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Robotics is one of those fields that touches many facets of science and engineering - mechanics, electronics, optics, and computer science to name a few. You do not have to be an engineering genius, or even very skilled at building things - robotics components available today makes building a robot within reach of many hobbyists. But you should have some ability to assemble things from kits or scratch. Some interest in at least one of the above engineering fields is also helpful!

The robots featured on this page are shown (roughly) in reverse order - latest projects will tend to be on top

What's New

April 10, 2009 - link updates and link verification.

March 29, 2009 - fixed broken "Arduino Home Page" link, added a few more new links and projects, added embedded YouTube video.

March 28, 2009 - a long overdue update has begun. Beginning with old robots.

More updates to come!

Microcontroller:
Sensors:
Drive:
Power:
Weight:

SECTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Microcontroller: MicroChip 16F84A
Sensors: SRF04 ultrasonic ranger
Motors: three HiTec HS25BB
Power: four AA Nmh, one 9v Nmh
Weight: 23.7oz (673 grams)
Status: Recently rebuilt!

This walking robot is one that I built from a book "Insectronics Build Your Own Walking Robot" by Karl Williams. The CPU for this bot is a Microchip PICmicro 16F84A microcontroller. An SRF04 ultrasonic rangefinder is used to "map" the space in front of Stomper. Two standard model airplane servo's provide the motivation for Stomper to walk

If you decide to build an Insectronic like Stomper, be aware that although the 16F84A is very inexpensive (typically under $5 U.S.), you will need a separate programming board and a PicBasic compiler (about $200 U.S.)! PicBasic Pro is the compiler mentioned in the book, though there are others such as CCS PicC and Proton that perhaps could be used. If you plan to build a lot of bots, the PICmicro becomes more attractive as the programmer and compiler are a one-time expense.

To program Stomper, I built Myke Predko's "el-cheapo" programmer from his book "Programming and Customizing PICmicro Microcontrollers", and then downloaded the "hex" file from Karl WIlliams website. This kept my initial expense on Stomper down, although later I bought a compiler anyway...

Stomper has been featured on "LetsMakeRobots!" Be sure to visit my Stomper LMR web page for more information.

Platform: OOPic I, II, or II+
Motors: two PWM speed controlled, up to 1A.
Servos: in theory, up to 31 (in reality, probably less, never tested for the extreme)
Serial: single RS232 port

I built this about the same time I finished OB2. I never got beyond building the prototype shown here (although if I got some serious inquiries I might consider getting some PC boards made). The idea was to provide the OOPic I, II, or II+ microcontroller with a single interface board containing the interfaces I commonly use in my robots. This board featured up to 31 servo connections (with two separate power supply connections), a dual 1-amp H-bridge (able to provide full pwm speed control for two small dc motors), a regulated 1-amp 5-volt power source with six connections, a power LED indicator, a speaker, and a true RS232 interface. The Multi-I/O gives older OOPic's many of the capabilities of an OOPic R, but with more available I/O connections! This board also provides serial programming capability (SCP) with the OOPic II+.

Microcontroller: OOPic II
Sensors: Sharp GP2D12 IR range, two QRB1124 reflective, homemade multispectral (color)
Drive: two modified GWS S03N 2BB servos
Gripper: HiTec HS25BB servo
Power: four AA Nmh, one 9v Nmh
Weight: 21oz (600g)
Status: Being restored

This robot is my second attempt at an object-grabbing robot (see OB1 above for my first attempt). OB2 is designed to find and remove targets from a MiniSumo arena, while leaving "high-value" targets behind. Each of the targets has a specific size, color, weight, and "taste" (resistance value) - any of which can be sensed by the robot (click here for contest rules).

OB2 uses an OOPic II microcontroller, a servo gripper to "grab" targets, and a Sharp GP2D12 rangefinder to find the targets. The robot is built on a modified Mark III MiniSumo chassis kit (a MUCH smaller footprint than my original OB1).

OB2 identifies targets by color, using a bright surface-mount RGB (full color) LED as a light-source, and a visible-light phototransistor for sensing the reflected light. In brief, the targets color is determined by switching the LED's colors individually and measuring the reflected light. By analyzing the sensed color values, OB2 can determine if it should remove target from the arena, or leave the target alone.

Since there is much more to this project than I can explain in just a couple of paragraphs - more pictures, diagrams, and other information are available on my OB2 project page.

Microcontroller: OOPic I
Sensors: Sharp GP2D12 IR range, two homemade reflective.
Drive: two modified HiTec HS25BB servos
Gripper: three HiTec HS25BB
Power: eight AA, one 9v
Weight: not known
Status: DISASSEMBLED & recycled!

My first fully scratch-built robot was this one. This robot was built around a contest designed by Front Range Robotics (yahoo group, web site) club member Ed Rupp. The object of the contest is find and remove targets from a MiniSumo arena, while leaving the "high-value" targets behind. Each of the targets has a specific size, color, weight, and "taste" (resistance value) - any of which can be sensed by the robot (click here for contest rules). At the time, I was taking an Artificial Intelligence class (CS440) at Colorado State University, and decided this challenge would be a great demonstration project for my class.

The CPU for this robot is an OOPic, which is a flexible and easily programmed microcontroller for robotics. Initially I tried using toy motors for locomotion, but later switched to model airplane servos modified for continuous rotation. The gripper on the front uses unmodified model airplane servos. A Sharp GP2D12 rangefinder is used for locating targets.

OB1 could (often) locate, pick up, and toss out a target - but was too large to easily navigate the arena without knocking over remaining targets. This bot was popular with my classmates during my presentation!

Microcontroller: Basic Stamp BS1-IC
Sensors: Sharp GP1U58Y IR, two QRB1134 reflective
Drive: two modified GWS S03N 2BB
Power: four AA Nmh, 1 - 9v Nmh
Weight: 16oz (454g)
Status: Retired, needs rebuild

Cyclops was my first combat robot. It uses a Parallax Inc Basic Stamp BS1-IC microcontroller for its brain. The PC board is home made but the chassis is Portland Robotics Society's Mark III MiniSumo chassis kit.

Sumo combat essentially is a shoving match between two bots - a point is scored by shoving your opponent off the combat arena (the "dojo"). Generally, a win is declared by scoring a point twice out of three rounds. Cyclops competed in the autonomous MiniSumo class - up to 500 grams (16 ounce) weight, and 10 cm (4") square. The dojo is a black circular platform approx 30 inches (76 cm) in diameter, with a white stripe around the edge so the robot can sense the edge. Click here for MiniSumo rules.