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Proposal: Parallax Penguin rePurposed ??? — Parallax Forums

Proposal: Parallax Penguin rePurposed ???

ercoerco Posts: 20,255
edited 2012-06-13 22:13 in Robotics
First, where has all the Penguin info gone, Parallax? These links from the sticky are dead:

PENGUIN PRODUCT PAGE
www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=27313

PENGUIN DOCUMENTATION
www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/robo/27313-6%20PenguinDoc-v1.0.pdf

Would sure like to see updated links to this info, Parallax! Otherwise, the sticky is pretty useless. Lots of Penguin owners out here.

Second, I can't be the only person who has considered using a Penguin controller board on a wheeled (BoeBot or equivalent) base. I know, it's heresy, walkers are inherently cooler than rolling bots. But...

I have an extra Penguin kit from the giveaway. Built one, saved one. The Penguin is cool, but face it, the walking is not that consistent. Novel yes, accurate no. The controllability of the tilt-stride mechanism depends on mechanical adjustment, surface friction, and many other factors. No chance of dead reckoning or tracing a consistent path. It seems to me that the built-in surface mount compass and the higher-power processor (BS2PX IIRC, can't find the info!) are almost going to waste here. I played with my Penguin for a while, but he mostly sits up on the shelf.

But if you were to transplant that board onto a smooth rolling robot with encoders and good speed control, you might start to have something fun to experiment with, navigationally speaking. Especially if you connected a few I/O & power lines to a breadboard area, as on BoeBot, to add a PING or IR sensor.

We could always make a BS1-IC or BS2 controller to keep the Penguin mechanicals going.

Am I a bad guy for even suggesting such a terrible thing?

Comments

  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2012-06-08 16:41
    One of my Penguins is running under Propeller power and the original board isn't being used for anything. I had plans to use it in another platform (nothing specific) but I still haven't gotten around to using it.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,255
    edited 2012-06-08 18:56
    XLNT. Did you add any features using a Prop?
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,933
    edited 2012-06-08 21:50
    Erco, I have thought of the same thing several times. I have an extra set of boards from a penguin and was thinking of converting the penguin size servos over to continuous rotation to make a miniature BOE-Bot style robot. Never enough time for all the ideas..... If someone was serious enough to go forward with a project like that, I would be tempted to give the boards to the adventure.
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-06-09 04:18
    I've been toying with the idea of using the Penguin board on a Hexbug Spider. But lack of time will prevent execution of the idea.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,255
    edited 2012-06-10 15:07
    Martin_H wrote: »
    I've been toying with the idea of using the Penguin board on a Hexbug Spider. But lack of time will prevent execution of the idea.

    Martin_H: That's a fantastic concept, pity that you'll never get around to doing it. Steering using the compass heading is pure genius, so since the execution is up for grabs, if I do it, it's all mine. Thanks Bro!

    PS: What other great ideas will you never execute? Lemme know!
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2012-06-10 15:32
    Count me as another that's been thinking about making a mini Boe-bot from Penguin parts. I have a couple from the UPEW freebie table and I noticed that this year at one point it looked there were dozens of them on the freebie table. I've wondered how many more of those that Parallax has and how hard it would be to develop a simple robot around them.
  • HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
    edited 2012-06-13 21:55
    You're right about the Penguin BS2px motherboard being powerful for many repurposed uses. I made a Penguin astronaut and launched him into space with a GPS interfaced to the extra port and did data log recording of position, height, and various parameters, then matched with Google Maps enabling the altitude feature. I did a lot of work with this concept in China as they approve flying high-altitude kites. I've had kites out there to a 5,280-feet, but don't try that with a high flying rocket or it's looking for trouble! Penguin also reached 1,555 feet via one of their Mega Projects at a cost of about $24 to go that high. In Taiwan at 101, Penguin reached 1,473-feet elevation and riding the Tram in Hong Kong to the Peak took Penguin up at least 1,200 feet, the actual Peak is at 1,800-feet.
  • HumanoidoHumanoido Posts: 5,770
    edited 2012-06-13 22:13
    Erco wrote: "First, where has all the Penguin info gone, Parallax? These links from the sticky are dead:
    PENGUIN PRODUCT PAGE PENGUIN DOCUMENTATION"

    The two links came from the product page and there is no product so the links went inactive.
    The sticky is still very useful as many other links are working or can be converted.
    The docs are still available as they were saved off site.
    Most of the links at the Penguin Signature Site are working too or can be converted.
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?129592-Penguin-Robot&p=977061#post977061
    You can easily find the Penguin documentation you want listed there for download.
    Another good source is the PRS Penguin Robot Society Web Site. http://www.p-robot.com/
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