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RoboticsFall09

Page history last edited by c 14 years, 3 months ago

1-21-10

Midyear Exam (Right click on the link and choose SAVE AS.)

Open the file using either Word or Open Office.

Print and staple the exam and any other documents relating to it when you are done.

This is a silent exam. There are dividers up between computers to help you focus on your own work.

Your exam is 20% of your semester grade.

Continuing study in Technology at DHS

Courses:

Web Design
Computer Programming and C
Computer Programming in Java
Computer Applications
Principles of Technology
Technology and Engineering (Full year, 5 credits)
Building and Reparing Computers
Robotics

After school

Middle School robotics team

This spring, we are starting up an underwater robotics team at the middle school. If you would like to help as a mentor, meet with Mr. Connors on Friday after the exam. We will meet on Fridays at the middle school.

After school projects

So now you know how do do lots of interesting stuff. Come by in the afternoon to create some great personal projects.

1-15-10

ProgrammedRobotsGrading

Iterative process for programming

To make sure that your program is working properly, use this technique:

Identify what you are going to change in the program.
Download and test your programs onto the device.
Test the program and what it does.
Change the program to do more.
Download it again
Test it again

Document the work you have done on your Ning site.

Take photos of the devices you have built.

Upload copies of the code you have written and tested.

Write in your blog posts about what you have done and learned from the process.

Use these resources to get your program ontot he brick, and have it respond to the touch sensors.

Interactive C resources:

This one has a short collection of commands you can use:

http://web.mit.edu/sp.742/www/iccommands.html

1-13-10

ProgrammedRobotsGrading

Iterative process for programming

To make sure that your program is working properly, use this technique:

Identify what you are going to change in the program.
Download and test your programs onto the device.
Test the program and what it does.
Change the program to do more.
Download it again
Test it again

Use these resources to get your program ontot he brick, and have it respond to the touch sensors.

Interactive C resources:

This one has a short collection of commands you can use:

http://web.mit.edu/sp.742/www/iccommands.html

1-12-10

ProgrammedRobotsGrading

Iterative process for programming

To make sure that your program is working properly, use this technique:

Identify what you are going to change in the program.
Download and test your programs onto the device.
Test the program and what it does.
Change the program to do more.
Download it again
Test it again

Use these resources to get your program ontot he brick, and have it respond to the touch sensors.

Interactive C resources:

This one has a short collection of commands you can use:

http://web.mit.edu/sp.742/www/iccommands.html

1-11-09

Iterative process for programming

To make sure that your program is working properly, use this technique:

Identify what you are going to change in the program.
Download and test your programs onto the device.
Test the program and what it does.
Change the program to do more.
Download it again
Test it again

Use these resources to get your program ontot he brick, and have it respond to the touch sensors.

Interactive C resources:

Here is a resource for getting the RCX brick running: http://www.kipr.org/curriculum/RCX_startup.html

This one helps get control of the touch sensors: http://www.kipr.org/curriculum/touch.html

this one has a short collection of commands you can use: http://web.mit.edu/sp.742/www/iccommands.html

1-6-09

Iterative process for programming

To make sure that your program is working properly, use this technique:

Identify what you are going to change in the program.
Download and test your programs onto the device.
Test the program and what it does.
Change the program to do more.
Download it again
Test it again

1-5-10

Lego Resources for programming:

A number of advanced constructions - http://www.philohome.com/mindstorms.htm

Software download - http://www.philohome.com/sdk25/sdk25.htm

NQC programming environment for Lego - http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nqc/

Discussion of the progress on the projects thus far

Functions

function calls

Syntax of the language

Using the IDE to tell you if your code is working.

Comments are very useful in your code:

//This is a one line comment

/*************

This is a multiple line

comment in your code.

*************/

Make a simple code that controls the motors to go forward and backward for a specific amount of time.

12-22-09

ProgrammedRobots - ProgrammedRobotsGrading

This will be worth half of your project grade, or 15% of the term grade.

After selecting a robotic system to work with, you will be using some basic programming systems to write code that controls the output of motors, sound, light and gathers input from sensors like light, touch and other sensing tools.

Getting the programming environment set up so that you can write and read the programs is a good first step.

Here are some guidelines for your work on this project

30 - Documentation

Using your Ning blog, you'll keep track of all the websites that you find information about your system.

You will also keep track of your progress on the project by taking photos and video of significant setups.

You will also post your code, either on google documents, shared as a web page or directly on your blog.

You can save your code and upload it to your ning account.

Really excellent documentation is very valuable to the community of people working on projects like these and a stellar effort here could earn you some extra credit.

30 - Programs

You will write at least three to six programs that make use of the output devices and input devices on your 'bot.

These programs will be written by you and your partner.

All programs will need to have your first name and initial commented into the code along with the date and file name.

30 - Construction of the robot/environment

You will build a robot with materials available.

These materials can be LEGOs, metal, plastic, etc.

You may also build an environment for the vehicle/robot to operate in.

If your 'bot is already mostly constructed, you will need more emphasis on the environment.

10 - Paper portfolio

At the completion of the project, you will create a paper portfolio with

prints of your blog posts,

Prints of the code you have written

Explanation of what you have done and learned in the project.

The portfolio will be in a ring binder or presentation folder.

12-16-09

Documentation of Mousey

Update on what you have done with the mousey documentation.

Questions on the process?

Need tips on how to make your video more web friendly?

Robotic systems project

In this next project, you can choose from a variety of programmable robotic systems.

We'll take a look at them and assess them on a couple of important points.

Here are some questions to get you rolling:

What is the system? Look it up online and find out what it is, who makes it, what the website is etc.
How is it programmed? What languages work for it, what interfaces/cables/towers does it need?
What have people done with this system? Find examples online of robotics projects done in the system and show them off.
Find the community of experimenters. With each of these systems, there is a robust community of makers out there trying and showing off their work. Look through the forums, find blog posts about it and see what people are saying about their work.

As you search for the information on the systems, make a blog post about what you find. Include pictures, videos, links and tell your opinions about what you find.

You will be working in pairs on this project, each person will have their own device to work with and program, but you'll be on similar systems.

In this project, you'll

Find out about the systems and how to use them.
Learn how to connect the system to the computer
Learn how to write the codes that will help you operate the system
Learn how to control the input (sensors) and output (motors, speakers, lights, etc) with code

12-14-09

Mousey Recap

Documentation of Mousey

Use your Ning blog to do documentaiton about the Mousey project

Include photos and text in each post.

Three posts:

Breadboarding the circuit and Testing of components
Building the circuit and mouse
What you could have done to make the mouse come out better

Our next project will use a variety of code based systems.

Some of the options include:

xbee based nublabs robot

3PI

Basic Stamp sumo bot

LEGO mindstorms using http://botball.org/ic

Roomba using http://botball.org/ic

12-3-09

Check in on where you are on the project.

What needs to be done on the project?

Check with the schematic diagrams to identify what needs to be connected to where, so that the circuit will work.

Assemble the physical parts so that they fit in the case.

Test and fine tune the operation of the vehicle.

12-2-09

Where was Mr. Connors?

Safety precautions to keep on using

Update on where you are on the Mousey project

What do we need to do to finish up later this week?

11-30-09

Work on finishing up your Mousey project.

You should have made an account on the Duxtech Ning site.

You should have joined the Robotics Fall 09 group.

You should have made a blog post with the information requested on 11-25

You should have sent an email with a list of what you have done and what you have yet to do on 11-24

Get your build done as close as possible, and we'll check them out next class.

11-25-09

Make an account on http://duxtech.ning.com/

Join the group for Roboticss Fall 09

make a blog post with the response to the question of last class:

Assess your progress on the project so far.

Make a list of what you have done and what you have yet to do on your mousebot.

Look back through the documentation on the project and the work you have done.

Write out a description of what you have done on the project so far.

Look into the project documentation for parts ahead of you and the work you have yet to do.

Write out a description of what you need to do to complete the project.

In the class, work on your project. You may want to bring the project home over Thanksgiving. If you do, bring it back to school the week after the holiday for more work on it and evaluation.

11-24-09

Make an account on http://duxtech.ning.com/

Join the group for Principles Fall 09

make a blog post with the response to the question of last class:

Assess your progress on the project so far.

Make a list of what you have done and what you have yet to do on your mousebot.

Look back through the documentation on the project and the work you have done.

Write out a description of what you have done on the project so far.

Look into the project documentation for parts ahead of you and the work you have yet to do.

Write out a description of what you need to do to complete the project.

In the class, work on your project. You may want to bring the project home over Thanksgiving. If you do, bring it back to school the week after the holiday for more work on it and evaluation.

10-7-09

Mousey the junkbot: http://makezine.com/02/mousebot/

Breadboarding circuits

Image of breadboard - Draw your circuit on a printout of this. Link

10-5-09

Survey on Intelligence

Mousey - building the circuit

9-28-09

JunkBotVideos

9-23-09

Junkbot Video Assignment

9-11-09

What do the parts of the CD drive system do and how can I find out?

Exploring a CD drive

9-8-09

How can we get project supplies from the useful but discarded objects around us? What are the techniques used to solve the manufacturing problems in modern devices?

Online version:

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/08/how-to_cd_drive_scavenging_for_part.html

Mastery Objective:

Students and participants will know how to safely disassemble a CD drive or similar electrojunk for parts and project supplies so that they can name the parts inside the device, compare the varieties of manufacturing techniques to solve the same problem and organize the usable parts and components for future use in projects.

Process:

What do you have?

Probably the first thing to do is look at the exterior of the drives you have.

Make note of any markings on the drive. Some things you will likely find are the manufacturer, model number, read/write speed of the drive and my favorite: Date of Manufacture.

The date of manufacture will give you some context to judge the drives in your collection by. Often the older the drive is, the more "off the shelf" the components are.

Use your camera:

Take some photos with your camera or camera phone to show the process of taking the drive apart.

You can also have participants and students take pictures of each of the systems they find, and each of the types of components they find inside.

Case disassembly:

Put on your safety glasses.

Use a screwdriver to take the metal case off the drive. It will usually be 4 phillips screws on the sides that hold it together.

In taking off the metal case, try to keep it from getting deformed. The steel can be useful later. You may find that there are plastic tabs holding one of the pieces in place.

Try to get the case to just fall apart without having to be forced. Most of the time it will just come apart after you remove the screws and press on the plastic tabs.

If you do have to tug on the parts, you may have missed a screw under a sticker. If all else fails, make sure all of the eyes are protected, and pull it apart carefully, probably below the table.

Pop open the CD drawer by straightening out a paper clip and slipping it into the hole on the front panel. The drawer should open easily. You might even find a disc inside.

To remove the drawer, you may have to pry apart the plastic sides, or it might just come apart easily. Different models have varying designs. Be careful if you put force on it that the parts don't fly and hurt somebody.

Be careful not to Over-Disassemble!

You may find that there is a dc motor that is in a plastic housing that holds it in contact with a gear which could serve as a nice little drive wheel. Take it out, but secure it together so it can be used in a future project. If it doesn't stay together with screws or pressure fitting plastic, run a bit of tape around it to hold it.

You may also find that the CD reading eye moves nicely on its' slides. If it is controlled by a DC motor, this could be a neat system to use later.

Basically, look at the things you are taking apart, and see if they can be used as systems or components.

Securing the wires coming from the motor with a bit of tape will help keep them from breaking off later.

Motors and how to read them:

You should find two types of motors inside: DC motor and Stepper motor.

The easiest way to identify a DC motor is by looking at the number of wires coming off it. Most have just two wires. DC motors are controlled by sending electricity through the motor, causing it to turn either clockwise or counterclockwise. Sometimes you may find that there are several more wires going into another area of the case. These can be to an encoder that helps read the speed and direction of the motor.

Stepper motors have more wires coming from them, and often are built right onto a circuit board. These turn by receiving a series of pulses, each of which advances the motor one step. By controlling the timing and quantity of the pulses with a microcontroller, it is possible to precisely set the speed and even the number of degrees the motor will turn.

Save the good bits

As you go, put the useful parts into plastic bags or bins. Label the bags with scraps of paper for easy identification.

You should be able to find at least the following:

DC motors, usually one will open the tray, sometimes you will find a second to move the eye.
Gears to drive the mechanisms
Switches, either momentary pushbutton or other mechanical contactors
Headphone jack
Potentiometer
LED
Screws

Desolder the components you want from the circuit boards:

The headphone jack, LED, momentary switches and sometimes motors will be soldered directly to the circuit boards. You can use a desoldering braid and an iron to free these items from the boards. If they have fittings, you may want to keep the fittings and instead remove the headers that connect them to the board. You should be able to scrape the coating off the metal traces to solder the fittings to a wire for future projects.