Below is a list of ideas and projects that we hope will help you in your robotics journey. We here at Abe Howell's Robotics are not responsible for any damage that my occur from attempting to build one of the below listed ideas and make no guarantees.
A Pictorial History of My Latest Robot Design:
Above you can see the progression of my unique low-cost robot design (roughly 2-3 years in the making), which is capable of reading and writing to passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and is controlled through a wireless Bluetooth connection. Here are several videos that were taken throughout the development process: Translation, Rotation, Read/Write RFID Tag. This robot design is based off of the Autonomous roBot controllEr (A.B.E.) and can be built for approximately $250 (excludes any assembly costs of course). This ultra-low cost is achieved by using as many off the shelf components as possible. Using Bluetooth helps to make this robot highly ubiquitous since high-level controlling programs can reside on a Bluetooth equipped laptop, desktop pc, or PDA. Inter-robot communication can be achieved via TCP/IP sockets communication when the high-level devices have access to a network connection.
Adding RFID to Your NewCDbot Robot:
In this tutorial I explain the basics of adding a SonMicro RFID development board to a NewCDbot that is controlled by an OOPic-I, OOPic-II or OOPic-II+. In this tutorial I explain the basics of adding a SonMicro RFID development board to a NewCDbot controlled by a CCS PIC16F877A Development board. Programming tutorials for both will be coming soon.
Getting Started With Radio Frequency Identification (RFID):
If you want an easy way to get started in RFID then check out SonMicro because they have a wonderful low cost and easy to get started with RFID development kit. I have been using SonMicro's RFID kit for about a year and have had great success. My main focus has been to integrate RFID with a PIC16F877A on a low-cost robot. In the above picture you can see one of my NewCDbot robots outfitted with an RFID development board. The people at SonMicro have been especially helpful throughout the development process and always returned e-mails immediately. One of my requests was that the standard communication for reading and writing was too long and difficult to implement on the PIC16F877A (mostly because I'm using a software UART as opposed to a hardware), SonMicro turned around a quick firmware change that allowed me to solve this problem. Thanks again SonMicro!
Build a Robot from a Plastic Container:
Ever wonder what to do with all those old plastic containers in the kitchen, well build a robot with them of course! Go to your local Target or Wal-Mart and pick up a suitable plastic container, but make sure that it has a lid that's relatively flat because this will end being the base of your robot. You'll need to purchase two modified hobby-servos and 1-3/4" diameter foam wheels along with servo mounts from Tower Hobbies. You'll use the servo mounts to attach the hobby-servos to the plastic lid, but you'll need to make cut-outs for the wheels and also drill a hole for the plastic roller wheel.
Programming NewCDbot Compatible Controllers:
Would you like to learn more about the various controllers that are compatible with the NewCDbot? Click here to download the article.
Build your own NewCDbot with Bumpers:
We've finally put together a complete set of instructions for building your very own NewCDbot. However, to complete this you will have to drill a hole in one of the CDs and press in the little plastic caster wheel, modify the AA battery holder, build a mount for the OOPic out of 1/8" Acrylic, mount the foam wheels to the modified servos and fabricate a set of wires for the bumper switches. Once the above-mentioned steps have been completed you are ready to begin the assembly process. Download the complete set of instructions from here. Buying all the parts will more than likely cost more than we currently sell the kit for because you will end up paying for multiple shipping charges, but we've decided to provide this information for those who may already have some or most of the required parts and also because we feel that robotics should be open to everyone.
Build a NewCDbot with the PIC16F877A Development Board:
Already have a C Compiler from CCS? Would you like to build a more capable NewCDbot? Then you've come to the right place. As of now we only have the parts listing, but you can follow most of the instructions from the above papers. You will need to purchase an In-Circuit Debugger/Programmer and/or Compiler unless you already have one. If you're a student or educator then I suggest getting the PIC16F877A/876 Development Kit, which is a great deal at around $149 for a single kit. In this kit you'll get everything needed to program/debug the included PIC16F877A development board in C. The only difference between the above papers is that we will be using the PIC16F877A development board from CCS. Some of the connections for the AA-Battery holder, servos and bumper switches will be different. We will also be creating instructions for adding low-cost wheel encoders from Nubotics. Check out a video of a NewCDbot with bumper sensors running the PIC16F877A development board.
Add a BrainStem controller to the NewCDbot:
Learn to add a BrainStem controller to the NewCDbot. Already have a BrainStem and maybe you've just built a NewCDbot using the above instructions, well then this article will be right up your alley! The only modifications required will be cutting off the existing male connector on the servo supply wire and then crimping on a new female connector. Additionally, to utilize the bumper switches you'll need to add 10k pull-up resistors to the bumper switch connector. Here's a cool video of a BrainStem equipped NewCDbot in action.
Build a NewCDbot with Breadboard and PIC16F876
Are you interested in really learning to program the PIC16F876? Then go ahead and build a NewCDbot, add a solderless breadboard and build a suitable PIC16F876 circuit. At around $50 this is one of the lowest cost robots that you can build yourself! Here's the comprehensive price list. Now you've got a great low-cost platform for learning to program the PIC16F876 microcontroller. I prefer to use the CCS C compiler for building/compiling my programs. Then I use an EPIC Plus PIC programmer for programming the HEX file once I've compiled my program using the CCS C compiler. You could also use the PIC Basic compiler, CH Basic compiler or MPLAB from Microchip. I'm working on the instructions, but the only real difference between the OOPic instructions above will be that you'll use Male Crimp Pins so that you can insert them into the breadboard, the breadboard itself, two AAA-battery holders and a PIC16F876 circuit for the "Brains". Click here to watch a video of this robot driving on a glass coffee table.
Add a Basic Stamp1 (BS1) controller to the NewCDbot Body Kit:
Already have a Basic Stamp1 (BS1) or are you looking for a cool project that uses the BS1? Either way you'll find what you're looking for right here. First off, you'll need to build a NewCDbot Body Kit. You can find the instructions here. Once you're done building the robot, you'll need to add a breadboard, which will later house the BS1 and two 10k Ohm resistors, which will be used as pull-ups for the two bumper switches. You'll also need several jumper wires to bridge the ground and +5volts. Here is a set of instructions for adding the BS1 to a NewCDbot Body Kit.
The Original CDbot is capable of interfacing with a handheld computer. Abraham Howell researched many different robot designs before finally creating this low-cost robot. These robots were used to teach students in 7th grade math classes at Vestal Middle School. Here is the complete set of instructions for building your own. Click here to download the compiled PDA program for use with the Original CDbot. This software will only run on PDA's with Palm O.S.
A Low-Cost RS232 Level Shifter:
Ever wanted to connect your OOPic, BrainStem, or any other micro-controller to a handheld, laptop, or desktop computer, but found out that one of the two devices used true RS-232 voltages levels, -12vdc to +12vdc, while the other used TTL voltage levels, 0 to +5vdc. Well now you can with this wonderful chip from Dallas Semiconductor, the DS275. In this paper I will explain the basic steps needed to fabricate a level shifter cable using the DS275 chip in this paper.
Have a Palm® PDA with the new 16-pin connector, but can't figure out how to connect it to your BrainStem or OOPic controller. Well now you can. Just read the following paper! This is the same hack used to build the cables on the Original CDbot. Acroname has the level shifter kit you will need for this hack.
Using Low Cost RF-Modules on the NewCDbotTM:
Want to go wireless with your NewCDbot, well click here to get started. Can you imagine an RF-equipped robot for about $140! You could have a team of 10 of these RF-equipped NewCDbot Kits for about $1400 and investigate some cool robot behavior, build your own robot eco-system, or create a swarm!
Build An OOPic I Data Downloader Cable:
Would you like to be able to download stored data from your OOPic I or simply be able to send commands from your computer to your OOPic I, well click here to get started!
Install a Second EEPROM on Your OOPic and Program it to save/retrieve data:
Want to learn how to install a second EEPROM chip on your OOPic I controller and program it to store/retrieve data then click here to get started!
Learn to Build a Low Cost Sumo Robot:
Build a low cost sumo robot using (2) modified hobby servos, (2) Sharp GP2D12 sensors, (3) QRB1114 Sensors, (2) 2.75" Diameter servo wheels, (1) sheet of Lucite(0.093"x8"x5"), (4) 6-32x2" machine screws & nuts, (4) 4-40x1/2" Machine screws & nuts, (1) SPST switch, (1) 9volt battery clip & holder, (1)-AA battery holder, and (1) OOPic I controller. Drawings and instructions will be coming soon!
Learn to uild a Light or Temperature Sensor Cable for Your NewCDbot:
Click here to check out this tutorial!
Learn To Add Bluetooth To Your NewCDbot:
This article will help explain how to add Bluetooth capability to your NewCDbot or any other robot utilizing an OOPic micro-controller with an S-style board. If you would like to be able to wirelessly upload new programs to your robot, then you will need to have a chip with the B.2.+ firmware so that you will have access to OOPic's Serial Control Protocol (SCP). Bluetooth capability will be provided by an EmbeddedBlue Transceiver from Parallax Inc. A USB Bluetooth adapter that supports Bluetooth Serial Port will also be required. Click here to learn how to use the NCPS (GUI) and wirelessly upload a new program using Bluetooth and the Serial Control Protocol (SCP).
Learn to use the NCPS_Lib Class Library:
This paper will explain how to use the NCPS_Lib Class Library to compile and wirelessly upload an OOPic II+ program using Bluetooth. Here is a sample program written in Visual Basic.Net.
Use Genetic Programming to evolve an obstacle avoidance program:
So you've installed an EmbeddedBlue transceiver on your OOPic robot and now want to try something new and cool. Well we have the ticket, go ahead and try using Genetic Programming to evolve a suitable obstacle avoidance program. Here is the paper and here is the source-code, which was written using Visual Basic.Net.
A Mapping Program for the ER1 Robot:
The ER1 Mapper (ER1M) is a software application that allows the ER1 user to create and save two-dimensional maps, solve for the path, and finally command an ER1 robot to traverse the solution path. The ER1 is a fully autonomous mobile robot manufactured by Evolution Robotics, Inc. In this paper the architecture of the ER1M will be discussed along with the specific implementation of the A* Algorithm and actual code. Click here to download "Inside the ER1 Mapper", "Using the ER1 Mapper" and finally the actual program. The ER1 Mapper now supports remote configuration, which means you can run the ER1 Mapper on your desktop pc and command your ER1 robot to traverse the solution path. I've created this program so that beginners have a good starting point for creating their own mapping application.
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We intend to continue adding more build-it yourself examples, so please check back often!
