PCEC Robots

Bumper Bot
Here is the robot I am currently working on: It bumps into something, backs up, turns away and moves forward. This could be a maze navigator.

Robots

Reviewing the Solarbotics BeetleBot

Solarbotics was cool enough to provide those who requested, BeetleBot for to review. Wondering what a BeetleBot is? Find the BeetleBot here. It moves FAST and bumps into things and changes direction. It's a lot of fun that you get make for yourself.

Before following the instructions provided to assemble the BeetleBot, you should do the following:

Unpack contents of BeetleBot package and lay them out. Refer to page 2 of the instructions.
Take an inventory of parts. This means check your package from Solarbotics to make sure that all the parts are there.

One thing I noticed when taking the inventory was that the inventory list names did not always match the names beside the pictures of the parts. Take a few moments to make sure you know which parts are which.

1 x Acrylic BeetleBot baseplate is labelled the Main Board
1 x Acrylic BeetleBot top shell is labelled Shell Board
1 x Acrylic Switch Spacer is labelled Switch Spacer - almost the same
2 x Wire Antennae are labelled 2 x Sensor Wires
2 x Antennae switches are labelled 2 x switches
2 x Aluminum motor brackets are labelled 2 x Motor Mounts
2 x Motors with hubs are labelled 2 x Motors
2 x Rubber Tires are labelled the same
1 x Double-Sided Sticky-Tape should be 2 x Double-sided Sticky-Tape
1 x Tail Spring is labelled the same
2 x 2AAA Battery Packs are labelled the same
20 x 2-56 x 3/8" long screws are labelled 20 x 2-56 screws
3 x 2-56 x 5/8" long screws are labelled 3 x 2-56 screws 5/8" long
3 x 5/8" nylon spacers are labelled 3 x Nylon Spacers
6 x 10cm (4") Black Legs Wires are labelled 6 x Leg wires
1 x Sticker sheet is labelled Decal sheet
1 x Solarbotics Screwdriver is labelled Screwdriver

BeetleBot Tips in Addition to Instructions for Assembly (Meaning these are tips in addition to the Solarbotics assembly instructions.):
- Step 13: When attaching the top shell to the chassis of the robot, be careful not to bend the leads of the harnesses to quickly to make sure they stay intact.
  - When the whole robot was assembled, it worked when it bumped into something but most of the time it turned in tight circles. I thought of the possible causes.
    The ones that came to mind were:
    - i) One side of the top shell was screwed down tighter than the other side. This might have caused the whole robot to skew to one side, causing the robot to turn in one direction when it should be running straight.
    - ii) One motor was closer to the floor than the other. This would result in one tire/motor having more weight on it than the other causing the robot to spin. However, the whole assembly looked quite level to my eye.
    Of course, I looked at the troubleshooting section of the assembly instructions but there was problem was not listed there. There was a problem where the robot spins in one direction but my tires were not rubbing against the motor housing. I emailed Chris at Solarbotics describing my problem and he responded quickly with some possibilities.
    In the end, Chris's suggestion that I try bending one of the motors down closer to the floor. With a little CAREFUL motor adjustment (remember the motor mounts are just small pieces of aluminum) I got the robot to run straight. SUCCESS!!
  What is my overall impression of this robot?
  I like the simplicity of the assembly with good and clear instructions. For the beginner, it is really good that there is no soldering involved. Being able to focus on the electronics without the worries on getting a good solder joint is a bonus.
  Not only is this robot assembled with only a screwdriver and some double-sided tape, they provide you with a Solarbotics screwdriver to boot. I also like that the concept of switching the direction of the motors is explained.
  There is not much to dislike with this robot. There is one minor point that I would change in the instructions. This would be to provie a Parts list exactly the same as the parts descriptions provided with the pictures. This is minor as a little perusing the Parts list and the pictures (both on page 2) will allow the person to match up Parts list with those parts' pictures with their descriptions.
  In hindsight, I would make one suggestion. Leave all stickers or just the eyes off the top shell until you test the robot with the top shell on the chassis. It only makes sure that your eye stickers do not get all twisted and scuffed before final assembly of your robot. The top shell is easy to remove and reassemble once you know it works.
  Once I build my own Bumper-bot, I will try build a course for the robots and test to see which one navigates the course quicker. Will it be the speedy BeetleBot or the possibly slower moving Bumper-bot? Time will tell.
  General Guidelines for a Bumper-bot:
  1. Robot can move forwards and backwards
  2. When the robot bumps into an object in its path, it moves away from it and moves on
  The two guidelines provided above are very general. This allows for a lot of room for whatever you happen to dream up. When you are prototyping your robot you are bound to come up against some interesting problems. Sometimes these problems are good material for making fantastic creations.
  
  Bumper Bot
  Here is the robot I am currently working on:
  It bumps into something, backs up, turns away and moves forward. This could be a maze navigator.
  
  Wondering where to start with robots? Microcontrollers are the brains of robots. Check out our "Getting Started with Microcontrollers" section on our Resources page.
  Proposal:
  
  Let's have a robot competition!!!
  There are a number of different types of competition we can have. The following are some:
  1. Sumo-Bot - robots try to push each other out of a ring within a certain time period.
  2. Lego Mindstorms - There is a Lego related activity in Pictou County already. Let's not count that out as something that can be considered for any one person or a group.
  3. Firefighting - find a flame at a set location and extinguish it.
  4. Line following - the robot follows a line on the ground. Fastest time wins.
  5. Maze following - robot navigates through a maze. Fastest time wins.
  6. Combat Bots/Laser Tag - bots do battle physically or set up to do so with laser tag.
  7. BEAM Robot Games - check out this site: http://beam-online.com/ and http://www.solarbotics.com/resources/community-links/
  8. Best - fun categories such as "best dressed" or "best robot dance"
  Those eight categories are a quick summary of of the Different Robot Competitions found on page 692 of "Robot Builder's Bonanza," 3rd edition by Gordon McComb and Myke Predko. The book is available through our local libraries. If you have any other ideas about what might make for a good robot competition, let me know.
  If you are in the Pictou County area and would like to start building a robot then we can help.
  Email us at: playinmyblues at gmail dot com
  
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  Updated: August 27, 2010

Robots

Reviewing the Solarbotics BeetleBot

Proposal:

Updated: August 27, 2010