Autonomous Metal Searching Robot

BobMalcomb

I want to pull a robot (like a wagon) around the perimeter of a square. I want to robot to remember the corners, then search the area with a metal detector, spray painting each spot where metal was detected. I don't know where to start. I see paralax can sense GPS coordinates. I have done a lot of programmin in BASIC, but never done anything·with robots. Where do I start ? Bobmalcomb@aol.com

Mike Green

This is a much more complex project than you might think, mostly because of the difficulty navigating with enough precision. GPS will not do it. It's intended for navigation over distances on the order of miles, not feet or inches. You may need some kind of beacon, probably a modulated IR source at the corners of the area.

Download and read Robotics with the BoeBot (www.parallax.com/tabid/535/Default.aspx). Read the documentation for the PING sensor (www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/ping/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/92/Default.aspx). Read the documentation on the wheel encoder for the BoeBot (www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/80/Default.aspx?txtSearch=wheel+encoder).

Rick Price

I have thought of doing something similar, but nothing serious at all so far.

I would think of doing something like what surveyors use these days, have a rotating laser on the top of the robot, and have it scan for the poles. I would try to reduce the number of poles as much as possible (between 4 and 1), while I would think it would be interesting to have it be able to identify the poles by their signature, a method that did not require that would probably be better.