Robotics Plan

Robots

What do we need to do before freezing design?
- Test chassis on intended surface
- Test sensors
- Test whole system
- Design review
Software
- Design ORA (Ordinary Robot Architecture)
  - What tasks do we contemplate?
    - Mobot course
    - Pinbot
    - Pursuit
    - Phototropic
    - Sentry
    - Maze navigation
    - Tour guide
    - Gofer
  - What behaviors are we interested in?
    - Line following
    - Light seeking
    - Obstacle avoidance
    - Wall following
    - Aligning with wall or corner
    - Corner turning
    - Random walk
    - Lie bracket motions
    - Line searches
    - Dead reckoning
    - Pushing
    - Convoys
  - Choose a pragmatic architecture
    - Real time multitasking process scheduler
    - Low level device drivers (fixed)
    - Dynamic control routines
    - Foreground program
  - Translate into software tools
- Rewrite motor control routines
- Write or buy a scheduler?

Curriculum

Complete 2nd system for Matt, on handvision?
Search for materials:
- Peatman, Design with Microcontrollers
- Jones and Flynn
- Signals and Systems, ditto
- Schultz & Melsa's defn of state
- versus Schimel and Grantham
- Luenberger
- Web for stuff on batteries
- Web for Lego design elements
- Jackpot: Thomas Dean, Yiannis Aloimonos, Puterman
- Why doesn't Dean's observer want to know the control signal? Do we assume it is part of the output?

Schedule

Done
- Order batteries and chargers to try out.
- purchase orders for Lego, All Electronics, Digikey,
- REL accounts
- Plan lab layout.
- Lego storage ordered
- Give NiMH and 9V batteries a workout. (The seem fine.)
- Order 3 of the 6V NiMH batteries to try out
- Open charger, see if we can modify to charge 4 4.8V NiMH A packs at once. (The ports are configured so we can charge at most two. Worse, the current settings available are 100 mA and 250 mA. We want 180 mA. Yet, this is the charger Tower Hobby recommends. By changing one resistor value for each port, we can configure two ports for 180 mA. We could modify all four by changing one resistor and one transistor each. Or, it is possible the transistor change is not necessary. Still, too big a hassle.)
- Scale ordered
- Three 5V 1800 mAH NiMH packs ordered.
  LE2401 Hobbico NiMH 5N1800A 6V Rx Pack Flat 34.99
- Tower Hobby shows a 6V charger that appears to be good for the 6V 1800 mAH packs. It's in their catalog, maybe not the web page. We ordered one to try.
  HCAP0201
- 72 9V batteries purchased from Physics Stockroom
- PCs ordered
- Furniture ordered: 4 tables 60x30x30; 15 chairs (9 minimum)
- Decstations removed
- Bench power supply ordered
- 3 PCs ordered
- Pack microbots, store big arm, store optical bench, clean up REL
- Battery backed RAM
- Do we have enough plugs? Chargers, bench supplies, ...?
- Layout a bench, with every item:
  - 6V supply with 2 plugs
  - Three chargers
  - Power strip
  - Timer
  - Three battery packs
  - v PC
  - v Serial cable
- Try out the 6V charger, then order more
- Finish Luenberger
- Review Jones and Flynn for coverage of batteries, motors, sensors, structures, etc.
- Download that article on the web about batteries
- Review Peatman for real-time programming, HC11 programming
- Start on code for version 1
- Download Lego design elements from web
- Search for materials on chassis design
- Find that Radio Shack intro to electronics and review sections up to voltage divider
- purchase orders for books
- purchase orders for batteries, chargers or charger parts, battery testers, timer.
- Freeze robot design. Version 1: A minimal robot that is as fast as possible, reacts to bumps by backing and turning for a fixed time, and otherwise follows brightness gradients.
- Tim beta test curriculum
- 1st day of class: bring two working robots for demos

Purchasing

A few fast chargers?
Books
v Scale
Batteries
Battery chargers
Battery testers
PCs
v O-rings and knobs
v More Lego
v Storage
Tape
Timers for chargers
one discharger

Home Depot
  1-1/2 x 1-1/4 x 1/8  #34 O-Ring  STK NO 357488 (Steering wheel tire)
  Liberty P95710CW C C (Ceramic knob for skid)

East Coast Model Center
  ACE34K23 Wall Charger - 4.85/120mA  17.xx
  HOBMULTI R/C Multi-Charger for 4 packs 49.99

Tower
  LE2582   Hobbico RC Multi-Charger                                  29.99
              ( 4 ports, each with three settings.  
                First and second ports: 10, 25, or 50 mA. 
                Third port:  50, 100, or 250 mA
                Fourt port:  100, 250, or 500 mA ) 
  LE2399   Hobbico NiMH 4N1800A  4.8V Rx Pack Square                 27.99
  LE2411   Hobbico NiMH 1800A 1.2V Cell w/Tab                         5.99

  LE2401   Hobbico NiMH 5N1800A 6V Rx Pack Flat                      34.99
  LE2592   Hobbico 6 Volt Charger w/LED UL Listed                     9.99
     Can I charge LE2401?  No.  1.3 Amps.  It's for the sealed lead acid batteries
     How to charge LE2401.  RC Multi charger.  (but, but, ...)
  HCAP0201  (From catalog.  Apparently 6V 150mA, i.e. perfect.
             but Tower says no.  We'll see.)

Back to Andrew's Leap Robotics Section