Robotics Newbie

Splynter

Hello everyone,

I recently discovered Parallax and robotics and I find this stuff really really cool.· I want to learn to build my own cool robot.· I wanted to know if anyone can direct me to some free documentation/tutorials on the net that I can start on.· I do plan on buying the BOEBOT eventually but I don't have the funds right now (I live in Canada and the exchange rate and the shipping fees are a killer - the Canadien resellers for parallax products aren't so great).· I find all the Parallax products really great and I'd buy everything on the menu if I had the funds.

Anyways I'd like to get started on learning electronics and robot related stuff (servos, BS2, etc.).· I found plenty of stuff on electronics but I'd like to find some doc/tut specifically on robotics electronics.· Any links anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Paul Baker

The nice thing about Parallax is that the majority of thier documentation is availible online.

The best document to familiarize yourself with the basics is Whats a Microcontroller.

From there you can read the BASIC Stamp Documentation·or the Stamps In Class documents which has a couple docs on the Boe-Bot. And finally there are some documents on the Boe-Bot on the product page.

Ryan Clarke

A great 'primer' on electronics is the Forrest Mimms book that Radio Shack sells (pretty cheaply)- but like Paul said, Parallax has most of their docs ONLINE FOR FREE.

Ryan

Splynter

I've looked through the documentation on the Parallax site and there is a lot of info which is great, but most of the info is in relation to the logicial side of building a robot (mostly related to programming the STAMP). I'd like to learn more about why a resistor or capacitor has to be placed in a certain way etc. Basically, if I have a STAMP and a few servos and sensors I'd like to know where the resistors/capacitors are to be connected etc. Most of the documentation on Parallax show how to build a circuit but not why the components go where they are. Not sure if I being clear (I hope so). Again I'm looking for free documentation and related specifically to robotics. I found a lot of stuff on electronics but nothing specifically related to robotics (servos, sensors, etc.)

Any help is much appreciated.

Paul Baker

The information you seek is beyond the scope of the literature that Parallax provides. You're looking for book on designing electronics, some of the concepts are simple and very straightforward (such as what resistor to use with an LED), whereas other concepts are quite complex and thier solution requires calculus or special transforms to calculate (such as computing the frequency response of your power supply capacitors and tweaking it to reduce EMI).

allanlane5

Robotics doesn't have to be too expensive, but it is not cheap. The BOEBot is probably the least expensive, full featured robotics platform you'll be able to get your hands on. Radio Shack was running a special for $100 or so -- I don't know in Canada, though.· "Normal" price for the BOEBot is around $225, I believe.·

However, for that you do get the BOE board with BS2, which you can do stand-alone labs for, as well as the BOEBot parts for creating a stand-alone robot with the BOE.

Any 'roll your own' solution is going to cost at least that. I'd recommend getting a small loan from your parents and going for the BOEBot.

Personally, I tend to be suspicious of anybody giving the·advice I've just given above, especially if it is on the vendor's web-site. But you should know I don't work for Parallax, I've been doing this stuff about 2 years, and I'm a really cheap guy. In that 2 years I've found that the BOEBot is the most cost effective and easiest to use and easiest to adapt of the many "low cost" robots out there.

P.S. one other alternative is a LEGO Mindstorms kit.· These cost around $200.· The major drawback of this kit is you ONLY have three inputs, and three motor outputs.· A third motor costs around $20.· This is a nice 'robotics platform builder' kit, as you can build a multi-motor robot, tracked robot, a line-sensor robot, etc.· However, whatever you build looks like a Lego (not necessarily a bad thing).· That three-input, three-output limit really limits how much more robotics you can learn, though.· The BOEBot has 16 pins and a prototyping area that can be used for motors (2), IR-Sensors, LED's, touch-sensors, etc.· And the BS2 is MUCH more generally applicable than the Mindstorms 'Brick' processor.

Having used both, I'd still get the BOE as more flexible in the future.

Post Edited (allanlane5) : 6/11/2005 3:46:01 PM GMT

dandreae

Splynter said...
Hello everyone,

I recently discovered Parallax and robotics and I find this stuff really really cool.· I want to learn to build my own cool robot.· I wanted to know if anyone can direct me to some free documentation/tutorials on the net that I can start on.· I do plan on buying the BOEBOT eventually but I don't have the funds right now (I live in Canada and the exchange rate and the shipping fees are a killer - the Canadien resellers for parallax products aren't so great).· I find all the Parallax products really great and I'd buy everything on the menu if I had the funds.

Anyways I'd like to get started on learning electronics and robot related stuff (servos, BS2, etc.).· I found plenty of stuff on electronics but I'd like to find some doc/tut specifically on robotics electronics.· Any links anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Regarding low cost, make sure to check out ebay, you can find a great deal on a Boe-Bot.· You will have to bid on it, but they go at a very low price.

Dave·

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Dave Andreae

Tech Support
dandreae@parallax.com
[noparse][[/noparse]url]Http://www.parallax.com[noparse][[/noparse]/url]

·

Ryan Clarke

Identify what your end goals are:

What do you want to learn to do? Build your own robots from scratch? What kind of robots? Build other electronics from scratch? Are you interested in analog or digital? (I view analog design as an art, and digital design as a science [noparse];)[/noparse] )

If you are looking to learn the 'basics', identify where you are at currently in skill level/knowledge- then find a book that is written to that level. I'm sure there are lots of people here who could help suggest a book or website once you've identified where you feel your level of knowledge is already at.

You already have the greatest tool for this type of learning available to you, the net & google.

Ryan

Splynter

Hi guys, thanks for all the replies.

My interest is really in robotics.· Something that can move (on wheels or other), interact with the world (avoid objects etc.) and make decisions based on input.· I have a background in IT and an familiar with programming concepts.· My problem is that my knowledge of electronics is quite limited.· I know the basic concepts (resistors and ohm's law and such) but that is about it.· I've searched the net and found plenty of stuff on electronics but it is either too basic (battery, resistor and LED) or way too advanced.· I'm not looking to become an electronics engineer, but I'd like to know how to put together some servos and sensors without having to follow step-by-step instructions.· Basically I'm looking for some Docs specifically tuned to robotics.

RadioShack in Canada doesn't carry the BOE-BOT, and the distributors here don't have the latest versions of Parallax products.· The best would be to buy from Parallax directly but the shipping costs are a killer.· I'm gonna checkout eBay, thanks for the suggestion.·· I know I will eventually get the BOE-BOT, it's just a matter of time.· My son was born·6 weeks ago and he takes up a lot of my funds and my time at home.· At work I have spare time to browse the net so I thought I'd get a head start on learning some stuff before I get around to buying the BOE-BOT.

Do you thing I can build a robot that will change baby diapers?·

Thanks for all the replys guys.