How to Build Robots for Beginners
With today's technology and available parts even beginners can build robots. Building your first robot can be very exciting as you learn what component are needed and how many options there are available to customize your robot. This article will take the beginner through the process of selecting a easy robot platform to build.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
For your first robot, select an easy way to make your robot move. Bi-pedal (walking) motion is probably the most difficult so you should avoid this method unless you already have experience. Consider a wheel driven robot platform (think R2-D2 not C-3PO). A wheel powered robot is very stable, has less moving parts so it is easier to build and less costly, and has a very solid structure with room to place the internal electronics.
-
2
Make the body of the robot. This is a beginner robot so keep it simple. Once you understand the electronics you will want to spend some time customizing the body of the robot. For now, a cheap tupperware bowl with a solid lid will work. The lid is the base of the robot where the wheels and electronics will be mounted. You can easily cut through the plastic when wheels, sensors, etc. need to extend outside the robot body.
-
-
3
Select a type of motor to propel your robot. There are three main types of motors that robot builders use to make their robots move, servo motors, dc motors, and stepper motors. Each one of the motors types has strengths and weaknesses. This article will mainly discuss the use of servo motors because of their great combination of available parts, contoller options, weight to power ratio, precision, and cost.
You will need continuous rotation servos. There are several manufacturers that now make these types of servos for use in robots, including the Hitec HSR-1425CR and GWS S35 STD. You can also modify a standard servo motor to continuously rotate. The Hitec HS-322HD or HS-325HB are perfect for this modication. Google one of these servo motors with "modify ___ continuous rotation".
Once you modify the servo, remove the servo arm and use the screw on top to mount a rubber wheel. You will need two servos to power the robot. Add a third wheel that is not powered on the back of the robot base to balance the weight.
-
4
Next, select a servo contoller. The servo controller is the brains of your robot and it will also be where you will be spending most of the money needed for the parts. There are many different servo contollers out there, the problem is most only work when they are connected to a computer. For a free moving robot this will not work.
There are several servo controller options that contain either programmability or that have remote control. One of the best is the Gilderfluke MiniBrick8. The Gilderfluke company provides a whole lot of parts to the Walt Disney company so their products are top of the line. The MiniBrick8 is one of their entry level contollers. This contoller will control 2 servo motors and 8 digital outputs. The MiniBrick 8 has 2 trigger inputs, RS-232, DMX-512 input and onboard memory. The trigger units can be set to start pre-programmed movements of the servo motors. Programming can be performed on Gilderfluke's top notch (simple to use and free) PC-MACS animation control software. You will have to pay for the power and flexibility, the price is $210.
Parallax makes quite a few robot parts and microcontrollers, including their BOE-Bot robot kit. This includes all the parts needed to build the robot platform. Software is also included to program the contoller. The software requires at bit more programming knowledge. If you purchase the BOE-Bot kit with Bluetooth, you can also use the free Microsoft Robotics Studio software.
You can also choose to control a robot using a wireless transmitter. You will need a minimum 4 channel tranmitter, a matching receiver, and servos that are compatable. The receiver is mounted in the body of the robot. All of the components will need to be powered. There are battery packs available for all of these items.
-
5
Last, add any types of extras you want. You can add LED's for the eyes of the robot, or extra servo motors to make the head spin around the base. If you want to add more realism for a more advanced project add sensors to detect walls, or a wireless video camera to see the world from the robot's view.
There are so many different ways to customize the robot once you begin. The first step is to get started. Building robots are a great way for beginners to learn about electronics.
-
1
