Robotics Compo at UPENE 2010: Need your input.
Oldbitcollector (Jeff)
Posts: 8,091
Given we have a huge area (half of a gym) for UPENE, I'm considering a Robotics competition of sorts.
(Propeller based bots of course!)
I could use some input on the potential judging of the bots themselves and or the course requirements
for a robotics contest. I figure this group is full of experts... [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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(Propeller based bots of course!)
I could use some input on the potential judging of the bots themselves and or the course requirements
for a robotics contest. I figure this group is full of experts... [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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Comments
It might help to define the area available for a competition like this first.
Some random ideas:
1) line following maze - beat the clock
2) ultrasonic following maze - beat the clock
3) combination of 1&2
4) multi-level maze? - a variation with 1&2
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Beau Schwabe
IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
I might need to come up with a mat of sorts which we could apply tape to.
I love the idea of a line following bot competition. Timing on the course.
Obstacle avoidance would be interesting as well!
Anyone with some experience here who could give me some guidelines would be appreciated.
OBC
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Rich H
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The Simple Servo Tester, a kit from Gadget Gangster.
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
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Powered by enthusiasm
I'll be there with "FireBall".· It·uses the Spin Stamp Microcontroller and won the CIRC line following contest in March.
Watch the three runs here:
http://brooksbots.com/Movies/Peoria%2010/Line%20Following/4%20FireBall.wmv
···· Rick Brooks
·
Now I have time for a better response.
There are many types of line following contests.· The Peoria CIRC runs a line following and line maze contests.· The rules are available here:
http://circ.mtco.com/competitions/2009/rules/line_following
http://circ.mtco.com/competitions/2009/rules/line_maze
The Chicago club runs many types.· See the right hand column of this page:
http://www.chibots.org/
Here in Fort Wayne we have a rather difficult line following where all of the turns are 45, 90, or 135 degree.· The rules can be found here:
http://www.sciencecentral.org/neirgrules.htm
I have a set of floor tiles that could be used to set up a Fort Wayne type line following course and could·provide them for use at UPENE.· Unfortunately, the BOEBot that I have to run the course is BS2SX, not Propeller controlled.
········· Rick Brooks
See if the crowd can drive the bot.
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Signature space for rent!
Send $1 to CannibalRobotics.com.
A tower of Hanoi solving contest. The robot would need to apply a general approach as the number of rings can vary, but the location of the towers should be fixed. The rings will have handles to make them easier to grab. Each ring also has a distinct known color and size in case robot builders want to exploit that. I've seen this done, it is hard, but impressive when done right.
A mobile robot must find a red ball randomly placed in a field marked off by black lines. The robot must then pick it up and place it in the home location where the robot started (also marked by an IR beacon). This should be possible using Lego NXT robots, a CMU cam/stamp robot, and a propeller with a camera. Smarter robots with better vision will win, but even dumb robot can solve this kind of puzzle.
A Rubic's cube solver, instructions to build those are all over the internet.
A mock factory where the robot must determine if a widget is good (black/round) or defective (red/square). Both objects will have a hole in the center to facility dragging or pick up and be of known sizes. The object will be randomly selected and placed in a known pickup location and must be moved into good or bad drop points. The pickup and drop points must be close enough together to be solved by either a robot arm or mobile fork lift robot. The robot will be given three trials of randomly selected widget.
BTW all of these are on my personal list of robots to build with my son, but time and other priorities keeps getting in the way.
Sounds like a great time to show off our PropBot Projects. I brought a couple of my Propeller based Robot projects last year. Our local robotics/propeller club ( YAAARC ) has been building a general purpose Propeller Robot. We are using Parallax continuous rotation servos and wheels so the Robots are not very fast. But it is proving to be a good development platform.
http://www.yaaarc.org/wiki/index.php/PropBot
If we can't get enough builders to agree on a contest, perhaps it would be fun to just have a Robot Alley, or a series of 5 min. demos or such.
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James Ronald
My Robots
That's a wonderful Propeller bot! Question: How are the servos attached to the base?
I had a devil of a time getting mine mounted on my own homebrew propbot.
Keep the ideas coming! It's starting to create a really fun plan.. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Remember, I'm a robotics newbie, so I'm counting on the experts here. "you!"
OBC
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I could provide a mini sumo ring, if you want to do that.·
How about an informal RoboMagellan test behind the building, if it is available?
First Pylon at 41o 15.7150'N 82o 36.1890'W
Second Pylon at 41o 15.6900'N 82o 36.2010'W
Finish Pylon at 41o 15.7020'N 82o 36.2690'W·
··· Rick Brooks
You could have attendees vote for their favorite in several categories for prizes.
Bean
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Use BASIC on the Propeller with the speed of assembly language.
PropBASIC thread http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=867134
March 2010 Nuts and Volts article·http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/cols/nv/prop/col/nvp5.pdf
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There are two rules in life:
· 1) Never divulge all information
Post Edited (Martin_H) : 4/11/2010 5:38:44 PM GMT
I too am leaning toward more of an exhibition style robotics addition to UPENE. (Propeller based when possible of course!)
I think I'm going to move registration, etc and use the center-right-corner for robotics stuff.
What color tape is best for line followers?
OBC
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I've heard that matte black gaffer tape is best because it is not shiny like black electrical tape. But I've never made a line follower, so I don't know for sure.
Bean.
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Use BASIC on the Propeller with the speed of assembly language.
PropBASIC thread http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=867134
March 2010 Nuts and Volts article·http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/cols/nv/prop/col/nvp5.pdf
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There are two rules in life:
· 1) Never divulge all information
Thanks for the kind words.
The Basic Robot platform is a 5.75" x 7.75" x 1/4" board to with Parallax continuous rotation servos, wheels, caster wheel or such on on the bottom and a Propeller Board and prototype broads on the top. With help from Parallax were able to make such available for about $85 each (batteries not included) to members.
The servos are attached to the 5mm Expanded PVC using 3M double sided adhesive foam squares available from Staples. Be sure to use the squares as for some reason the rolled foam tape does not seem to stick as well over time. It's also important that the surfaces first be cleaned with alcohol. The bond is quite strong and does not come apart unless you pull it apart with some effort.
The adhesive foam squares were intended to be only temporary until we figured out best location for the servos and fashioned mounts out of expanded PVC or aluminum channel.
Also the BoeBot chassis works well http://jamesronald.us/projects/PropPingBot/ProjectPhotos.html. Besides mine I think that there were a couple others last year. I know that Brian ( the uController dude) had brought one. Perhaps we could build a flock of theses. Personalty, being the geek that I am, I would rather see more stuff in the goody bags than food on the table. It is very easy to justify the cost of lunch and dinner to my wife than more Robot parts.
Also, depending on this years goody bag and soldering stations, I would be happy to help out or lead a small build session of sorts. Even if it's just soldering on connectors and adding spin code that flashes an LED.
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James Ronald
My Robots
Post Edited (JamesRonald) : 4/11/2010 3:49:39 PM GMT
In regard to the best tape for line followers. Black 3M electrical tape seems to work best. Don't get the off brand. It's available very cheap at Home Depot. It's rumored that they sell it at a lost to bring in business. I will not be there until the morning of the event but I would be happy to bring a few or more rolls if you like.
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James Ronald
My Robots
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MCU Projects·- my new site where I will be posting all projects, code, etc.
Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!
SD Card Adapter·- Add extra memory to your next Propeller project with ease!
I'll need to setup some kind of surface we can apply tape to. I'm picturing a couple of those 4x8 sheets of heavy foam material.
(The stuff with a silver surface, cut down to 4's for transportation. ) We could assemble it onsite the night before.
Any issues with the silver surface could be handled beforehand. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Or should I go straight to something woodbased? plywood?
OBC
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James Ronald
My Robots
··· Rick Brooks
·
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Ron aka sailman58
Is this tape the stuff you are referring to?
@Ron,
I love the idea of a drop cloth! I suspect I could even place it in my suitcase. Easier to explain than the
RFID tags I was traveling with last year! [noparse]:)[/noparse] I take it that the canvas spreads nice without wrinkles?
OBC
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Yes, that is the stuff. It's 60 cents a roll here in my area.
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James Ronald
My Robots
Post Edited (JamesRonald) : 4/13/2010 12:29:22 AM GMT
I've added a Robotics Exhibition this year with prizes!
Thank you all for your input! Highly valued in planning this addition!
Thanks to Ken & Parallax for the addition of great prizes for this event!
www.warrantyvoid.us/upene
Now.. It's time to see just how much weight I can get two Parallax servos' to move. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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@James,
SWEET! - I love that little 'bot. Printed out two copies and my son and I will build them soon.
Hope to see you at the UPENE.
Art
just one way to "see" low-level IR a little better than the naked eye --find someone with a SLR camera and a dark red (lens) filter and use sight and the light meter--its not IR per se but generally close enough (a proxy) with a little basic knowledge about light wavelengths. Indoors is rather reliable (more consistent)--outdoors requires more experienced observation and is easier early or late in the day (when the daylight is more "red" rather than at the burning blue of high noon). something to consider regarding sceduling outdoor events (or indoors if the room has a lot of windows?
still better and with more time -- find some IR black and white Kodak film and take photographs--might be interesting as the photographs would give you a robot's IR-eye view of a course or landscape. not sure if the film is still produced but was still available (35mm--larger sheet film format also) only a few years back from B&H Photo and similar big photo retailers. find someone archaic still into B&W (chemical) photography---if they have used this film they have dark red filters. at any rate--to use: handle film in total darkness--load in a changing bag in a darkroom at night waning or waxing moon with no red safelights--DUH! keep the camera out of the light and warmth when not in use. make sure you bracket exposures as meter readings and the film can still be tricky (which has its own characteristics--favors red light but will be exposed by other wavelengths too --so in practice and when you are doin it for real--lenses are generally filtered to exclude other than red or some part thereof--yellow would result in less contrast/less oddness/less IR). lots of photographers get disappointing results mostly because they don't load the camera properly--the thin metal film cannister obviously is not IR light tight and they tend to prexpose this film by careless handling like storing it in a black camera bag in the sun. (Besides the composition of light changes through the day and by weather conditions and that it is reflected in ways that seem strange--different than the visible light in general--IR sensing/photography can be a bit challenging--you need to become aware of what absorbs heat and red wavelengths which is not only surface color but the nature of the material itself--what gets hot in sunlight like white beach sand which is not red ...or black (the colors thought to absorb heat/red, black having a lot of red in it along with all else)
The same concepts apply to IR sensors -- i expect likewise they actually will peer into the infared range somewhat but more than not see a lot of "red" light at the end of the visible spectrum (there is no neat division and economics and "good enough" usually are deciding factors). Thus red surfaces will tend to be seen better as IR and that might be considered as part of a course design. Black of course is the complete absence of color in theory and theorectically reflects no light. i would tend to agree then that the matte (nonrefelctive) surface like black gaffers tape SHOULD work best then but that is only in theory and some blacks are more black than others as all are made from pigments (presence) rather than (absence) and here black is relative to its ability to absord the red/IR spectrum which has to do as much with other material properties besides color. then, all depends on how the sensor works to approximate IR (precisely?) and how well. If the reflective tape works best it is most likely due to: if not simply materials in the aggregate that could very well favor it empirically in the concrete (above posts)-, it is likely that it looks reflective to us because it reflects blue light exceptionally well as compared to red and could appear darker red/IR to the sensor (as a relative measure because of the high measure of blue reflected) than something which absorbs everything and reflects nothing--in this case the sensor thinks something in the abstract as opposed to the concrete material aggregates is less than nothing as it perhaps needs to see something to see anything including nothing because it does not measure absolutes but relativities at some significant level.
(Chemical-based photography is history -- i am kind of guessing that you will have to rely on old 'out-of-date' stock now given that the general market for this stuff was commercial survey/survelliance and that for these purposes i would guess the film is now entirely obsolete (with better digital imaging equipment avail for this purpose)--you could use that too if you had access--expensive? night vision equipment that sees heat/IR might work if the goggles could be filtered/shaded to exclude daylight wavelengths--couple of layers of ruby lith--cheap red acetate used in printing {dodging (light) material}--to make dark red filters might work. Could mount on a bot and run the course providing a video feed?)
Vision has always been messy--Apparently hard to tell what you are really seeing but the same is true for motors (Apparent Power is not the same as Real Power).
They used to say "Better living through chemistry". ((Markov is a natural violation of the color wheel and drank too much Kodak Dektol and HC-110 developers. Preferred tha latter--its sweeter. Microcontrollers are a bit crunchy but Markov as-similates.))
How are UPENE Propeller BOT projects coming for UPENE?
While I'm not "official" playing, the two top secret pieces have just arrived for our bot.
Anyone know how to create very small amounts of directed fog? [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
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