I’ve been developing workshops around the Arduino and various clones over the last year and a half. I have some documents as word processing files using Open Office. Other material is in a Yahoo Group with limited access to keep it kid friendly. Some material is in blogs and more is yet to be written.
I’m publishing new material to the DIY Robotics Lab blog for a new workshop series called “Topics in Robotics, Electronics, and Communications”. Currently the blog is working more as a repository for articles as I write them instead of a sequential series of topics. I have a new Internet domain registered where I’m planning to assemble these articles into on-line tutorials.
Publishing Source Code
Recently it seems I’ve been pushing the limits of blogging technology when displaying an Arduino sketch’s source code. The spaces, tabs, and mono-spaced fonts are important but spaces get removed leaving the source code hard to read. WordPress has a [sourcecode] tag implemented in a plugin that does a great job maintaining the spacing while adding color coding that many program editors include. It also provides a way of easily copying the source code so you can paste it into your own program editor.
In my word processing documents I’ve been using bold text as a way of differentiating between existing source code and new code being added to a program. The [sourcecode] tag does not let me include bold text so I need to explore more and see if another option is available.
Electronics Prototyping
Working with Arduino’s and creating a breadboard prototype go hand-in-hand. You can take photographs of your breadboard and the wires connecting to the Arduino but sometimes an illustration provides a nice presentation.
Fritzing Illustration
This illustration is generated from the Fritzing program. Fritzing is a virtual prototyping tool designed to support Arduino. You can select electronic components and interactively place them onto a virtual breadboard. The bonus from this effort is to push a button and an Eagle schematic and board file are created to manufacture a custom printed circuit board called a shield that attaches to the top of an Arduino.
Cross Platform Development
Among the Arduino’s popular virtues are its open-source hardware and software support. When working in your favorite operating system it’s easy to forget the virtue of its cross platform support too.
As I’m preparing for a workshop based on our Robotic Labyrinth Game, the cross platform issue becomes important. The workshop is part of an introduction to robotics where we’re building a kit to convert the wooden labyrinth into an Arduino controlled device using servo motors. The original WiiFit control was written in a Linux only version of the Wii remote library @digitalJestin wrote while the XBox controller version I wrote runs in Microsoft only. For this workshop I’m not expecting participants to go out and buy expensive WiiFit or XBox controllers anyway.
Processing Language
Inspired by Jestin’s Virtual Labyrinth, the way I chose to solve the controller issue is to create a joystick simulator using the cross platform Processing Language. Processing is a superset of the programming language used for the Arduino and is implemented on Windows, Linux, and Mac operating systems. Processing is a graphics based display system.
This video was captured for the DIY Robotics Lab article “Joystick Simulation with Processing” where this virtual joystick will be operating the robotic labyrinth through an Arduino.
This Mpeg video was created by the open source XVidCap Screen Capture program running on Linux.
Bringing Robotics Home
My focus had been to build a set of resources that keep costs low for students as they learn about robotics and electronics. I’ve helped as a mentor with FIRST robotics teams for several years. It has troubled me that the teams seem limited to major metropolitan areas. Also, the robot kits they use are too expensive for individual students to own one of their own. The Arduino makes a good controller for robots and I believe they are a great supplement to the existing robotics curriculum, particularly when they are affordable enough for home use.
Part of the LabyWiinth Project’s appeal was to create an introduction to robotics.
Other Tips and Tricks?
I’m interested in learning more ways to present educational material. So, what kinds of tips and tricks do you use when creating online material?
We were busy today making preparations for Saturday’s RoboFest ‘09 with the Kansas City Robotics Society. We have a new base for our mid size labyrinth and decided to go with a golf theme for this version.
Adjustments to 3D Golf Labyrinth
This game is a little easier to play than our small wooden labyrinth but with the ridges and hills built into this course it’s not an easy game either.
3D Golf Labyrinth Surface
This picture shows the unfinished hole awaiting the cup for the golf ball to fall into. A narrow ledge and varying steepness leading up to the hole makes this approach tricky.
Come check it out if you happen to be in Kansas City on Saturday June 13, 2009. The RoboFest will be held in the upper level above the Harvey House Restaurant in the historic Union Station. The times are from 12:30 pm with robots competing until 4:00 pm. Awards will be given between 4:00 and 4:30.
Several competitions are planned including mini and 1kg sumo robots, line following robots and a dinnerware demolition competition. We plan to have solar rollers there too.
Its been over two months since my last post about the Robotic Labyrinth project for Science City. The project slowed to a more deliberate pace but has not stopped. We are still making progress but acquiring the materials we need have slowed things down quite a bit.
We now have our extruded polystyrene foam insulation board for our maze platform’s sandwich structure and the aerospace adhesives to glue the maze together. Our next big hurdle is getting aluminum to begin fabrication of the maze table.
Platform Actuation
Testing the linear actuators.
Richard found these great linear actuators that we are testing. They are providing quick response and an incredible range of motion.
Support Platform for the Maze.
We have a 4′ x 4′ platform constructed from two sheets of 3/4″ plywood. This is planned to support our maze table on top of the structure. We are still waiting for the labyrinth’s base to get out of the sheet metal shop so for now we’re using a spool with electrical cables for weight.
Universal Joint Mounting Plate
This view shows our universal joint mounting plate on the underside of the maze support platform.
Temporary Relay Switches.
We are able to move the platform with the joystick. It is temporarily controlled using relay switches.
I like getting Make Magazines and have a Maker mentality so it’s normal to consider DIY projects. I’ve been wanting a Chipper/Shredder for a while so last year I started wondering what it takes to build one. I started on my usual search of the Internet for inspiration but mostly found sites that warned against doing such a thing.
The best example of a DIY chipper I found is the 5″ Horizontal Wood Chipper by Steve Bedair. It is worth taking a look at this machine. His disclaimer page gives proper warning about risks involved when attempting a project like this.
Craftsman Chipper Shredder
I like the motto, “Safety Third”. I don’t advocate carelessness but think it is important not to shy away from a project just because there are some dangerous aspects. I put my search on hold, however, after spending a few dollars on a Craftsman Chipper/Shredder at a garage sale last year. The body of the machine had some areas with fiberglass patching so I expected it would need additional work but overall it looked intact.
Recently, I pulled it out of the garage and plugged it in. Starting with small twigs it chewed up the pieces and spit them out the other side. I tried some larger pieces and was working on a small branch about 1/2″ in diameter. Suddenly the machine’s houseing disintegrated into pieces. The fiberglass patches stayed intact but the brittle plastic couldn’t stand the abuse.
Recently I found this on Twitter by @bkmontgomery
Thinking about building a homemade leaf vacuum/chopper/bagger. Wonder if the motor from a circular saw would work…
I thought I would share some details about how this machine is built. I took it to the CCCKC Underground Lab and began taking it apart.
Chipper shreder with the top shroud broken off.
Removing the shroud exposes the chopping blades inside.
Branch feeder housing deposits branches on top of the bottom blades.
Shroud removed and blades exposed.
Base with top blade removed
Top Blade
The top blade is made from about 3/16 inch steel.
Bottom blade revealed.
The bottom blade has more aggresive teeth but like the top it appears to be made from a flat sheet of steel then bent to form the teeth. Notice the extra blade on the top that chips the branches fed into the side chute.
View from the bottom.
Model Number Label. (click on picture for full image)
March 31, 2009 was our first night of combining the OpenCV Study Group with a weekly Maker’s Night Out session in the CCCKC Underground Lab. We changed things up for the OpenCV session with a presentation by Amith about fundamentals of image processing. He uses these techniques every day for medical imaging research.
Amith gave a brief comparison of medical imaging in a 3D environment using voxels where the 2D environment uses pixels to represent images. I’ve started reading the book Non-Photorealistic Rendering where a 3D model is used to represent surface textures of drawing materials in pencil sketches, pen and ink, and painting methods. Voxels are used there to simulate voids in the drawing surface where the art medium is deposited.
Amith spent a few minutes talking about video compression techniques and how a frame is displayed showing the entire image while subsequent frames only show changes from the previous frame, these are called P-Frame and I-Frames. The I-Frame or Intraframe is also called a keyframe and contains the entire image. The P-Frame is a predictive frame that only contains the changed data. A couple of nights earlier I came across a great example about How to Datamosh that plays with combining two video segments when most of the I-Frames are removed.
He also gave an overview of filters used in image processing and touched on a few filtering methods. For our next OpenCV session he would like to give some demonstrations of what various filters provide. As a challenge we are looking into methods of being able to use an image to identify coins and denomonations of coins.
Makers Row
Jestin was showing some of his recent work in OpenCV using color correction and filters to display live video. I had the prototype of a project I’m calling a Refrigerator Art Machine designed to capture artwork using OpenCV.
Others were busy tonight working on various Maker projects and crafts.
This is my fourth year helping with FIRST but my first year without a team. I’ve volunteered the last three years as a mentor for Winnetonka High School Team 1752 but this year their school didn’t enter the competition. So, I wanted to capture some of the behind-the-scenes excitement that a casual observer could miss. Hopefully you can see how important it is for students to have an opportunity to participate in this great program.
Sights And Sounds From The Greater Kansas City Regional FRC Experience.
Opening day in Kansas City
A calm before the storm at the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), Greater Kansas City Regional February 26 through 28 at Hale Arena. FIRST means “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”. FRC is a varsity level sport of the mind challenging students to discover the rewarding life of engineers, scientists and researchers.
The Kansas City Regional was host to 61 teams from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin
As the competition heated up inside, by Saturday we were treated to a blast of midwest weather dropping about 5 inches of snow outside.
Lunacy Around The World.
Each year a different challenge and theme is announced simultaneously around the world at the Kickoff Event. High school students learn about the game and with only six weeks to design, build, and deliver a robot for competition. This year’s challenge theme is Lunacy. The official rules and information is available from the US First web site. Each robot must conform to the official competition manual.
Every team receives a kit of parts that comprise standard components for their robots but much of the design and construction is up to each team to acquire additional materials and parts as needed. You will see as many different designs as there are teams competing. One of the best sources of information and support throughout the year is the online community provided by another FIRST team , Chief Delphi #47.
These robots are about the size of a washing machine and weigh close to 120 pounds. These are surprisingly sophisticated machines with computerized components helping them operate in autonomous mode and under a separate driver operated mode.
The Greater Kansas City Regional
When I tell people what an FRC regional competition is like I tell them, its like a rock concert, a professional sporting event, and a NASCAR race all rolled into one. You’ll see students and adults dancing in the isles when a time-out is called on the competition field. The competition is second to none as fans cheer for their favorite team’s alliance. Throughout the competition you will find yourself cheering for nearly every team out there. If you’re around the pits you’ll see as much activity as any NASCAR pit crew when these robots are repaired and tuned up for the next round of competition.
It takes a lot of planning and work to host a regional competition site. The venue is staffed by volunteers determined to make this a safe and enjoyable competition for all the students, teachers, mentors, parents and audience members.
The Kansas City Regional site has one of the most spacious settings in the country. There are wide isles for people getting around the competition floor, team spirit areas just outside the competition floor, plenty of seating in the stands, and a large practice area for the robots.
The isles in the pit areas can accomodate the traffic but you still need to watch out for robots being transported from the pits to competition and practice areas.
When problems arise that require serious machine work, the teams have an on-site machine shop available to help rebuild or replace parts they need.
On-Site Machine Shop.
Safety Is Taken Seriously
FRC is compriesed of a series of competitions within the competition. Awards are given out for a variety of acheivements, one in particular is the Underwriters Laboratories Industrial Safety Award.
With the powerful robots, power tools, and electricty around so many students and adults, safety is taken seriously. During the elimination rounds on Friday I volunteered to make sure that anyone entering the pits had a pair of safety glasses on and made sure no one entered with open toe shoes.
A few years ago Devry University in Kansas City held a Robotics Bootcamp for area high schools. Some of the schools invited to the event have been bitter sports rivals for years. This caused genuine concern about whether violence would break out at the event. Its a shame this kind of atmosphere is prevalent and accepted in many schools today. The bootcamp event took place without any incidents, gracious professionalism was an important part of making this event success.
Strategy Among Alliance Members
One of the reasons gracious professionalism works so well is in the game’s design. It is easy to recognize the reason for cooperation among all the teams at a regional competition. There are six teams participating in each round of the competition. Team members are divided up among two alliances, the red and blue alliance.
While you are competing against members of the opposing alliance for a particular round, certain team members will probably be on your alliance in future rounds. Helping other teams to perform to their best ability will help your team at times throughout the competition.
Scouting to learn the strengths and weaknesses of your alliance members is an important part of the competition strategy.
Mentors As Team Members
The teams participating in the FIRST Robotic Challenge are high school aged students but an important member of many teams are their mentors. Many mentors are engineers, scientists, or other professionals from technical and non-technical fields of work. Parents may function as mentors but often mentors have no other connection to the students or school other than wanting to help promote inspiration in the fields of science and technology.
When I was in high school I was afraid to admit that I was interested in electronics because of the associated stigma and possible ridicule from other students. FIRST is a great program because it celebrates those interests and gives the students a great avenue to share with others. I wish there was a program like that when I was in high school!
Chris D. Locke
Senior Software Engineer
Garmin International
Helping as a mentor has many intangible benefits. The Winnetonka High School TeamTonka #1752 displayed this sign at their 2006 regional competition in Denver CO. They were originally discouraged from hanging this up but when I heard about it I wanted it to be displayed. It was a hit at their pit area and I’m proud of the work they did on their robot. It was signed by the team members and is one of my most treasured souveniers. It is touching looking over these names again knowing how many have gone on to college and universities. Especially those who went on to study engineering at the University of Missouri Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology). I really missed not being a mentor this year.
What Does FIRST Mean to Parents and Students?
Hopefully you can begin to sense that this is not just another school activity or club, it is the beginning of a lifestyle that can be carried on throughout every student’s career. This is the first and perhaps the only experience many students learn about life in a creative and technical world awaiting after high school. This is an important time in their life to become aware of career possibilities that are within their reach.
Dean Kamen, mentioned in the last video, has contributed so much to our world. In addition to starting the FIRST organization he is probably best know for inventing the Segway Personal Transporter. His company DEKA Research is known for developing products in the medical field including home dialysis machines, medical irrigation pumps, the IBOT mobile self balancing wheel chair, among many other inventions.
“You have teenagers thinking they’re going to make millions as NBA stars when that’s not realistic for even 1 percent of them. Becoming a scientist or engineer is.”
—Dean Kamen
The FIRST Lifestyle
The FRC build season lasts six weeks through most of January and February but the momentum carries on much longer, often with weekly meetings through the end of the school year. For some students, summer time is prime time for car wash, garage sales and other fundraising opportunities. Preparation gearing up to the build season often starts at the beginning of the school year as students are busy learning new technologies.
During build season I’ve heard teachers tell about getting cell phone calls if they’re running a little late getting to school in the morning. Students are calling wanting to get into the building to work on the robots.
I have attended weekly meetings after the build season ended and often heard teachers telling students they need to go home when the meeting time has finished. Usually it took several more times before they would actually go home.
I have witnessed some amazing transformations in students just over the three days of a regional competition. During Winnetonka’s trip to the 2006 regional in Denver I saw some quiet and reserved students really open up and become more outgoing and confident. Talking to their parents a few weeks later they said it was unbelievable how much their child changed.
Teachers Need Our Help Finding Resources.
I have a lot of respect for the teachers involved with FIRST. This is a huge commitment of their time, often with little additional financial compensation. More than once I hear about teachers buying tools and parts out of their own pocket. During the six week build period their families pay the price as they spend long hours keeping the school open for students working on their projects.
What does it take to build a successful robotics program at school?
Shaping a Robotics Team
FIRST provides a growth path up to the FRC varsity level activity. The FIRST Technical Challenge (FTC) offers a way of building robots on a smaller scale and using simpler technologies. Some teams think of FTC as a junior varsity level activity. It is less expensive to get started but competitions are not currently offered in the Kansas City area so travel expenses drive up the cost for teams participating at this level.
FIRST LEGO League
At the middle school age group the FIRST Lego League (FLL) is becoming popular. It is an affordable activity based on the LEGO Mindstorm NXT robot kit. A retail version of the robot costs around $250 which is within reach of parents wanting to encourage their child’s experimentation. This robot controller is currently supported at the FTC level too making the use of these kits even more attractive.
Opportunities For College and University Recruiters
Participation in FIRST provides important opportunities for students in the form of scholarships. When you attend a regional competition you’ll find information booths with recruiters from a variety of colleges and universities. There are over $9 million available for FIRST students.
University of Kansas
UMKC – University of Missouri, Kansas City
A Regional Competition Is About Having Fun
This is a great time to let loose and have fun.
You’ll find adults enjoying this experience as much as the students.
There is so much to see and experience at a regional competition. Of course it is the robots that everyone wants to see and getting up close on the action is a privilege these students earn.
Greater Kansas City Regional Championship Rounds.
First round of the championship competition.
When a time out get called a party breaks out too.
Alibre CAD accommodates the best of both worlds when working in 2D or 3D sketch mode. So much of the way it works just feels natural. That doesn’t mean I’m not struggling to find some features but when I learn the procedure is makes sense. For instance, I’m used to specifying accurate positions for drawing elements as I place them in other CAD systems. With Alibre I sketch out the general shape first then through the use of dimensions the drawing starts transforming into the precise figure I’m wanting. To top it off, these dimensions can be entered in the form of equations that allow the entire part to be resized by changing a few constraining dimension values.
Labyrinth Game Platform Corner Closeout folded and unfolded.
Designing in the Sheet Metal Workspace is almost magical by creating folded parts from out of thin air. When you identify a surface then an edge where the bend takes place the folded part just appears. When you create a new sheet metal part you should review the properties settings to specify the material type and thickness you’re working with. You can adjust the K-Factor value associated with the material so it accurately includes any additional material needed to represent an acutal bend properly. Once everything is folded up as in the Labyrinth Game Platform’s Corner Closeout shown above you can unfold everything to get the sheet size and pattern to construct the part from.
My first attempt at modeling the corner closeout piece is close to the part I’m wanting to build but still needs some work. I have a couple of end pieces with chamfered corners that aren’t wanted. I still have some things to learn about controlling the chamfer tool or learning a different way to remove material from the part.
I need to get our Robotic Labyrinth game platform modeled in Alibre CAD before the trial period runs out. So, I started catching up on some more of the free training videos from the Alibre web site. Their videos formatted in the WMV format are working fine but I’m not able to get other video sessions using the AVI file to work. I tried searching the Internet for solutions to this problem. One suggestion I found was to use Handbrake to convert the AVI file into something I knew was working. I downloaded Handbrake a few weeks ago so I gave that a try. It worked but was taking over an hour to convert the file so I kept looking for solutions.
The solution comes from the GSpot Codec Information Appliance which analyzes a video file and identifies the codec’s that are not supported on your computer. When I ran the program it identified the TechSmith Screen Capture Codec (TSCC) as the culpret. I found the TechSmith web site and downloaded the TSCC file and installed the solution.
The GSpot Appliance will come in handy resolving some issues I noticed a few weeks ago when trying to view AVI files using OpenCV.
The Alibre Training Videos are a great resource I only wish I had the complete set to learn from.
Not a very productive day today on Science City’s Robotic Labyrinth. Between catching a cold and some family activities I didn’t get much done today.
I decided to try downloading some video I shot of the Sheetmetal Workers Union into my computer. I bought a new S-Video cable the other day to connect between the camcorder and Dazzle. For some reason the Radio Shack cable gets fat at the point where it would be plugged into Dazzle. That doesn’t work so I need to find another cable.
Today we’re making progress on the Robotic Labyrinth’s central pivot and base where the game platform will rest. Even after spending most of the week in the hospital, Tom came by with a drive shaft for the project. He was feeling a little weak and had to leave early, hope he gets feeling better soon.
We cut a 3/4″ sheet of plywood in half and rotated the pieces 90 degrees from each other then began gluing and screwing the pieces together.
Designing a template pattern.
Reminiscent of Junk Yard Wars, we began cutting the drive shaft apart to use it’s universal joint for our pivot point. While I was out looking for parts Rich and Bob began cutting out a template to build a plate for our plywood base to sit on. This plate will connect the universal joint and the base together. I brought back u-bolts from an auto parts store to fit around the bearings, this kit is the Dorman 81002 U-Joint retainer kit. The drive shaft was from a 73 C2500 chevrolet 4×4. It was the from shaft for the transfer case.
