Monthly Archives: March 2010
RoBot (IRC-Bot, More than just chat)
RoBot is a IRC-bot that fades the boundarys 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 dont 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.
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.
I-Are-Bot Ramp
I-Are-Bot needed a ramp so I started working on some prototypes. The idea i got from a forklift, use the weight of the machine to lift. By tilting my servos up an down I can change the angle of the ramp and thereby lift an opponent.
The first two prototypes was discarded as they were too unstable and weak, but the third one turned out pretty well.
The two aluminum profiles attached to the ramp are mounted on the wheel-axis and can be folded. In a angled outright position the ramp touches the side of the gearbox and constrains the ramp to go further down. In a folded state the ramp looks pretty slick, but the ramp prevents the lifting-arm from going up and down. The solution to this was to mount the lifting-arm further up. To do this I’d to build a extra mount, I saw a perfectly good reason to practice my CNC-skills and started CAD:ing.
The ramp can hold much weight, I’ve tried weights around 300g.
The prototypes.
