XBee/Uart/Robot Test

This is a demo of the XBee connected to the atmega8 micro sending data back to the Laptop.  The code is being flashed/programmed by the USB connected AVRISP MKII ISP Programmer, connected to the micro board.

All the code does is continuously send a counter value back from the micro to the Laptop.  This is an example of how I would be monitoring data back from the robot, such as Odometry, various Status messages, etc.

Another capability of the Xbee/Zigbee devices is that they have their own I/O pins which may toggled to add more I/O functionality to the robot.

There’s more exciting things to come…so please stay tuned for more…

BTW: This is Pakistani music in the background…Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – yeh jo halka halka saroor ha.  Please Enjoy!

Syndicated 2010-03-30 07:24:34 from Cyb3rnetx

Parkour and Freerunning Robot

Gotta get training…

This is an ad, but it would be a cool robot.

Syndicated 2010-03-25 22:58:33 from Cyb3rnetx

Xbee with Arduino/AVR

I’ve been experimenting with the Xbee Modules, and the Arduino board, and have had good results, almost out of the box.  Other than setting up the Xbee’s with the same IDs, that is about it.  There is one Xbee connected to the laptop via a USB Interface Board (from Sparkfun), and the other Xbee is attached to the Arduino via the Regulator Board (also from Sparkfun).

I opened the Arduino IDE, loaded and compiled the SoftSerial code, then opened 2 serial terminals for 2 different com ports.  After uploading the code, then typing in the XBee attached to the Arduino, the data can be seen on the other terminal for the PC.

So, this is mainly to get telemetry data back from the robot, and maybe later do some controls as well.

I have also connected another XBee to the robot’s controller, and sending data out the UART, but for some reason, I am not receiving any data.  So I am working on this portion, troubleshooting, and checking different things.  I know it is working, as I have attached a Max233 board to the RX/TX pins of the micro, and I am getting data.

There really shouldn’t be much difference with using the Arduino board, and a stand-alone AVR board/robot controller.  So I will be working on this, and hopefully get it working soon. Stay tuned…

Here is a pic of the XBee boards (no arduino yet) I am using.

Just the XBee Boards

Syndicated 2010-03-16 19:31:25 from Cyb3rnetx

UltraMax: Motion Control Outside

This is UltraMax doing some motion control tasks, on the pavement, and on the sidewalk.

On the Pavement:

On the Sidewalk:

Syndicated 2010-03-06 07:48:43 from Cyb3rnetx

UltraMax – Motor Bench Testing

This is another vid of doing some bench testing of Max.

Syndicated 2010-03-06 06:22:17 from Cyb3rnetx

Hello world! I, Robot!

OK.  This is the first post on this blog.  However, I have been working on a few robots.  Some of this activity may be seen on South Florida Robotics Society site @ http://www.sunbots.org.

Anyways, I have been working on UltraMax for a bit now, off and on.  And it’s been fun.  There have been some changes, but also some good improvements.

Right now, Max is in a motion control phase, and the Odometry System is somewhat working.

Here’s the latest pic of him…in all it’s glory…for now. Also a demo video. I’ll add some more stuff soon, so stay tuned…

A Demo vid

Syndicated 2010-02-05 16:01:49 from Cyb3rnetx

Wow! Has it really been that long? Well, I have some updates. I am finished development on UltraMega, and began working on UltraMax, aka Max. UltraMega is a great platform still, but there are a number of limitations.

I learned a lot on Mega, and it was lots of fun. UltraMega now will be a bot for show and tell, and I have a few programs as demos (odometry/navigation, obstacle avoidance behaviors, etc.). The Ultra legacy continues...

I will give an update on Max real soon...

Greetings,

It's been awhile, but i've been working on a few things. The robotics club has been getting off the ground, and I had to work on some other tasks such as the website, making flyers, posting in different places, promoting, etc. Also been working on finding a better place to meet. There aren't many people in the club at this time, eventhough some have shown interest in the past, but interest has dwindled. Therefore, more promotions and leg work are needed. In time, we will build our membership, and the new location may also be better exposure.

I've also been helping a member getting parts, to build a robot chassis. He has a Basic Stamp Board, and is starting to learn, and doing some experiments.

I ordered some samples for the club from Atmel in their AVR microcontroller line. I have been using these for about 2-3 yrs now, and I enjoy working with them for their free tools, ease of use, and features. So I will also put together some workshops/tutorials for the club, on how to use these controllers.

Progress in terms of actual hands-on work, on UltraMega has halted for the moment, however I have been doing research on fuzzy logic and neural networks. Very interesting stuff, and I'm excited in implementing these algorithms for UltraMega. More about that another time.

On the other hand, I've been working on a sort of promotional robot called "HyperBot", for kids who may be interested in the robotics club. There are some pics in the club gallery showing its current state, however, I am currently working on the AVR controller. I will probably add a project page on this site. More about this another time.

Any ways, I'll update again real soon...

- robotvibes

Greetings,

I have been involved in starting up a local robotics club, South Florida Robotics Society (Sunbots). The website is basic right now, but will be updated real soon.

We had a meeting last week, and it was good. I was expecting more people to show up, but 3 of us got together and did a show and tell of projects, skills, and vision of the club. Some passers by seemed interested, I explained what we're doing, and then signed them up for more info.

The meeting was held in the parking lot of a local RC Hobby shop, and they had a race later that day, so they were on the track(parking lot) practicing. It was noisy and irritating after awhile, eventhough we didn't want to leave so we can continue talking about robotics.

We are trying to find a place we're we can hold the meetings, and also to begin working on our projects like 'Robot Builder's Day/Night Out' (RBNO/RBDO), similar to what other clubs are doing. We will be doing more promotions including flyers, reaching out to the public for more interest, like a membership drive.

We concluded that I will be the President (acting), for now, and they will have other roles.

We are planning on having another meeting maybe this wknd, and another next wk. Will keep you posted, and if anyone's interested, you may contact us at our website.

- robotvibes

Greetings,

I made some modifications to UltraMega's batteries, hardware, and some coding. More details on our site.

Thanks!

- Kevin