Everything but the kitchen sink

Barring any further technical difficulties, I think the programming is completed for motion control. The code will need to be updated for all servos and possibly for efficiency. You'll notice the motor pulsing at the end; this may just be a power issue. The Xbox controller may restart on low power, so the chassis motors will have to be powered separately. Three battery packs! Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Sex Machine

In a shocking turn of events, I've learned to hold the cameraphone sideways to capture more material with a better perspective. Control of 4 motors like this should give us 3 axes of movement. All that needs to be done is to assign the motors to an input, and possible solve the issue of snapback. Since this is being controlled in pulse-width modulation, there doesn't seem to be an evident way to move the arm without having it return to its primary position.

For your scientific endeavors...

Forward to destiny

Initial programming of the chassis motors is slightly successful. The motors don't work as well in reverse, simply because the signal is not repeated like the forward motion signal. This may get changed in the future to a backing up on/off switch.

And if you're curious as to what that sweet, sweet sound is, click here.

Ebony and Ivory

Initial parametric testing of baselines looks to be a success.

For further research on the tunes (I promise).

The little servo that could.

This test was conducted to test the output torque on the little servo included in the Sparkfun kit. I cannot say I'm disappointed. Yes, the golf ball is for science. In light of this, Snooter Magruder has elected to use servomotors in the robotic arm vice the previously decided (and disappointingly tested) stepper motors.

Fun with Strippers

I found some 4-strand alarm wire at Lowe's. It's 22 gauge solid-core, and perfect for this project. All we have to do is strip the ends a bit, and the rest of the wire is contained in the sheath. The strippers I'm using need a bit of lubrication, but work well enough if you fiddle with them long enough.

Song Says It All

Ok, well, maybe not ALL. More coding was done with the color detection system including an LCD output. Currently, the input is a rheostat with the wiper being sent to the analog input of the Arduino. Once the actual sensor housing is built, the sensor can be properly calibrated for colors. After this, it's on to all of the moving parts.

For your enjoyment.

Private Parts

Hooray! The parts bought with with a private account arrived today! And I think they work!

Do Arduinos Dream of Electric Sheep?

The Snooter Magruder Color-Sensing Computer is ALIVE! A successful test using an RGB LED and a photosensor correctly identified the colors of a few objects. Next up will be coding limits for each color range, and designing an LCD screen output for the color names to display on.

This is why we don't have nice things.

This weekend, a perfectly good 5-disc CD changer was sacrificed to the Sparkfun gods. Here is a timelapse of the reckoning.

All in all, lots of nice buttons, some resistors and capacitors, motors, an IR sensor, and some gears were obtained.

Just Me and My Erector

Tonight the team experimented with a multitude of materials and ideas for the prototype. I used an Erector set in an attempt to make the claw of the robot. I also apparently used a potato to film it.
-S

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio...

... and this fellow of infinite jest has set to creating prototype bits and pieces using balsa wood that he has laminated himself.

 Balsa wood has the properties of being light, and when laminated, strong and rigid.

(It's also incredibly satisfying to pretend you're a martial arts master and smash it to smithereens.)

Thrift Store Treasures

Today, I found an Erector set at Savers in NH. I never had one as a kid. The Erector set has a bunch of really nice versatile parts, or at least I hoped. It was $15 and the box was heavy, so I hoped that most of the parts were there and not just replaced with rocks. I bought it and took it home. When I opened the box, every single part was still vacuum sealed.  Checked the price on Amazon, it books for $150 new. Now I know why I never had one as a kid. I think I'll put that one down in the win column.