + character whenever you want to
ensure the word is considered in the
search.
When using the + character,
be sure to add a space before it and
to type the keyword immediately
following:
robot +about
Good
robot+about
Not good (no space between + and
either word)
robot + about
Not good (space between + and
about)
No Wildcards, but ...
Many web search engines
Google included dont support wild-
cards. Wildcards are special characters
(like ? and *) that denote any character
or characters.
However, the search engine allows
you to construct phrases to look for
multiple forms of words by using the
OR search modifier.
+robotics eye OR eyes
Note OR in capitals. Google
searches are not case sensitive, but you
ROBOTICS RESOURCES
Newsgroups were born in the days
long before the Internet became a
global marketplace. A newsgroup is a
discussion group or bulletin board for
posting and reading messages. Unlike
chat, newsgroups are not real time; you
dont directly communicate with others
while everyone is online. Newsgroups
which are part of the Internet some-
times referred to as Usenet can be
excellent sources of information and
feedback.
As newsgroups are the result of the
early Internet, their structure follows
something of a gear heads design of the
world and some aspects of them may be
confusing and cryptic. However, its not
complicated once you learn your way
around.
Whats a Newsgroup?
First and foremost is that news-
groups are divided into two main forms:
public and private. Public newsgroups
are open to anyone and, most likely,
your Internet service provider (ISP) main-
tains computers just for the purpose of
storing newsgroup messages. Your ISPs
computers are connected to all the
other public newsgroup computers
around the globe and they constantly
trade messages back and forth. The end
result is that even though you may
connect to a newsgroup via your local
ISP you are reading the messages of
others worldwide; if you post a message
of your own, it will circulate around the
globe within a few hours.
Private newsgroups are set up by
companies or organizations to support
their products or agendas. They may or
may not be open to the public. In most
cases, you must use the newsreader
portion of your web browser to sepa-
rately log into these private newsgroup
servers; they are not part of the public
newsgroups provided by your ISP.
Manners and Etiquette in Newsgroups
Newsgroups can be a horrendous
sink of time and energy. Take my advice
avoid using them as a soapbox
and avoid getting involved in a heated
discussion. People say things in a news-
group that theyd never say in person,
simply because folks are protected
sitting behind a computer screen.
Here are some other tips:
If you include your Email, use a throw-
away Email account that you can close
should the spam (unsolicited commer-
cial mail) get too abundant.
If you read a message that angers you,
dont reply immediately. Flag it and
return to it a day later. If you still want to
reply, dont add to any possible flame
war. They consume way too much time.
Unless you are an adult, dont reveal
your age. If youre old enough to
read this column, youre old enough to
understand why.
Sexual harassment is still a problem,
particularly in public newsgroups where
joy riders and trolls only stick around
to cause trouble. So, if youre female, I
suggest you use a male name for your
login. Obviously, this isnt a huge
problem in groups frequented mostly by
women, but harassment is known to be a
bigger issue in male-dominated interest
groups.
Newsgroups Information Beyond the Web
SERVO 01.2005 73
74 SERVO 01.2005
must capitalize OR in order to use it as
a search modifier. This phrase looks for
all pages with robotics, then matches
those pages with either eye or eyes.
Some searches will require a
couple of different alternatives. One
simple way of finding pages when
you want to look for multiple word
forms robotics or robot, for
instance is to perform separate
searches.
For example, the first search
below looks for robotics with eye
or eyes. The second for robot with
eye or eyes:
robotics eye OR eyes
robot eye OR eyes
Additional
Advanced Searches
Google (and other search
engines) supports an Advanced
Search page where you can specify
a number of special qualifiers,
including limiting the found pages
to a given language or to those
that have been updated within a
certain period of time. Similarly,
you can also look for just HTML
web pages, Adobe Acrobat PDF
files, or many other common file
types.
When using Google, there are
several handy search tricks youll want
to know about. Be sure to read
the Help pages on the Google site
for more information. If you like a
different search engine better, be
sure to read up on using its
advanced features in the Help or
FAQ pages.
Reversing the
Order of Keywords
Search engines often rank the
relevance of pages from the order
of the keywords in your search
phrase. You get about the same
pages no matter what order you
use, but the pages that appear at
the beginning of the list are altered
by changing the keyword order. For
example:
robots mars
Returns pages that favor robots.
mars robots
Returns pages that favor Mars, but
also contain the word robots.
FIGURE 4. Yahoo.com is becoming an alternate favorite to Google with deep
search results and lots of web pages.
ROBOTICS RESOURCES
FIGURE 5. Teoma.com is the choice of many academic researchers a good thing to
know for researching your next project.
More Than Just
Web Pages
The Google search engine is not
limited to just web pages. You can also
find images, Usenet newsgroups,
news, shopping pages, and more.
The Groups search lets you sift
through years of archives of news-
group messages.
The Directory search provides web
links to submitted and approved sites.
Some of these may be paid advertise-
ments; nevertheless, its a good way of
locating major suppliers.
The Catalogs feature lets you search
hundreds of mail order catalogs,
including many of interest to robot
builders. Be sure to try this one!
The University search lets you limit
searches to the websites of any of a
couple hundred universities. With this
tool, you can look up relevant research
data posted by professors, post-grads,
and students at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Carnegie-
Mellon, and several other schools
that are known for their robotics
departments.
Use the Froogle search if you
specifically want to find products for
sale. The results are specific products
that match the search terms youre
looking for and you can change the
order of the listings by price.
En Francais, Anyone?
Page Translations
Robotics isnt limited to just those
who speak English. Youll find plenty
of web pages in a variety of
languages. Several free services offer
text translation from and to the
worlds most common languages. The
translations are not perfect, but they
are often close enough to allow you to
get the gist of what the web page is all
about.
Among the better web page
language translators are Google and
AltaVista; my favorite is Google, so
well talk about that first. To translate a
web page, go to www.google.com
/language_tools and enter the full
URL, including the portion of the
web page you want to view, in the
appropriate text box.
Select the from and to
languages, such as Spanish to English
or French to German. The translation
takes anywhere from a few seconds to
over a minute, depending on the
length of the page.
Note that only normal text is trans-
lated. Text in a graphic image is not
translated and is shown in the original
language.
AltaVistas similar offering is
available at babelfish.altavista.com
It works in a similar fashion to Googles
translation page and offers additional
languages, such as Korean, Russian,
and Chinese.
Other Search Engines
Of course, there are other search
engines on the web some good and
some terrible. Here is a listing of some
additional general-purpose search
engines.
Some of these are powered by
Google, meaning that they use
Googles database of pages. Typically,
they are tuned to address a more
specific market, like shopping or non-
US searches.
About www.about.com
AltaVista www.altavista.com
AOL search.aol.com
Ask Jeeves www.ask.com
Buyers Index www.buyersindex.
com(mail order shopping search engine)
Direct Hit/Teoma www.directhit.com
Dog Pile search.dogpile.com
Euroseek www.euroseek.com
Hotbot www.hotbot.com
Infospace www.infospace.com
LookSmart www.looksmart.com
Lycos www.lycos.com
MSN www.msn.com
Public Internet Library www.ipl.org
Search Hippo www.searchhippo.
com
Worldpages www.worldpages.com
Yahoo! www.yahoo.com SV
Gordon McComb is the author
of several best sellers. In addition, he
operates a small manufacturing
company dedicated to low cost
amateur robotics at www.budget
robotics.com He can also be
reached at robots@robotoid.com
Author Bio
HobbyEngineering HobbyEngineering HobbyEngineering HobbyEngineering
The technology builder's source for kits, components, supplies, tools, books and education.
Robot Kits For All Skill Levels
Motors, Frame Components
and Scratch Builder Supplies.
ICs, Transistors, Project Kits
BEAM Kits and Components
Books and
Educational K
Most orders ship the day received! World-wide shipping. Convenient payment options.
Order by Internet, phone, fax or mail.
www.HobbyEngineering.com
1-866-ROBOT-50
1-866-762-6850
1-650-552-9925
1-650-259-9590 (fax)
sales@HobbyEngineering.com
180 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
Visit our store near SFO!
SERVO 01.2005 75
ROBOTICS RESOURCES
HobbyEngineering HobbyEngineering HobbyEngineering HobbyEngineering
The technology builder's source for kits, components, supplies, tools, books and education.
Robot Kits For All Skill Levels
Motors, Frame Components
and Scratch Builder Supplies.
ICs, Transistors, Project Kits
BEAM Kits and Components
Books and
Educational K
Most orders ship the day received! World-wide shipping. Convenient payment options.
Order by Internet, phone, fax or mail.
www.HobbyEngineering.com
1-866-ROBOT-50
1-866-762-6850
1-650-552-9925
1-650-259-9590 (fax)
sales@HobbyEngineering.com
180 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
Visit our store near SFO!
ello, SERVO readers! Were Evan
and Bryce Woolley. You may recall
our names from the series of arti-
cles on Team 1079 and the FIRST
Frenzy experience. Why are we back
again, you ask? Well, it is not for FIRST.
Although FIRST has been a significant
experience in our budding engineering
careers, we actually have quite an
impressive background.
We began at a very early age by
playing with Z-bots (little plastic robot
toys). Eventually, we graduated to
LEGO Mindstorms robots, which we
have used in various events, including
high school science competitions.
Our robot building moved up to
the next level when at the end of
our middle school years we acquired
a CAG (California Association for
the Gifted) grant for $1,000.00 to
jumpstart an independent learning
endeavor involving robotics combat
robotics, to be exact.
We had watched the robotic com-
bat shows on television and thought it
would be fun to participate ourselves.
So, we built 60 and 30 pound robots
for the BotBash competition. (They are
not vapor bots; they have competed
quite successfully.)
More recently, we have been devout
followers (but, unfortunately, not partici-
pants) in the DARPA Grand Challenge
and Tetsujin competitions. Through
these endeavors, we have met such engi-
neering greats as Dave Lavery and Dean
Kamen and have listened to people like
Tony Tether (the Director of DARPA) and
Red Whitaker (a robotics genius from
Carnegie-Mellon University) in person.
To share our hobby with other
students, we started the Robotics Club
at our high school in our freshman
year. As you already know, we are
actively involved in FIRST, in which we
have participated in for over two years.
We have been apprentices at the Palo
Alto Research Center (PARC) through
IEA (the Institute for Educational
Advancement), where we worked
on modular snake robots for urban
search and rescue with professional
engineering mentors (for more on
PARC, see the August, 2004 issue of
SERVO Magazine). The list goes on ...
In short, we have some credibility.
What this column will do is detail
our modifications to certain robotic
products. These modifications will have
a connection to a larger concept in
robotics. It is just for fun, but you just
might learn something in the process!
This month, well study the
76 SERVO 01.2005
THIS MONTH:
Attack of
the Monster
Robot Dog!
The pre-hack robot dog has
amazing flexibility!
N
E
W
C
O
L
U
M
N
!
Can RoboSapien do this?
TwinTweaks.qxd 12/8/2004 9:19 AM Page 76
Attack of the Monster Robot Dog!
transformation of a Joinmax Robot
Dog into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Before
beginning any type of project, though,
it is imperative to know what youre
dealing with. In this case, that would
be the Joinmax Robot Dog.
The Joinmax Robot
Dog
The Joinmax Robot Dog is a midsize,
servo-driven robotic canine companion.
The dog came to us already assembled,
but some technical difficulties led us to
do some reassembly. Constructing the
dog is fairly straightforward, especially
with the 3-D instructional video on the
accompanying CD. All of the motor parts
are socketed and all of the pieces are
attached with screws, making reorgani-
zation of the poochs bodily attributes
and motions into simple tasks.
The range of motion on the servos
is considerable, making the Joinmax
dog able to perform all the tricks a
normal dog can and then some. With
15 servo motors (there is room for 16)
and 15 degrees of freedom, this dog is
agile enough to learn all sorts of tricks.
All it takes is some patience with the
programming.
The Miniservo Explorer used to
program the dog is kind of like chess
it takes a minute to learn and a lifetime
to master. Actually, it is very easy to
learn and it just takes a lot of patience
to program more complex movements.
Each joint is controlled individually,
either by typing in values between O
and 253 on the movement table or by
adjusting as a scrollbar. The
graphical user interface is easy
to navigate and downloading a
program is as easy as clicking a
button (since thats actually all
you have to do).
While this individual con-
trol of the servos can allow for
fine motion control, it also
makes complex movements
difficult, since you have to
coordinate all of the servos.
The robot dog was originally
designed for studying the
gaits of four-legged robots, so
its real forte is in its versatile
software. The robot dog is
truly better suited to program hacks,
but it definitely has room for mechanical
hacking, as well.
The Plan
We had several ideas for hacks
with this robot. Our first choice a
robot guard dog complete with stun
gun would be illegal, so we decided
to do the next best thing and turn it
into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. That would
involve getting the dog to walk on
two legs. This was certainly a noble
engineering goal, we thought. As with
most projects, though, this hack
evolved with time.
At first, we thought that making
the dog walk on two legs would be a
good hack. As we tested the dog, we
found that the servo motors werent
terribly strong. One hindrance this
caused was in balance the servos in
the legs didnt seem up to the task of
supporting the whole dog. An easy
solution to this problem was to give
the unsteady canine another point to
support itself on its tail.
To do that effectively, we had to
lengthen the dogs tail. Another issue
with the power of the servos was that
the dog itself was fairly heavy for the
two legs alone to move. The size of the
hind legs compared to the dogs body
is disproportionate, to say the least.
Most creatures that walk on two legs
have fairly long legs (like ostriches and
humans), so the robot dogs short,
weak legs were simply a
design challenge: solution
make the dog lighter.
Since the idea was to make the dog
walk on just its two hind legs, getting rid
of the two forelegs seemed like a logical
choice. After visualizing what such a
creation would look like an upright
walker with a long tail and short, stubby
arms we decided that the dog would
no longer really be a dog; it have would
become a Tyrannosaurus rex.
The Hack
One of the first steps of the hack
was to get well acquainted with the
SERVO 01.2005 77
The Tyrannosaurus Rex dog gets wider feet
for better bipedal balance and motion.
Bipedal motion is easy!
try the macarena!
The robot gives its arms a
goodbye kiss.
Miniservo Explorer program. A
RoboSapien may make walking look
like a piece of cake, but it really
isnt. The movements of all four legs
for a walking gait were very difficult
to coordinate. That illustrates one
advantage of two-legged walking it
would be a lot easier to program!
The dogs first major surgery was
the amputation of its two forelegs.
Dont worry; we replaced them by
fitting stubby Tyrannosaurus rex arms
from a suitable donor and old Godzilla
toy. This is hacking, not fabricating; you
have to work with what you have.
The ease in construction with the
robot dog translates to ease in deconstruc-
tion the only tool we needed
was a small Phillips screwdriver.
Without the forelegs, the dog
could actually balance on its hind
legs. It slouched, though, and we
decided that an extension on the
tail would give it better posture. A
broad end on the tail would
provide a solid point for balance
and we thought that an arrow-
head-shaped tail fit better with
cool factor engineering than a
lame spatula shape. After some
quick work with a jigsaw, the dog
had a shiny, new aluminum tail.
Now, a point of balance
would be useless without
friction, so we attached a piece
of rubber to the arrowhead to
keep the dog from slip-sliding away.
Some spray-on adhesive gave the tail
some grip via a new rubber sole. With
a couple of holes in the dogs tail, the
new extension could be attached with
tie wraps. The tie wraps even gave the
tail a ridged look like a Tyrannosaurus
rex cool factor can be found in some
unusual places, if you take the time to
look.
Now that we had a two-legged
dog that could balance, it was time to
make it walk.
First Tests
We knew that a reliable standing
position would be the first step
toward actually walking. We had the
dog stand to attention with its neck
down (from the normal dog position),
hind legs vertical, and tail angled acutely
towards the ground. The first gait
we tested involved some deep knee
bending, but the dog fell down
without making any forward progress
back to the drawing board.
Modifications
As the dog picked up one leg to
move forward, we noticed that it
was unable to balance on the other leg
and the tail. To solve this problem, we
crafted some extensions for the feet.
The robot dog itself has fairly small
feet, which is okay when it has four of
them to stand on. For the purpose of
two-legged walking, tiny feet just dont
cut it.
Looking at other walking robots
like RoboSapien for guidance, we
saw that most walkers have fairly large
feet. Spray-on adhesive would be kind
of messy in this application, so we
simply duct-taped the aluminum
extensions we designed onto the feet.
Now it was a real robot!
Another design feature of the
dog that was ideal for four-legged
and not two-legged walking was that
it literally had balls on its feet. Self-
adhesive foam helped to level the
dogs feet and give it some much-
needed stability.
The final problem was
that the tail kept sliding
back while the dog shuffled
forward, contributing to its
eventual fall.
As a solution, we
attached some self-adhesive
foam to obstruct this
unwanted path of motion.
The foam proved to be too
squishy, so we taped on a
square of plastic, instead.
Trial and error is a wonderful
thing.
Final Product
With these modifications
completed, all that was left
was some programming. In
78 SERVO 01.2005
Twin Tweaks ...
Wiring up the kit.
The Tyrannosaurus rex dog and its
prehistoric cousin. Quite a family
resemblance!
The dog can stand on two feet,
but it cant walk, yet!
its own way, this robot Tyrannosaurus
rex dog is representative of robotics
projects in general in that a knowledge
of all aspects of the project is
necessary.
Robotics is perhaps the most
cross-disciplinary field in all of engi-
neering and it demands engineers that
know their ways around both hard-
ware and software. The programming
in this hack was considerably simplified
by working with only two legs, but
that is not to say that making the
Tyrannosaurus rex dog walk on two
legs was easy.
The first successful gait we had
was a kind of shuffling, jerky walk. It
wasnt graceful, but it worked. After
some more effort, we were able to
improve upon this gait to make the
dog take distinct steps, which we
consider to be the requirement that
makes it a true walker. It still wasnt
graceful, but it most definitely
walked.
The robot dog was no longer a
dog it was a Tyrannosaurus rex.
When it is placed next to a toy
Tyrannosaurus rex, one can see that
the resemblance is, indeed, striking.
Significance
The Tyrannosaurus rex dog is not
simply the belated synthesis of fond
childhood memories (we played with
dinosaurs before Z-bots), it also has
relevance to some issues in the greater
world of robotics.
The trials and tribulations of the
Tyrannosaurus rex dog illustrate the
difficulties in making an effective
two-legged walking robot. The
Tyrannosaurus rex dog hack may have
been simple and it may have worked,
but its walking motion did not nearly
have the grace of other walkers, like
Asimo or even RoboSapien. Simply put,
walking is harder than it looks.
Walking takes balance and control.
In the case of the robot dog, balance
was the easy part at least for just
standing up. To get anything to balance,
all you really have to do is give it big
feet and maybe a few extra supports,
like a tail. (This may, however, be
frowned upon by the more strict
engineers who may call the
tail a third leg; two-legged
humanoid walking is, after
all, the holy grail of robotics.)
Even so, what balances
while standing may not bal-
ance while walking, as the first
tests of the robot dogasaurus
illustrated. Walking is a com-
plex problem and all of the
factors must be considered at
once for an effective solution.
The second consideration
is control. The Tyrannosaurus
rex dog hack was done
without any sensory feedback
just pure mechanics. This
means that we were
programming blind; we didnt
know how little changes
might affect the final gait.
Also, the dog could not adjust
itself; it had only the program to rely
on. It still walked, but with a kind of
shuffling, jerky gait.
High dollar walkers get feedback
from every joint so as to fine-tune
weight distribution on the fly. These
robots have impressive gaits that
approximate human motion to an
almost unnerving degree.
Another aspect of control is the
number of joints that are being worked
with. The RoboSapien essentially only
has one powered joint per leg at the
hip the knees move reflexively. This
makes for simpler control, since fewer
joints are in play.
The Tyrannosaurus rex dog had
three joints per leg, making control a
more complex proposition for us.
More joints mean that more motions
need to be coordinated, so every
degree of freedom adds a layer of
complexity.
Our hack of the Tyrannosaurus rex
dog shows that making a walking
robot can be relatively easy, but its
shortcomings demonstrate that the
task of walking on two legs is difficult
to perfect, no matter how easy the
RoboSapien makes it seem.
Final Thoughts
That was fun, wasnt it? We hope
that we have inspired you to try
experiments of your own with walking
robots (especially two-legged walkers).
Now, you can see how simple things
like a robo-dog and old Godzilla
parts can create an engineering
microcosm for more significant issues
in the world of robotics. SV
SERVO 01.2005 79
Attack of the Monster Robot Dog!
SERVO Magazine would like to
thank E-Clec-Tech (www.e-clec-tech.
com) for their generous donation of
the Joinmax Robot Dog for this
months Twin Tweaks column. Take
advantage of their limited-time
special exclusively for SERVO
subscribers on the Joinmax Robot
Dog at E-Clec-Tech. Also, browse their
selection of other robot kits and parts
for everything from joints and servos
to hexapods and robotic arms.
If you are a manufacturer or
vendor with a robot or kit that you
would like to see hacked beyond all
recognition, contact us at editor@
servomagazine.com The column is
bi-monthly, so well have plenty of
time to plot the evolution of your
product!
Special Thanks
The Joinmax Robot Dog is rather easy
to assemble and disassemble.
80 SERVO 01.2005
Robots and Generations
at RoboNexus
I
n October 2004, I attended
RoboNexus (www.robonexus.com),
the first commercial US show for
consumer and service robots. While I
was prepared to see a lot of robots,
I was stunned by another kind of
participant the literally thousands of
kids who attended the Expo, usually
with their parents.
In retrospect, I shouldnt have
been surprised. These kids are part
of the Millennial or Echo Boom
generation, recently featured on the
CBS program 60 Minutes and
described by generational experts
William Strauss and Neil Howe of
Lifecourse Associates
1
as the next
greatest generation. Theyre the post
GenY group
2
, product of a second
baby boom, aged 0-20 years old.
They recently confounded
experts by reversing numerous
negative social trends long associated
with youth. Among teens today,
crime is at the lowest rate in 30 years
and out-of-wedlock births are at the
lowest rates ever recorded. Drug use
is down to levels comparable to the
early 1960s. You wouldnt know it
from the media, but Millennials seek
the social norm and are even a bit
more straight arrow, compared to
older groups.
Most importantly, this new
generation is showing renewed interest
in science and technology. While
interest in tech-related fields has been
declining for years at colleges, SAT
scores among younger Millennials are
going up especially in the math
portion of the test. By the time 12-year
old Millennials reach college, theyre
likely to reverse the anti-science and
engineering trends.
A Robotic
Generation Turns
to the Real
Why should this new generation
be specifically interested in robots? The
answer lies in patterns of popular
culture. Typically, waves of new
technology in the US last 18-25 years
and are closely associated with the rise
of a new generation.
At the end of the era, a new
generation appears and replaces the
former ones youth culture. During this
by Dr. Pete Markiewiez
The Echo Boom
3. 0
3. 5
4. 0
4. 5
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
M
i
l
l
i
o
n
s

o
f

B
i
r
t
h
s
Boomers Millenials
"Echo Boom"
Gen-Y
Gen-X
Total U.S. Births, in Millions
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census (2000)
Tes t scores beg in a s low crawl
upward as oldest Millennials
reach teen years around 1996
0.96
0.97
0.98
0.99
1.00
1.01
1.02
1.03
1.04
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
SAT--Math Only
SAT--Combined
Score
SAT Scores of College-Bound Seniors,
1975-2001 (1975=100)
Source: College Board (2001)
0.96
0.97
0.98
0.99
1.00
1.01
1.02
1.03
1.04
1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001
SAT--Math Only
SAT--Combined
Score
SAT Scores of Col l ege-Bound Se ni ors,
1975-2001 (1975=100)
Source: Colleg e Board (2001)
Figure 1. The Echo Boom. Adapted from Millennials Rising
1
.
Appetizer.qxd 12/8/2004 9:51 AM Page 80
changeover, the new generation
breaks with old patterns and
establishes its own unique voice in
technology and culture.
The last two US generations
emphasized virtual technology.
During the 1960s and 1970s,
technically-inclined Boomers saw
the mainframe sheltered behind
glass at college and envisioned
computers as the disembodied,
Hal-9000 intelligence of the classic
movie, 2001.
In the 1980s and 1990s,
Generation X came of age when
personal computers and the Internet
invaded public schools and the public
mind. Their vision of technology was a
virtual, simulated world that was
united in a ghostly, networked
cyberspace, embodied in video games
and websites, and artistically expressed
in the virtual reality of the Matrix series
of movies.
For a young Millennial born in
1990, however, PCs and video games
have always existed and are simply
part of school work and everyday life.
Ditto for the Internet, Email, instant
messaging, and other technologies so
hot in the 1990s.
In contrast, real robots have begun
to appear outside labs during their life-
times. The FIRST robotic competition
and LEGO Mindstorms were created.
Hondas humanoid Asimo went on a
tour of US schools. Mobile robots
began to enter middle and high school
education and hobby robotics
flourished.
None of these was a simple exten-
sion of PC and Internet technology.
Robots are fundamentally different
from both: instead of creating a virtual
world humans must enter, a robot
strives to enter our real world.
This turn to the real tech wave is
perfect for the new generation.
According to generational theory, each
new generation strives to break from
previous ones by adopting different
ideas, icons, and values that manifest
during their youth. Most Boomers and
Xers outside the academia and hobby
communities still dont know the
robots are rising.
In contrast, school-aged Millennials
know them intimately from their
classes, FIRST robotics competitions,
and hobby groups.
Parents Encourage
Interest in Robots
The parents of Millennials (mostly
Boomers and Xers) are also unique.
Admissions officers at colleges have
already dubbed them a generation of
helicopter parents
3
due to their
ongoing, extremely close relations with
their kids. Concerned about their
future, these soccer moms and dads
actively (over) schedule their kids lives
with educational enrichment programs
that might enhance college applica-
tions. They tend to support their kids
robotic tinkering, even if they dont
fully understand it.
Older Millennials (13-20) usually
have Baby Boomers for parents, while
younger ones (8-12) usually have Xer
moms and dads. This latter generation,
now 30-somethings (once derided as
slackers during their own youth in
the 1980s and early 1990s) are now
considered by social scientists to be the
most supportive and protective
parental generation in decades. So its
no surprise that many a young
Millennial at RoboNexus explored the
world of robots with intentionally
bald or pierced parents, eager to
further their childrens interest in the
world.
In response to parental demand,
more and more robot training camps
and nontraditional schools teaching
robotics are opening nationwide. Case
in point: In November 2004, the High
Tech High-LA center opened at
Birmingham High School in Van Nuys,
CA
4
. This charter schools college-prep,
math- and science-oriented curriculum
draws students from across Los
Angeles including many from minority,
low income neighborhoods. The new
center is loaded with computers and
huge flatscreen blackboards and is
SERVO 01.2005 81
Teen/young adult in Generation
Computer Training
Received in School
1970s Boomers Mainframe/timeshare (college)
1980s Gen-X (Atari wave) Personal computers, video games
1990s Gen-X/Y (Nintendo wave) Internet, animation, games
2000s-2010s Millenial Internet, robots
Figure 2. Tech waves and generations.
1. Millennials Rising: The Next Great
Generation, Neil Howe and William
Strauss, Vintage Books (Random
House), New York (2000). Website:
www.lifecourse.com
2. Whos Filling Gen-Ys Shoes?,
Dr. Pete Markiewicz, Brandchannel
(Division of Interbrand) Website, May
2003. Web link at: www.brand
channel.com/start.asp?id=156
3. Colleges Are Learning to Hold
Parents Hands: The Same Baby Boomers
Who Cast Off Family Ties When They Left
Home Just Cant Let Go of Their Kids,
Stuart Silverstein, Los Angeles Times in
The State, November 28, 2004.
4. A Dream School Becomes
Reality: Efforts of Ex-Trustee Wintraub
Come to Fruition as Charter Campus is
Dedicated.: Jean Merl, Los Angeles
Times, November 18, 2004.
5. Robots Invade Santa Monica.
Phil Wayne, The LookOut News Online,
Nov. 29, 2004. Web link at: www.surf
santamonica.com/ssm_site/the_
lookout/news/News2004/Nov2004
/11_29_04_Robots_Invade_Santa_
Monica.htm
References
literally crawling with student-built
robots.
A few weeks later, on the other
side of Los Angeles, Santa Monica
College (a two-year community
college regarded as a finishing
school for students planning to
attend universities) announced it will
begin teaching Mobile Robotics in
spring 2005
5
. Both schools have
recognized the generational trend and
are catering to an increasingly robot-
aware youth culture.
Evidence that Millennials know
robots better than the next up gener-
ation was evident in audience ages at
RoboNexus.
While the 25er Internet junkies
and 30ish video game-meisters
werent entirely absent, they were low
in number compared to the 8-16 year
olds swarming the booths. Hardly a
piercing, skateboard, or Avril Lavigne
getup was to be seen. Instead,
RoboNexus featured Boomers and
Xers as mentors accompanying their
Millennial kids.
I suspect more than a few of
these parents were stunned by their
kids knowledge of the RoboNexus
exhibits until they found out they
were building robots in school.
How the New
Generation Will
Af fect the Future of
Robotics
How will Millennials affect the rise
of the robots? Heres a recent quote
from Toshitada Doi, Vice President of
Sony Corporation:
The 90s was the era of the PC
and the Internet. The first decade of
the 21st century will be dominated by
robots.
The oldest Millennials are just
graduating from college and the main
wave of their generation will become
young adults 2009-2015. As these
kids move out of school and into their
first jobs, they will remember playing
with robotic toys and building robots
in school. It is only natural that they
will embrace robotics as the next big
thing.
There will be two aspects to the
Millennial interest in robotics. One
will be a boom in consumer robotics
Millennials will see it as natural and
even inevitable that a robot mower
will replace a manual one, while
older generations may resist (until
necessity forces robotic elder care
on them).
Even more importantly, Millennials
will also shift the pop culture mindset
regarding robots. Having favorable
experiences with real robots while
growing up, Millennials will have little
use for the Frankenstein fantasies of
earlier generations. Instead of running
from the Terminator, theyve said hello
to Asimo.
By the time this trend is underway
in the next decade, PCs, the Internet,
and wireless gadgets will seem like
electrical wall sockets do today
essential, but hardly the breaking wave
of tech. Robots will be the hip, in,
and young technology just like the
PC and Internet were in other eras.
Millennials will want real robots the
virtual robots in games and movies that
entertained earlier generations just
wont cut it.
So, have at those robots! If youre
a part of the Millennial generation,
be proud that generational experts
expect great things from you. If youre
from an older generation, get busy
mentoring kids with your robotic
knowledge and get ready to see an
extraordinary new generation bring on
the robotic age. SV
Advertiser Index
82 SERVO 01.2005
All Electronics Corp. ....................................37
APEC 2005/MicroMouse Contest ..............66
Cleveland Institute of Electronics ...............13
CrustCrawler ...................................................7
Cyberbotics ..................................................27
Enigma Industries ........................................37
Garage Technologies, Inc. ...........................37
HiTec .............................................................29
Hobby Engineering .....................................75
Jameco ..........................................................83
Lemon Studios .............................................45
Lynxmotion, Inc. ...........................................69
Net Media .......................................................2
NUBOTICS .....................................................37
Parallax, Inc. ...................................Back Cover
PCB123/PCBexpress ......................................3
PCB Fab Express ...........................................33
Pololu Robotics & Electronics ....................47
ROBOlympics ...............................................63
Rogue Robotics ............................................21
Solutions Cubed ...........................................67
Sozbots..........................................................49
Technological Arts .......................................28
Vantec ...........................................................35
Zagros Robotics ...........................................37
See the RoboNexus movie! This
hyperlink will take you to a short
RoboNexus movie by the author,
featuring both robots and their
Millennial friends.
http://www.pl yoj ump.com/
movies/tradeshows/robonexus/
2004/robonexus_pl yoj ump.wmv
(Windows Media File)
Movie Link
Dr. Pete Markiewicz has a degree
in Biology, but was co-founder of one
of the first commercial websites in
early 1994. He currently teaches
programming at the Art Institute of
California, Los Angeles. His company
Indiespace (www.indiespace.com)
specializes in consulting in new
technology from a generational per-
spective. His website documenting
the rise of the robots may be found
at www.plyojump.com
Author Bio
SERVO 08.2004 83
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