(Instructor: Jacobson)
12/20/03
Started the forum page for FAQ and troubleshooting. Tidying things up a bit over vacation. Creating posters for the M.J. Murdoch Partners In Science gathering in San Diego on Jan 17th, 2004. I am also hoping that this time next year to go back to the M.J. Murdoch Partners In Science gathering in San Diego and give away 10-20 more mini-sumobot kits to teachers at a special workshop.
11/27/03
Awarded a generous EXCEL grant I had applied for earlier!!! This EXCEL grant will allow me to promote BOTS-R-US by providing FREE bot kits with programming cables and software to 30+ teachers. Figured out that the PIC16F628 portA started out in in analog comparator mode rather than the needed digital input mode I required for the whisker bumpers. Figured out the code changes for this and also a little whisker switch "debounce" effect too. Got the IR boundary sensor working but am not sure yet how to access it effectively.
8/27/03
Getting ready to start the school year! Site makeover, 3 Truespace tutorials, starting fundraisers and mass promotion!
5/24/03
Nathan Seidle of Sparkfun.com has put together a really nice "bareguts" $30 kit that will save us the hassle and cost of 4 separate shipping and handling charges (Plus class discounts on 10 or more!). All you will need is a simple chassis, 4AA batteries, and a PICPG1 upload cable. Just added several new pages including: Parts List, "Guts" assembly, Chassis ideas, Sample Code, and a simple Truespace Tutorial by Annie Little.
5/15/03
MAJOR CHANGES!!! Thanks to awesome support from Nathan Seidle of Sparkfun.com I made the switch to a better processor. Almost gave up entirely (again :) due to a defective serial extension cable that defied diagnosis. The processor that will be replacing the AT90S1200 is the PIC 16F628. For the same price it has twice the memory, needs no external oscillator (goodbye crystal and capacitors), has 18 pins instead of 20, uses an $8 programmer cable (NOT $30) that is self powered (bot power can be off during programming) , free uploader software (IC-PROG), free compiler option (JAL), etc. Within the week I plan on having new pics, schematics, parts lists/links and sample hex files. Team Chassis members have come up with Lego, K-Nex, and Aluminum can body variations that will be published soon. Team Truespace has created 3 separate tutorials that are in the Beta test phase and should be ready within 2 weeks.
4/30/03
WOOHOO! Got RVKBasic (freeware) to compile, upload and run a small test program. Using Port B bits 0,1 for analog proximity eye, 2 for line sniffer, 3,4,5,6 for motor control. Got the motors to go forward, stop, repeat every 1/2 second. For some reason there were a few minor compile errors but the assembled hex file worked as expected. Last hurdle is the A/D proximity eye functionality
4/23/03
Another major breakthrough! Got the $30 AVRISP programming cable successfully mapped to the robot board and uplaoded a test program. My final 2 hurdles are 1) getting the RVKBasic (freeware) to compile, upload and run and 2) figure out the A/D proximity eye functionality. We are in the homestretch!
4/21/03
Formed 3 "Elite SUMO Strike Force" teams. (1) TEAM CHASSIS (2) TEAM TRUESPACE and (3) TEAM FLYER. Members of TEAM CHASSIS (Brian Baker, Nick Westberg, Ryan Smidt, Kevin Smidt, Blake Malsam & Peter Jones) each have a mission to take the "guts" and mount it on a budget chassis, test and tweak it over the next 6 weeks. Members of TEAM TRUESPACE (Annie Little, Jared Stone, Ben Thiebert & Sarah Symons) each will be learning the Truespace 3-D modelling program and creating a mini-sumobot design tutorial that they will refine and Beta test with the rest of the class over the next 6 weeks. Finally, members of TEAM FLYER (Becky Schoch & Megan Pattis) will each create a community sponsorship solicitation flyer that they will refine and Beta test with feedback from select community businesses.
4/16/03
Updated the website with a downloadable editable community flyer, kit graphic, and Truespace screenshot. Yesterday Matt made a program that tested the drive motor controls. It was a phenomenal success! Last minor obstacles are 1) test the AVRISP cable 2) Compile a program using the AT90S1200 compatible RVKbasic freeware. 3) Test the IR "eyes" figuring out the A/D port interface for the proximity detector. 4) Create complete schematics, instructions, and sample codes freely available to all
4/11/03
Much has happened since my last entry. I was just about to mothball everything unil this Fall when a couple major breakthroughs renewed my hopes. 1st...The L293D Quad bridge controller test was a complete success. This will replace the $25 servo headache with only $5 worth of easily programmable hardware (chip & 2 DC motors). 2nd... The Atmel AT90S1200 "brain" was successfully programmed today by Matt Schug in assembly with a port strobe routine. Coupled with an inexpensive $30 AVRISP cable and freesware will make am additional huge savings for our final product. Lastly... Mike Holloway has been playing with an excellent 3-D modeller called Caligari Truespace (see links). It is a complete previous edition reclassified as freeware that is easy to use, has excellent physics, and all the power we would need for robotic simulations. Those schools who can't obtain SolidWorks will beneifit greatly from this user friendly (and tutorial rich) 3-D modelling tool.
11/30/02
I am confident that a few of my gifted students could easily pull off the Sumobot project if we did it outside of school and had access to a bigger budget, fancy tools and equipment. But, my target has always been to involve the average student, during class, continue throughout the entire year, involve limited frustration, and be done on a shoestring budget. Here is what I am ideally aiming for in our ultimate robot kit: 1) Breadboard based (Cheaper and easier than designing and building our own PC board, easily modifiable) 2) Programmed in BASIC (targets the masses and there are some free PIC Basic options with livable limitations) 3) DC motors (requires H-bridges but easy to program, gearing can add to cost so maybe pulley/belt drive) 4) Sensors, PIC and motors all use same power source voltage (4 AA's) 5) A cheap PIC that can be programmed while on the breadboard. My ongoing research convinces me that these 5 requirements are achievable.
11/26/02
Matt has reported that the Mark III programming continues to give him grief. The one program he got to run was quite twitchy. Many programs are written in CHBasic (proprietary) and difficult to find assembly language examples.
11/23/02
I saw an ad for Lego Spybotics. $60 will get you everything you need in a programmable sensor robot. Programming is a little too simple. This would be great at the middle school level.
11/12/02
Finally got the Mark III Sumobot to respond using the BotLoader software! Purchased $150 worth of tools from Radio Shack with special district PO.
11/11/02
Ordered "PIC Microcontroller Project Book" from Amazon ($25) with hopes that we will be able to design our own control boards and use cheaper motor types. Finally got access to the Mark III user group on Yahoo and found some very promising files and FAQ's
11/7/01
CRASH & BURN! Matt Schug spent over 2 hours trying to get my newly completed bot to respond to the CH Basic program utility. He used the Hyperterminal method of upload.
10/21/02
Submitted the "Bots-R-Us" proposal to Paul Finman of LCF Enterprises
10/14/02
Toured the LCF Enterprises plant in Post Falls and got fired up about Sumobots
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