The Beta version of the Internet Controlled Robot Arm is now ready for testing. The link is:
Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!
[The internet controlled robot arm is a project students and I are working on for the University of Memphis Engineering Technology Department]
To bad you have to watch ads before seeing the video.
Also has some other robot videos that will play after the bartender shows its moves.
I would love to here about any experiences you (or your children) have had with Bits, Bytes & Bots Computer adventures.
Walking my dog earlier this week, what do I see but an old KAYPRO II sitting out for trash pickup. Being a university professor that teaches computers and a computer history buff I just couldn’t resist picking it up.
After drying out the keyboard, evicting an ant colony trying to set up housekeeping and checking it out thoroughly, I plugged it in, and what do you know, it came on an asked me to insert a disk.
Now starting to look for boot disk images (below are some hot leads):
Blog on various restoration efforts
Dave’s Old Computers (read this first then go on to the Disk Images)
The Vintage Computer (thread on creating boot disks)
Kaypro II disks (made with teledisk)
I really should start my own computer museum. I still own a Toshiba T1000 laptop computer (XT compatible) and a Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 (the first laptop computer) and now the KAYPRO. Too bad my 286 and 486 machines died a few years back 🙁
2+ Years ago I purchased a LabVolt Armdriod Robot Arm from Ebay. It did not come with its control box, but I have been able to reverse-engineer it so it could be controlled by a PC via the parallel port. Now, some students and I are in the process of getting it on the internet, so you can run the robot via a web browser using an image from an internet camera as part of a new University of Memphis Engineering Technology display.
We hope to have it all done by the start of the Semester at the end of the month. I will post the link when it is all tested and ready to go.
I have been playing with the prototype, and it is quite challenging to stack the blocks!
Materials needed:
1/4″ hardwood (plywood) board cut into 12″ squares
1/16″ x 1′ x 3′ Aluminum Angle (cut into 1 ft lengths)
1/4″-20X12″ Threaded rod (4 pieces)
1″x2″x12″ wood (2 pieces)
Closet Door Ball Catch (Solid Brass Co N-7287 or Similar) (x2)
2 Motors (see http://blog.dankohn.info/?p=694)
10-24 machine screws (for mounting motor)
Nuts and Washers for #20 rod (above)
* – All items above purchased a Home Depot except were noted. They should also be available from LOWES or any good hardware store.
I am NOT a woodworker or mechanically inclined, if you are you will probably want to measure everything and drill one piece at a time. If you are like me I would suggest you stack the two 1/4″ plywood pieces, the Aluminum Angle and the 1″x2″ and drill them all at once, then put a threaded rod though the hole and move to the next hole to be drilled (see below):
Next, drill the bottom piece of plywood for the Closet Door Ball Catch which are used as front and back casters. I drilled a 13/16″ hole 2 inches from the front and back centered on the plywood board.
You will need to adjust the spring tension on the ball so it will act like a caster. This can be done by turning the white plastic on the back. The height can be adjusted by turning the entire assembly in its mounting bracket. You want it so the robot’s motorized drive wheels make good contact, but the robot does not teeter when starting or stopping.
Then you will need to mark and drill the Aluminum Angle for the two holes needed to mount the motors. I suggest using making tape on the motors, then mark the holes and the center of the drive shaft on the tape, then put the tape on the Aluminum Angle, making sure the drive shaft center is at the 6″ mark on the Aluminum Angle, and drill.
You can transfer the holes to the second Aluminum Angle by placing the two back to back and using the already drilled piece as a guide.
Once it is all drilled, start with the the bottom placing the bottom plywood, Aluminum angle and then the 1″x2″ board down. Put a nut, lockwasher and washer on the threaded rod, put though the 1″x2″ board, Aluminum angle and the plywood then secure with a washer, lockwasher and nut. Do this on all 4 corners. Then do the same for the top plywood.
(note, lock washers NOT shown here)
The final robot will look like:
This base (and two more just like it) were built for use in my Computer Interfacing class at the University of Memphis. I plan to use an H-Bridge circuit, 68HC11 development board (FOX-11), and add Sonar, Line Track, IR Distance and other sensors to the robot for various assignments in the class.
For more pictures goto http://dankohn.info/Class_Bot/
PS Thanks to Wesley Harris for doing most of the assembly of the bots!
Here is a website that contains lists of robotic competitions for K-12 students. It can be found at http://robotevents.com/.
From an Email to Mid-South B.E.S.T. participants from Dianne Langford:
It is with regret that I am writing to let you know that Mid-South will be unable to be the host hub for BEST Robotics this fall. Due to an increase in enrollment and a number of new programs in our technical center, we simply don’t have room. We hope to host again after our new diesel building is completed in 2010. I have contacted John Martini to let him know and I would like to encourage each team to hook up with another hub closest to your school. Ed Hammerand at Crowley’s Ridge BEST at ASU in Jonesboro said that they are trying to expand and would welcome teams. If you are interested in the Jonesboro Hub, go to best.cs.astate.edu and he said you will find registration information. There is Music City hub in Nashville and a new hub in Little Rock at UALR (contact Vernard Henley vwhenley@ualr.edu or Jing Zhang jxzhang1@ualr.edu for more info on the Little Rock event).
Of course there are many other hubs and you can find them all listed with their contact information on the BESTinc.org website.
I hope that each of you register with a hub and participate this fall. It has been a pleasure to work with you.
It is a shame that the only robotics competition in Memphis is ending (for now), but I for one would like to thank Dianne and Mid-South Community College for host B.E.S.T. for the last few years.
