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Flag-Waving Challenge — Parallax Forums

Flag-Waving Challenge

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2013-08-20 07:24 in General Discussion
With July 4 coming up, I'm kinda itching to build something, almost like "Hack the Halls" last Christmas. Just bought 3 mini US flags for a dollar at Target. I want to get some more and do something with a lot of servos. Maybe even some red, white & blue LEDs, who knows.

Anybody else in a patriotic hacking mood? Wanna make it interesting?

I could also reprogram Jingle Bot pretty quick to wave a flag and sing America or SS Banner... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inM04mo9D8Q

Matt_G, feel free to jump in and offer a prize or two for submitting videos if you're so inclined! But I hope to make something either way. Stay tuned and get creative!
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Comments

  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2013-06-27 13:45
    Being a brit I don't know if you'll want my opinion on this but how about the flags waving with the servos as a salvo of your famous flamethrowers fire in sequence rather like a salute of cannon fire?
  • GenetixGenetix Posts: 1,754
    edited 2013-06-27 13:50
    Is it me Erco or does Jingle Bot resemble a dog?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-27 14:10
    Yes, and yes! :)
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2013-06-27 14:26
    Just make sure you have the fire extinguishers ready :smile:
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-27 14:55
    skylight wrote: »
    Being a brit I don't know if you'll want my opinion on this but how about the flags waving with the servos as a salvo of your famous flamethrowers fire in sequence rather like a salute of cannon fire?

    But where would I possibly get multiple flamethrowers from?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugpSjcYfiuA
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2013-06-27 15:13
    Just make sure there are no people around with long beards when you use those! :lol:
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2013-06-27 16:04
    I suppose I should try to celebrate the FORTH!!!

    :0)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-06-27 16:28
    May the forth of Forth be with you on the fourth!
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2013-07-04 11:49
    Parallax heard the call and delivered the goods with the Flag-Waving Sousa Bot.

    Stephanie Lindsay made this demo in C with SimpleIDE and information from the Propeller C Learn site. The speaker is playing a public domain "Stars and Stripes Forever" .WAV file from the SD-card.

    You can build your own bot just like Stephanie did following these tutorials:
    Playing Wave Files, Servo Navigation, Servo Info, A Multicore Example, Ping Tutorial


    Happy 4th to all who celebrate!

    (posted with permission)
  • ctwardellctwardell Posts: 1,716
    edited 2013-07-04 11:53
    jazzed wrote: »
    Parallax heard the call...

    Very nice!!!

    C.W.
  • NWCCTVNWCCTV Posts: 3,629
    edited 2013-07-04 14:39
    Nice job. I think when Thumpy arrives I will program him using SimpleIDE after I initially get him going using SPIN.
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2013-07-04 14:52
    Fantastic! Where is the challenger's response?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-04 16:46
    Been working on one. Got derailed all day with a whole-house plumbing clog, dangit. I might be late to my own party, but something good is afoot withe 8 servos.

    Parallax's Flag Bot is great. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery: good designers borrow, great designers steal! :)
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2013-07-04 18:30
    If you had eight of those new high-speed servos - you could make your own roto-rooter!

    Sorry you had plumbing problems on the holiday...
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-04 19:06
    Whit wrote: »
    Sorry you had plumbing problems on the holiday...

    Thanks pal. A flush beats a full house every time! :)

    I think the low flow toilets we installed recently have something to do with it. Just not enough water swishing along in these old pipes to clean them thoroughly. We will need to flush more often, so no water is saved!
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2013-07-05 07:11
    erco wrote: »
    I think the low flow toilets we installed recently have something to do with it. Just not enough water swishing along in these old pipes to clean them thoroughly. We will need to flush more often, so no water is saved!

    We had low flows for a while. Have a real plumber check the tank.
    It's easy to mess up the assembly - it can look right, but still be oh so wrong.


    Stephanie's Sousa Bot had some big wheels on it. Where do we get those?
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-05 08:10
    jazzed wrote: »
    Stephanie's Sousa Bot had some big wheels on it. Where do we get those?

    Standard Boebot wheels AFAIK.
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2013-07-05 08:58
    jazzed wrote: »
    Stephanie's Sousa Bot had some big wheels on it. Where do we get those?

    Those wheels are Scribbler/S2 like - Attached is a photo from a cnet article. These are the wheel that will work with the new high-speed servos. I noticed them the other day. I don't think they are available yet - but I home soon. They have O-ring tires and holes for the encoder to read. If you look carefully - you can see the holes and the encoders mounted on this bot. The O-rings are obvious too. Good catch on the video! jazzed!

    As the video says, perhaps these are coming on the Propeller C Activity Bot in the fall...

    Wheels.JPG
    Wheels.JPG
    479 x 409 - 48K
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-05 11:19
    Best I can do this morning. More to come!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-07-05 12:03
    And a lovely assistant too. Well done my friend!
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2013-07-05 18:45
    Very nice erco! Great singing bot and as already mentioned - lovely assistant!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-07 23:22
    Hopelessly behind schedule, but I finished the basic layout tonight. Once I missed my July 4 deadline, I kinda lost steam on the project. But now that I see how wonderfully silly it is, I'll keep going. This was my very first test, LEDs, singing and flamethrower to come, as well as better motion routines. A legitimate and patriotic use of eight one-dollar 9-gram servos. And yes, that's also a dollar red breadboard I used. :)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-08 08:50
    Also patriotically, the total cost is within a penny or two of $17.76, ignoring sales taxation without representation. :)

    Flags: 1.33
    Servos 8.00
    uC 4.00
    Breadboard 1.00
    Base 1.00
    2xLi-Ion AA 2.45

    total 17.78
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-07-08 10:12
    erco wrote: »
    Hopelessly behind schedule,

    No...You are just early for next year's challenge. :)

    Those little 9 grammers seem to do the trick.
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2013-07-08 11:37
    erco that last video of yours got me thinking it could spell out a message using semaphore..

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2013-07-08 12:10
    Great job Pal! We the people are happy!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-08 13:33
    Whit wrote: »
    We the people are happy!

    Thankf, Mifter Whit+. Life, liberty, and the purfuit of happineff!
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2013-07-08 13:40
    Just trying to make 2,000 before you hit 10,000.

    (Although I am at 3,910 if you count my BPC, Before Publison Count) :)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2013-07-08 13:56
    skylight wrote: »
    erco that last video of yours got me thinking it could spell out a message using semaphore..

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore

    Yes, forget binary to BCD and ASCII to hex, CW to semaphore conversion is the next big thing. Get on board, my retro Kickstarter train is leaving the station!
  • Steph LindsaySteph Lindsay Posts: 767
    edited 2013-07-08 16:18
    Publison wrote: »
    No...You are just early for next year's challenge. :)

    Agreed! Also, I was thinking that these little patriotic 'bots would be perfectly re-purposed as Alumni-Bots in plenty of time for college football season, waving pennants and perhaps playing the school fight song...
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