RoBot (IRC-bot that connects)

RoBot is a IRC-bot that fades the boundary’s between the online-world and the physical. At CRF (Chalmers Robotics Society) we have that problem that people is to busy making robots that we don’t notice the IRC-messages that are coming in on our TV-computer. RoBot is looking for certain keywords in the #CRF-channel. So if anyone really want attention in the workshop all they has to do is write “tvdatorn” (swedish for tv-computer) and blue lights will start flashing and a buzzer will beep.

This is how the workshop looks like and when the lights turn on.

J.K.Abrams has built a device to trigger external devices with 5V from the LPT-port (also known as the Printer-port). He uses a Darlington-amplifier to amplify the signal-outputs from the 8 output-pins on the LPT.
The 5V output can be used to drive a relay that triggers a blue flashing light for example, or a buzzer.

J.K.Abrams LPT-trigger-thingy showing its guts. Eagle-schematics will soon be up…

On CRF’s webpage thare’s a webcam, we have integrated a webbased chat-client for those who don’t use IRC regularly and still want to interact with the people in the workshop.

The source-code and executables for RoBot is available here (VB6 zip), it’s written in Visual Basic 6 and basically acts like an ordinary IRC-client.