is the sumo bot compatible with the program included or can it work with a GUI like NXT-G for lego mindstorms.··· if sumobot is compatible with a GUI what are they?·
The SumoBot is controlled by a BS2 Stamp which is a general purpose programmable microcontroller. It comes with sample control programs for the SumoBot application (behaving like a SumoBot). You can change those any way you want, limited only by program space and variable storage. The SumoBot doesn't come with any programs for working with a GUI although you can add that to the sample programs assuming that the GUI can communicate with the SumoBot over a serial I/O link. You can add an xBee or Bluetooth device to the SumoBot for wireless control. As far as the Stamp in the SumoBot is concerned, this is just another serial I/O port. You'll have to figure out how to mount it and deal with the communication details, but it shouldn't be too hard to do.
Selmaware (www.selmaware.com) sells various xBee adapters for use with the Stamp and Parallax sells a Bluetooth adapter.
the whole reason i need to know if sumo bot compatible with a GUI like NXT-G cause im only 11 but i can do a little script programming like VB but im not sure if VB uses serial port.
the scribbler bot has a GUI is that compatible with basic stamp2 because i saw you can program scribbler bot in the BASIC even though VB and basic are sort of the same way of programing if it try to learn ill forget in 1 day
lilpho,
You don't "need" BT communications for a GUI so much as you need wireless communications for a "free-ranging" BOT. If you have a light, flexible serial cable (you really only need three wires ... transmit data, receive data, and a ground), you can have a wired connection between the BOT and the computer with the GUI.
Strictly speaking, the SumoBot isn't "compatible" with anything other than the Stamp editor since you would have to do at least some programming on the SumoBot to make it work with a PC program like NXT-G or even the Scribbler GUI. For an example of a PC program designed to "talk" to a BOE-BOT or SumoBot, look at StampPlot Pro here: www.selmaware.com. This is a PC program that connects via a serial port to a Stamp and is "driven" from the Stamp for recording data and analyzing and plotting it.
For an example of a wireless link with a GUI on the other end, look at the Toothpick (here: www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=30076). If you read the manual and check the links to the manufacturer's website, you'll see that they have a configurable GUI that runs on a PC and lets you have dials, gauges, buttons, etc. that automatically transfer back and forth to the Toothpick where they can be read by the Stamp to control whatever you want. It's a bit expensive ($140), but you do get a lot of capability. You can do the same kind of thing from VB over a wired serial port with the SumoBot's Stamp sending commands and/or data to VB on the PC and getting back the values of buttons and dials on the PC's screen from VB.
What's this "if it try to learn ill forget in 1 day"? I'll bet you can learn at least 3 or 4 different things at the same time and keep them straight all in the same day. It can be difficult and it can be confusing and you'll probably think that you can't do it, but you'll find that you can and you'll learn ways to keep things straight and it just takes time and practice and experience and maybe a bit of patience (and help sometimes).
Do have a look at StampPlot Pro. It's free for personal use and you can "control" the Stamp from the PC using it. That means that you can set values on the PC that the Stamp can read via the serial port and use to control the actions of the program on the Stamp (SumoBot).
lilpho,
there isn't anything really like the mindstorms GUI for programming a sumo bot. The PBasic that the Basic Stamp uses is not very challenging to learn, though, and if you can handle VB scripts I'm sure you'll be more than up to it.
You could write your own program to run on the Stamp and the PC that would program (slowly) one of the program slots on a multislot Stamp. There was a thread on this some time ago. It's slow because of the write time required for byte by byte programming of the EEPROM. It really needs to be a multislot Stamp (everything but the BS2 ... BS2e, BS2sx, BS2p, BS2pe, BS2px) because the reprogramming program has to live somewhere. You need something on the PC because the downloader in the Stamp Editor is too fast for the Stamp to programmatically decode its output.
so you're saying i should gety a bluetooth adapter for the sumobot but then i need to get a "toothpick" but i already have a bluetooth adapter so would that work? then i connect PC to bot and use a program (say roboDNA) but im not sure compatible with basic stamp and control on computer?
D Faust,
Other than the Toothpick, I'm not aware of any wireless device that can remotely program a Stamp. There is a device called a Stache (see: www.emesystems.com) that looks like a Stamp to a PC and looks like a PC to a Stamp and is used for distributing programs "in the field". It's a manual device, not automatic (you have to connect it and push a button).
lilpho,
The Toothpick has a mode where it talks to a Bluetooth equipped PC or Pocket PC PDA and the PC (or PDA) program that comes with it puts up a GUI with buttons and dials and input text and numeric fields ... however you've configured it. The data automatically gets transferred between the PC and the Toothpick and the Stamp can read and write to the data fields (which get transferred to the PC's display).
If you use some other kind of Bluetooth adapter, you're providing a wireless serial port, but there's no special program on the PC side ... you'd have to do it all yourself in VB or some other language. StampPlotPro might work well enough for you for the PC side.
Both the Toothpick and the VB solution require some programming on the Stamp (SumoBot) side, but it shouldn't be complicated. Again, check out StampPlotPro for examples.
You mention roboDNA. I have never used this and I don't know anything about it, but it sends data to some kind of robot and receives data from the robot. If the format of the data is documented and it's not too complicated, you could write a subroutine in PBasic for your SumoBot that might be able to talk to roboDNA. If you look at StampPlotPro, you'll see that the format of the data that goes back and forth is very well documented and it's pretty straightforward to modify a Stamp (SumoBot) program to "talk" to StampPlotPro. That's probably not true for roboDNA or NXT-G because those manufacturers want you to use their PC programs only with their robots, not with anyone else's.
Post Edited (Mike Green) : 5/29/2007 5:01:09 PM GMT
lilpho, if you want to create a program by using graphical icons, take a look at the Scribbler robot. If you want to write your own code, but create a Visual Basic like program to control your robot by clicking on buttons, take a look at the Boe-Bot MS Robotics Studio kit. Both are sold by Parallax.
If you aren't sure about any of the Parallax kits, you can always download the instruction manuals to see if the are above or below your ability level.
As for the bluetooth or other wireless modules, you only need them if you are trying to make a radio-controlled robot, like an rc car. You don't need them for programming your robot.
on VB i can make a controller but not a programmer that requires VB and a program running on the sumo bot but im not sure hot to make a programmer but the easiest way of getting control is either IR remote or VB using wireless ican't get "simple" to me control by using the BASIC program but on the VB or IR i have to do the BASIC in order for the stamp to respond to the code
Comments
Selmaware (www.selmaware.com) sells various xBee adapters for use with the Stamp and Parallax sells a Bluetooth adapter.
You don't "need" BT communications for a GUI so much as you need wireless communications for a "free-ranging" BOT. If you have a light, flexible serial cable (you really only need three wires ... transmit data, receive data, and a ground), you can have a wired connection between the BOT and the computer with the GUI.
Strictly speaking, the SumoBot isn't "compatible" with anything other than the Stamp editor since you would have to do at least some programming on the SumoBot to make it work with a PC program like NXT-G or even the Scribbler GUI. For an example of a PC program designed to "talk" to a BOE-BOT or SumoBot, look at StampPlot Pro here: www.selmaware.com. This is a PC program that connects via a serial port to a Stamp and is "driven" from the Stamp for recording data and analyzing and plotting it.
For an example of a wireless link with a GUI on the other end, look at the Toothpick (here: www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=30076). If you read the manual and check the links to the manufacturer's website, you'll see that they have a configurable GUI that runs on a PC and lets you have dials, gauges, buttons, etc. that automatically transfer back and forth to the Toothpick where they can be read by the Stamp to control whatever you want. It's a bit expensive ($140), but you do get a lot of capability. You can do the same kind of thing from VB over a wired serial port with the SumoBot's Stamp sending commands and/or data to VB on the PC and getting back the values of buttons and dials on the PC's screen from VB.
What's this "if it try to learn ill forget in 1 day"? I'll bet you can learn at least 3 or 4 different things at the same time and keep them straight all in the same day. It can be difficult and it can be confusing and you'll probably think that you can't do it, but you'll find that you can and you'll learn ways to keep things straight and it just takes time and practice and experience and maybe a bit of patience (and help sometimes).
Can the xBee be used to remotely program a stamp?· Where can I get more info?
Thanks
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D Faust
there isn't anything really like the mindstorms GUI for programming a sumo bot. The PBasic that the Basic Stamp uses is not very challenging to learn, though, and if you can handle VB scripts I'm sure you'll be more than up to it.
Best of luck...
Regards
Duncan
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D Faust
Other than the Toothpick, I'm not aware of any wireless device that can remotely program a Stamp. There is a device called a Stache (see: www.emesystems.com) that looks like a Stamp to a PC and looks like a PC to a Stamp and is used for distributing programs "in the field". It's a manual device, not automatic (you have to connect it and push a button).
lilpho,
The Toothpick has a mode where it talks to a Bluetooth equipped PC or Pocket PC PDA and the PC (or PDA) program that comes with it puts up a GUI with buttons and dials and input text and numeric fields ... however you've configured it. The data automatically gets transferred between the PC and the Toothpick and the Stamp can read and write to the data fields (which get transferred to the PC's display).
If you use some other kind of Bluetooth adapter, you're providing a wireless serial port, but there's no special program on the PC side ... you'd have to do it all yourself in VB or some other language. StampPlotPro might work well enough for you for the PC side.
Both the Toothpick and the VB solution require some programming on the Stamp (SumoBot) side, but it shouldn't be complicated. Again, check out StampPlotPro for examples.
You mention roboDNA. I have never used this and I don't know anything about it, but it sends data to some kind of robot and receives data from the robot. If the format of the data is documented and it's not too complicated, you could write a subroutine in PBasic for your SumoBot that might be able to talk to roboDNA. If you look at StampPlotPro, you'll see that the format of the data that goes back and forth is very well documented and it's pretty straightforward to modify a Stamp (SumoBot) program to "talk" to StampPlotPro. That's probably not true for roboDNA or NXT-G because those manufacturers want you to use their PC programs only with their robots, not with anyone else's.
Post Edited (Mike Green) : 5/29/2007 5:01:09 PM GMT
www.ortop.org/NXT_Tutorial/html/essentials.html
See the Editor Introduction video.
lilpho, if you want to create a program by using graphical icons, take a look at the Scribbler robot. If you want to write your own code, but create a Visual Basic like program to control your robot by clicking on buttons, take a look at the Boe-Bot MS Robotics Studio kit. Both are sold by Parallax.
If you aren't sure about any of the Parallax kits, you can always download the instruction manuals to see if the are above or below your ability level.
As for the bluetooth or other wireless modules, you only need them if you are trying to make a radio-controlled robot, like an rc car. You don't need them for programming your robot.