3D Golf Robotic Labyrinth

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.

Previous Article:  Robotic Labyrinth Update – 4.29.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

Check out our LabyWiinth Project Web Site and the new DIY Robotics Lab blog.

– About SomeoneKnows –

Robotic Labyrinth Update – Long Overdue

4.29.2009- Day 98

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.

Next Article: 3D Golf Robotic Labyrinth
Previous Article: Day[34] = 2.24.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

Making It To The Party – Day 23

2.13.2009 (Friday) –  Day 23  –

The Party Game That Rocks…

HackDC Party

Our original wooden labyrinth spent last weekend in Washington DC with Bill (@hevnsnt). The HackDC group threw a party and Bill picked a prime location for this party game. Bill posted more pictures on his flickr account.

Behind the scenes…

Reports were all great from the SchmooCon and HackDC party where everyone seemed to love the labywiinth party game. The behind the scenes activities leading up to the party reveal some hectic challenges to get everything working.

The decision to take it to DC was made just a couple of days before Bill flew out. He was going to operate the game from his own computer and we didn’t have time to test anything out before he left. As usual, demo mode kicked into effect and things weren’t working. Jestin has an interesting chronicle of events on his web site titled Remote Robot Debugging.

Bill said he put the labyrinth in a protective box buried deep in his checked luggage. I though he should take the game as carry on instead. It would have been interesting hearing his explaination to TSA about this device with a timer thingy, motors, and wires hanging off.

Read on, check out: Day[24] = 2.14.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[22] = 2.12.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

The Labyrinth Of Others Revealed – Day 22

2.12.2009 (Thursday) –  Day 22 –

John Bergin's video From Inside

A couple of months ago I taught a Lego Robotics workshop at the HMS Beagle Science Store. This was a half day session during the week between Christmas and New Year holidays. I am always encouraging kids to create their own robotics lab at home and part of my discussion is to encourage a partnership with their parents. It helps to keep parents involved particularly when you may need a credit card for robot parts or tools and things like that. I like to invite parents to stay and participate in the workshops so several parents stayed as we built robots, had fun, and learned some programming. That was the first time I met John Bergin and his son Henry. You may remember Henry from my blog post on Day 10 as “Henry’s Design“.

Since then John and Henry have been to our Kansas City Robotics Society (KCRS) and Cowtown Computer Congress (CCCKC) meetings. They also built a MintyBoost at the CCCKC Soldering Workshop. It seems I learn just a little more about them each time we meet. John has offered some assistance with the Robotic Labyrinth for Science City and has initiated some other interesting opportunities.

Recently in one of his emails John revealed this interesting bit of information. A friend of his wrote in Boing Boing describing his award winning feature-length movie, “From Inside“. From the movie’s web site I learned about his web site Grinder Tool & Die which is a labyrinth itself rich with art, videos, music, talent, and more.

Read on, check out: Day[23] = 2.13.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[21] = 2.11.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

Curing Concrete In KC Winters – Day 21

2.11.2009 (Wednesday) –  Day 21 –

The self leveling topping poured yesterday still looks like it is going to work without curling. Our next concern is how to assemble our labyrinth platform and get the adhesives to cure properly. According to the 3M engineer Bob talked with, we want the temperatures for proper curing of the adhesives bonding everything together to be in the 120 to 150 degree Fahrenheit range. Our warehouse space is unheated in Kansas City in the winter time. This time of year we could see a temperature range outside from 0 degrees to 70 degrees. Maintaining 150 degrees will take some work.

First thoughts are building a small structure around the curing assembly. We should be able to heat a small space using incandecent or infrared lights. The biggest concern is from the concrete floor pulling heat out from the bottom.

PowerBlanket

Bob has been on the phone with David Naylor, inventor and President of PowerBlanket. These blankets are designed for curing concrete in cold or sub freezing temperatures. Because we are concerned about heat being pulled out through the floor I was worried about the weight being placed upon the blanket. Bob found out that Mr. Naylor leaves these blankets in his driveway to melt snow and parks vehicles on top of them. Our use of the blankets should be very minor compared to using them on a driveway this way.

Read on, check out: Day[22] = 2.12.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[20] = 2.10.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

Test Pour Self Leveling Surface- Day 20

2.10.2009 (Tuesday) –  Day 20 –

Self Leveling Compound

Bob made it back after his trip to the World of Concrete trade show and his session working with the self leveling compond (Day 14). Since we are planning on building the composite game platform in Maria’s donated warehouse space we need to protect the floors so we can clean everything up when finished.

Bob’s plan is to put down a protective plastic sheeting on the floor before pouring the concrete like mixture. The material we’re using here is Floor-Top STG Standard-Grade, Self-Leveling Topping/Underlayment produced by the W.R. Meadows Company. The concern raised from Todd Duewel, their  product representative, is whether this Floor-Top will curl when cured because of the plastic sheet between the topping and the floor.

We mixed the concrete like slurry according to the instructions on the bag. We created a shallow reservoir to contain the mixture by laying the plastic sheeting on the floor then draping it across square metal tubing to act as a dam to hold back the contents. We want the Floor-Top mixture to be about one inch thick so we calculated an area about 30 inches by 40 inches as our reservoir’s containment area.

After curing for several hours the mixture dried nicely and we aren’t seeing any evidence of the slab curling yet. We’ll continue to monitor the slab over then next few days.

Read on, check out: Day[21] = 2.11.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[19] = 2.9.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

Out On A Limb – Day 19

2.9.2009 (Monday) –  Day 19 –

“Going out on a limb”. This is more than a figure of speech that any kid who’s climbed in trees can explain. The further out you go; the more a tree’s limb bends or breaks.  Either way, if you keep going you’re bound to fall.

The labyrinth game requires a surface for the marble to roll around on. With the Science City’s labyrinth game we’re designing it to support a #5 soccer ball. This ball only weighs about 1 pound so it is not very heavy, it is easy to handle and you can carry it around all day without much effort. But if you hold the ball in your hand and  outstretch your arm it won’t take long before your arm begins aching.

If you imagine standing in the center of our 10′ x 12′ game platform and reach out to one of the far corners you would be stretching almost 8 feet. How much effort will it take to hold the ball up that far away? Our first problem is how do we extend our arm that far? What kind of materials can we find that will stay flat for a distance of 8 feet without sagging and letting our soccer ball fall to the floor? If we use an 8′ long wooden 2×4 it will support the soccer ball but it adds almost 13 pounds that we now have to lift along with the 1 pound soccer ball.

A Balancing Act

We are designing the labyrinth game to be supported from a single point at the center of the game platform. This requires a large surface that is self supporting across its entire surface. If it sags toward the outer edges it will cause the ball to roll away unexpectedly.

What kind of materials can we find that will provide a flat surface that doesn’t bend (much)? If we use 1/4″ steel plate it probably wouldn’t bend but if we use it for the entire surface it would weigh around 1,225 pounds. That would take some very large motors to make the game move.

We could try plywood in the 4′x8′ sheets. They weigh about 25 pounds per 1/4″ thickness but plywood that thin will sag toward the edges unless thicker sheets are used. If we tried building up a 2″ thick platform it would weigh about 750 pounds. This would be easier to move than the steel plate but it would still take larger motors than we want to use.

If while browsing the lumber yard looking for plywood you look another isle or two over you may find sheets of building insulation foam. A couple of similar products are the Owens Corning pink boards or Dow Chemical Company’s blue extruded polystyrene foam boards.When you pick up one of these boards up they are fairly stiff and very light weight. The 1/2″ insulation boards will sag toward the edges but if you try one of the 2″ thick boards it remains rigid across the boards length and width and at about 9 pounds it is much lighter than other building material options. If we could increase the thickness to 4″ the entire platform would weigh approximately 135 pounds. This could get us into motor sizes we’re more comfortable with.

We still have a problem when using the foam as our platform. It is not as durable as plywood or steel and pieces will begin breaking off. Inspiration for the game’s platform can be found in an office supply or art store when you buy foam core boards. These are sheets of cardboard laminated to both sides of a foam center. They make sturdy signs and art displays which are light weight. Cardboard is still not durable enough for our labyrinth platform but using outer skins of thin aluminum will give us a durable surface and relatively light

For more information about the Owens Corning Foamular brand check out this product information.

Read on, check out: Day[20] = 2.10.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[18] = 2.8.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

Science City’s Robotic Labyrinth Project

We are three weeks into designing the interactive Robotic Labyrinth Game for Science City This ten foot by twelve foot (10′ x 12′) game is being built by volunteers with donations from our growing list of sponsors.

Science City is host to over 30,000 school kids and 170,000 family members per year. It is located inside Kansas City’s historic Union Station which sees approximately 2 Million visitors per year.

Twists and Turns

Who would have thought a little wooden labyrinth game could take us in so many directions. What started out as an idea to modify this toy into a party game is turning into an educational journey. This simple game modification is an inexpensive way of introducing kids to concepts used in robotics. The game is controlled by standing on a Nintendo WiiFit balance board. A computer is used to interpret your movements when you shift your weight around. The computer sends commands to the popular Arduino microcontroller that tells servo motors how much to turn the knobs on the game. The Arduino is a great way to introduce kids and adults to the world of microcontroller programming for their own inventions. If you haven’t already seen it, this video on YouTube shows how the game works.

The video helped launch us into even more directions. The Kansas City Robotics Society (KCRS) donates interactive displays to Science City and we suggested including a robotic labyrinth game. Science City’s director liked this idea and suggested we scale it up to 12 feet. He wanted to use something kids are familiar with like a soccer ball to simulate the marble.

This project has us tackling some real world problems like building lighter weight structures. We are designing an aluminum skinned composite using rigid foam core just like the pink building insulation you get at the lumber yard. To build this game table we are working with Materials Science issues ranging from the selection of materials to finding ways of bonding them together at the molecular level. Key to this project is advice from 3M Engineers in their Aerospace Adhesive division about techniques needed to glue together our aluminum composite game table.

Henry's Design

One of the best examples of why we’re doing this comes from 12 year old Henry who submitted ideas on how we can put the table into motion using pneumatic cylinders. Hopefully this project will help stimulate the imagination and creativity of other young inventors, future scientists, and engineers.

We now have programmers curious about creating web applications so people from around the world can play the game over the Internet from their own home. Not satisfied with stopping there, we wondered, could we add a webcam and use motion detection to get a computer playing the game for us? So, we’ve also started an OpenCV Study Group to learn about image processing hoping to find a way to make this happen too.

Our completion date for the basic game was chosen to coincide with the March 2-7, 2009 opening of a new group called the Cowtown Computer Congress (CCCKC). This group is a grassroots organization of tinkerers, hackers, explorers, artists, inventors and technology enthusiasts in the Kansas City area.

Since the video hit, people who hear about this project are asking – “how can I help”? This project is made possible by donations of time, materials, workspace, expertise, and money from volunteers and sponsors. We are entering our building phase and still need materials to build with. For more information you can check the blog chronicling daily progress of the Robotic Labyrinth starting here.

If you would like to help you can contact us at:  LabyrinthProject@KansasCityRobotics.org

Science City and CCCKC are non-profit organizations.

Sponsor Organizations

Clayco Electric

ClayCo Electrical Contractors

Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 2

The apprentice and journeyman training

Barclay-Moore Piggyback & Warehousing

W. R. Meadows

W. R. Meadows

– About SomeoneKnows –

Learning Alibre CAD – Day 18

2.8.2009 (Sunday) –  Day 18 –

It’s A Dual Monitor Day

Today is a day for using two computer screens at the same time as I work through tutorials on Alibre. At our Robotic Labyrinth builder’s meeting Saturday, Richard Brull showed me a 3D part model that he designed using the Alibre Design System and suggested I give it a try. I have been dreading drawing the plans out with my usual Computer Aided Design (CAD) tools.

This is an exciting tool! Normally I avoid time locked demo versions of software but Alibre gives me a full version for 30 days then allows me to run the Alibre Design Xpress forever. At least the time I invest now learning their product is not all lost when the evaluation mode expires. I do have to hurry though, my favorite feature is part of their Professional Version upgrade.

Over the last year I’ve tried using QCad and an older version of AutoSketch I bought at a garage sale to lay out my sheet metal projects. They work and have improved my accuracy and precision when building small projects. I don’t have CNC milling machines but instead build using simpler tools like a drill press and band saw. My projects have come out fitting together pretty well because of the templates and patterns I’ve made using CAD.

I have fallen in love with Alibre’s SheetMetal workspace feature. This is going to be great for laying out the aluminum sheets for our labyrinth game platform’s top and bottom skins. We can model the foam core of the composite and design the close out end pieces to fit right into place. The close out pieces are dependent on the exact thickness of the foam and Alibre’s parametric design feature can easily adjust our design if the actual thickness of the material we receive is different from what was planned. Each of the pieces can be modeled separately then brought together as an assembly.

The metal bending feature takes care of the additional length needed just as the real bends are made.  The designs can then be unfolded as a flat pattern used for cutting and drilling holes. Better yet, this can go directly to CNC equipment like a water jet for a precision fit.

Robotics Summer Camp For Kids

Robotics workshop mini-sumo's built from scratch

Last year I created a summer camp for kids session at the Kansas City Metropolitan Community College’s Blue River campus. The kids ranged in age from about 12 to 16 years old. We built mini sumo robots from scratch including cutting, drilling, and folding our chassis and then etched and soldered our own circuit boards. The best compliment I heard from the kids was:

“I thought this would be some lame class where the instructor sets down a kit then goes off for coffee and comes back about an hour later. This class is exactly what I wanted”.

Mini sumo robot

The complement was from a kid who’s hydrogen experiment blew up his basement. This was a fun session for me too.

Many possibilities for incorporating Alibre into these sessions include:

• Creating a digital model of our robot
• Design our chassis and digitally folding the sheet metal.
• Unfold the design to reveal our construction plans
• Model our jig assembly used to bend the chassis

A Reflection Of My Identity

People tend to identify who we are by what we do for a living. Throughout the last 20 years I was an independent contractor writing custom software for clients using MicroStation CAD systems. So my first choice in CAD was Bentley System’s MicroStation, simply because I’ve used it for so long and know it best. As Bentley’s Corporate policies changed, the markets began closing for resellers of MicroStation so my clients began going out of business one by one. Then Bentley began shipping programming opportunities overseas. Their licensing for software developers evolved into a fee of over $2,000 per year until I couldn’t justify that expense any longer. Clients stopped calling, my software license expired, traveling stopped, billing stopped, coding programs stopped, cell phone service stopped and one of the hardest things to come to terms with, it seemed my identity stopped too.

Last Monday with the donation of warehouse space I realized the responsibility of being accessible for this project. Even though I’m unemployed and volunteering my time, I borrowed some money to have a cell phone while spending so much time away from the house. I have lost a few slips of paper I was keeping notes on so I spent more money than I should on refill pages for my Franklin Planner. Then today working through the Alibre tutorials I had a brief sense of who I once was triggered by a phone,  a planner, and a CAD system. Even if the cell phone doesn’t work after the end of the month and the CAD program looses its nice features in 30 days it was a nice moment reflecting on who I once was. I feel for the thousands of people who are loosing their jobs now and ultimately the identity they’ve become to know too.

Read on, check out: Day[19] = 2.09.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[17] = 2.7.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –

Labyrinth Base CAD Design – Day 15

2.5.2009 (Thursday) –  Day 15 –

Labyrinth Base Design

Discussing the labyrinth base design

Tom is working with Jay Lind of The Apprentice & Journeyman Training Fund of Sheet Metal Workers Local Union No. 2 to get the Robotic Labyrinth base designed and built. This is a training facility located in Raytown Missouri.

The students work on community service projects as part of their training and will be building the base supporting the labyrinth game platform.

Jay took us on a tour of the facility showing us the work areas and their CAD  room. Tom requested a few minor changes to the design.

The design shown above is for the main shaft holding the platform. Leg extensions to keep everything from toppling over are not shown in the drawing.

Sheet Metal Workers Training Facility

CCCKC Weekly Meeting

With all the excitement of our first meeting in the new Underground Lab we still had time to discuss the labyrinth project too. I’m excited about the work Jestin and Ax0n are doing to get an embedded linux platform up and running.

Read on, check out: Day[16] = 2.06.2009
Yesterday, check out: Day[14] = 2.4.2009
Or start from the beginning: Day[0] = 1.21.2009

– About SomeoneKnows –