Brimstone
my first steps in the world of robotics
I took park in the national finals of Science Expo AMAVET, where I reached the fifth rank and therefore I could participate on the international exhibition in Tunis. Moreover, I won the High school science and technology project contest in branch of electronics. On these pages, I would like to introduce my robot…
Cybernetic car ("Brimstone")
Construction
Robot chassis was based on the Lynxmotion kit. Its a 4x4 car with "tank" like
motion.
Brimstone works in three modes :
- Bluetooth remote control, where I command the robot and it detects obstacles. If an obstacle is detected, it stops and waits for further commands.
- Fully automatic mode, where it an actively bypass obstacles.
- Fetching mode. Robot is remote controlled and picks up objects. Obstacle detection does not stop the robot but slows it down so the robot can pick up the object easily.
Bluetooth remote protocol allows control of my robot by a PC, PDA or a
cellphone. Bluetooth range, which is approximately 100m is sufficient for most
environments.
Software
Remote control
The program is written for ATmega32 in C language. The code implements a "state
machine", which works as follows :
- robot receives a command via a serial line and performs action based on the command and its current state. The action can change current state of the robot.
- example: current state - robot moves backwards, received command - go forward, resulting action - stop and then move forward (stopping before reversing speed preserves both motors and control boards
Autonomous mode
This mode uses interrupts generated by A/D converters attached to robot
sensors. As soon as the sensors detect an obstacle, an interrupt is generated
and obstacle avoidance is activated. Further interrupts are inhibited and robot
starts to avoid obstacles. Obstacle avoidance routines are based on state
machine too. Autonomous mode is terminated by an interrupt generated by a
serial communication interface.
Construction:
Eurobot
After improvement of the mechanical hand I tried to participate on contest
EUROBOT 2009 in category STARTER, where I
surprised the audience by moving the robot over the playing elements instead of
picking them up. My robot was not able to build any "temple", but I gained
valuable experience by participation.
Links
- AMAVET, fifth rank in national finals of Science Expo AMAVET
- international exhibition in Tunis
- SOČ, national finals - first place
Video
Created by: Monika Svědirohová
If you have any questions or comments –
contact us.