OSGAR is a long term project which will probably incorporate more than one robotic platform in the future. The project started in 2014 when we decided to modify school garden tractor John Deere X300R into autonomous robot. The project is carried on in cooperation with the Czech University of Life Science Prague. Blog update: 25/04/2023 — Speed control (stop and go)

Robota s nezávislým pohonem a řízením všech kol jsem si chtěl postavit již dávno. Konečně jsem objevil vhodné pohony - robotická serva (WaveShare ST3215), která splnila téměř všechny požadavky (a za rozumnou cenu). A tak vznikl robot se čtyřkolovým podvozkem typu rocker-bogie. Aktualizace: 24.7.2024 Jízda po naprogramované dráze

PocketBot project consists of three parts. The key part of the project is the robot itself – a tiny line following vehicle of a matchbox size. Furthermore, the robot is supported with an USB communication device and with a PC control application. Altogether, these three parts form a complex solution to the line following issue. Each part of the project will be described in this article.

Paula je loňský model malé drony do dlaně. Je to hračka na doma za necelých 3kkč od DJI a Intelu. Oficiální jméno zní Ryze Tello. Standardní použití je řízení pres WiFi z mobilního telefonu, ale výrobce podporuje i oficiální SDK. Tento blog je pro podobně praštěné, na které již to „domácí vězení” trošku padá a potřebují rozptýlit. Blog update: 10/6/2023 — Tello go, go, go!

Vím, že písmeno P už bylo použité, ale pro (potenciální) dvojici pomocných robotů mne automaticky asociovala dvojice kutilů z oblíbeného DIY seriálu. Blog update: 20/10/2024 — Cones Challenge v1.1 (1h)

Matty je další robot z dílny Martina Lockera s časovou známkou Listopad 2024. Jedná se o čtyřkolového kloubového robota (zatím s pasivním kloubem) s pohonem na všechna čtyři kola. Je to relativně malý robot, ale s velkými plány. Blog update: 20/12/2024 — Předvánoční upoutávka

Projekt „Roboloď” pro mne začal na vánočním večírku 2015, tj. skoro před třemi lety. Bývalý kolega z práce říkal, že jeho kamarád shání někoho, kdo by dokázal zrobotizovat lodičku zavážející krmení do sádek na rybníce. Projekt byl (a stále je) takový „tajuplný”, ale nakonec jsme se se dvěma dalšími kamarády rozhodli do toho jít. Když nic, tak ověříme, jak se nám spolupracuje a na vodě jsme s robotama ještě nebyli … Blog update: 8/9 — Vodní test 3

Tak tělo nového MOBoSe je na světě. Tady je foto příběh… Update: 2/6/2019 — MOBoS a ROS

Jumping Sumo patří do rodinky MiniDrones, kterou Parrot představil loni. Na rozdíl od Rolling Spider (Jessica) a Bebop (Katarina) nelítá, ale pouze skáče. Robot dostal jméno Lamia a má stejný úkol jako Jessica loni: zdolat schody na Tour the Stairs … jen je na to tentokrát pouze týden! Blog update: 10/2 — END

Je na čase začít dokumentovat úvodní krůčky mobilního robota „Kloubák”, který vzniká na zemědělce (ČZU/TF). Přestože myšlenka kloubového podvozku je již poměrně stará, teprve Jakub a spol. projekt uvedl do pohybu. A jsem za to moc rád. Blog update: 20/11 — Kloubák K2: zimní přezutí

There is another toy from Parrot — drone called Bebop. My task is to prepare simple tracking of Parrot Hat (old AR Drone 2 could do that, so why not the follower?). Bebop is more professional at first sight: extra battery is part of the basic package, spare propellers, GPS, full HD camera, 8 time more powerful computer, 14 megapixels Fisheye camera with user selectable ROI … so I am quite curious how it will work from Python . Blog update: 30/4 — Paparazzi?!

OSGAR is a long term project which will probably incorporate more than one robotic platform in the future. The project started in 2014 when we decided to modify school garden tractor John Deere X300R into autonomous robot. The project is carried on in cooperation with the Czech University of Life Science Prague. Blog update: 26/03/2023 — web refactoring

Parrot minidrone (Rolling Spider) is my current toy. The primary motivation is preparation of a demo for the contest of autonomous robots Tour the Stairs (part of robotic festival at the end of November in Prague). Anybody interested in decoding communication before SDK will be freely available? Blog update: 4/12 — Parrot released ARDroneSDK3!

We are constructing a beginners robot. This robot would allow the teams to have an easy start to our contest and also the other contests. So we use only off the shelf parts which everyone can buy and you don't have to solder very much. It is based on Arduino. The main body is a 3D printed part. So everyone should be able to print it by himself. We would also make the code available and give instructions how to assemble the robot. And test the robot and components so that everything fits together and you don't have to worry that your electronics blow up or the motors are too weak.

Husky is commercial platform manufactured by Clearpath Robotics. It is planned to be an active helper on a small farm, where it will cut the grass near electric fence and assist with material handling. Blog update: 3/6 — dnipola.sk/Encoders

Heidi je můj první, seriově vyráběný, robot, kterého jsem si koupil doslova „přes ulici” (Tchibota před lety nepočítám, protože toho nemohu snadno svým svým programem ovládat). Je to také můj první létající robot. Článek asi bude vznikat celý rok, tak toto je jen „zachytné místo” s rozcestníkem.

Freyja is four-wheels differentially driven robot, which turns with skidding. It is work of Swiss Cogito Team, which is one of the „organisations” involved in SubT Challenge Tunnel Circuit. Freyja was growing up for 3 months from nothing and in one person it is almost unbelievable, that it can be done … so it would be pity not to document it! Update: 4/10/2023 — Freyja 2.0, spring and summer 2023

FireAnt je stavebnice chodícího robota od americké firmy Orion Robotics. Jedná se o šestinohého robota, postaveného z 25 (!) serv se zpětnou vazbou. Celý robot je pak ovládan deskou s Arduinem. Blog update: 23/5 — The Ant End

Ferda and Fatima is a pair of simple robots controlled by microcontroller ATmega8. Our goal was to show that even with very simple electronics and mechanics (Merkur construction set, a czech version of Meccano) it is possible to participate in the Eurobot competition. It is also an example how your first robot could look like if you plan to start with robotics.

Eurobot 2004 has passed and for the curious who are interested how a fourth rank can be achieved at such a contest, we have gathered some information about Ester. Right now you can find here articles about the ball manipulation and the control software. We hope that the amount of information will increase gradually (e.g. articles about localization or movement control are in preparation).

Eduro is a modular mid-size mobile robotic platform suitable for high school and university classes as well as for serious robotics research. In this article we describe in more detail basic configuration with two driven wheels and one caster wheel. This model was already demonstrated on several competitions (Eurobot, RobotChallenge and Robotour).

Dana is the result of our effort devoted to the Eurobot 2003 contest. We have hopefully learnt from the past mistakes (at least some of them). This robot tries hard to be both smarter and simplier at the same time than our past bots . The result is the 21st place and Best Concept Prize.

Daisy was an alternative robot prepared for the contest Eurobot 2003. Daisy was significantly simpler than its sister Dana and again it turned out to be the most critical point. Daisy ranked at the 7th place which is quite an achievement for such a well known international competition.

Clara is a robot (I should say: “Clara was a robot”, because it has been already taken apart) built completely from Merkur (Czech version of Meccano). It was built for the Eurobot 2002 competition, and it was the very first robot The Short Circuits team put together. The goal was to show that even with minimal resources like Merkur you can still build a robot, which can compete at an international competition. Clara has won the Creativity / Innovation prize at the Eurobot 2002 competition.

Cecilka is the first reincarnation of our platform developed for the Barbora robot. The ball collecting mechanism was replaced with a custom made vacuum cleaner. This robot constituted the second Czech team at the Cleaning contest 2002 in Lausanne making Czech Republic second in the number of participating teams right after Germany with six teams. Despite the fact that Cecilka was not as successful as Berta we obtained many unique experiences that we can now share with you.

Berta is the winner of the Cleaning contest 2002! It is the prove that the simplest solutions are often the best. It has beaten its competitors with 2D range finders, cameras and a lot of processing power simply because it worked the way it was supposed to using only a front bumper and a microcontroller. Find out how eXtreme programming concepts work while building a robot.

Barbora was designed primarily to participate in the Eurobot 2002 competition. Another even more important motivation to build the robot was the desire to build an universal bogie to be used in the following competitions and to have a reliable platform for further research and experiments. Unfortunately we have not finished the robot in time to qualify to the competition. However it has shown to be an excellent drive while building the robot and it has certainly helped us to achieve what we have.

Alena was our first try in the robot business. It is a differential-driven platform powered by steppers with a gripper onboard. It can be controlled by regular PC over serial line or by palm-sized computer carried onboard. The robot has successfully qualified to the Eurobot 2001 competition in France and ended up at the 12th place.