Baby Joe 1

by Scott Preston - 2005-06-27 15:07:20

For this robot I wanted it to be controlled via a MicroController. I choose the Parallax Basic Stamp 2. I used much of the same parts from the previous robot (TetherBot) but purchased some additional hardware for this chassis.

This robot is also featured at Robots.Net.

Detailed Specifications

Larger View

Robot Name:

Baby Joe 1

Date Built:

May, 2001

Chassis:

Consist of aluminum framing, a Radio Shack project box and acrylic. I also used #6-32 - 1/2" phillps machine screws for everything.

Power:

Basic Stamp II = 4 x "D" cell providing 6VDC regulated by a 5VDC Regulator from Radio Shack. I also added a switch to function as a global on/off power switch.

Movement:

2 "Hacked" Futaba 3003 DC Servo Motors. The hack I used was to replace the potentiometer with a voltage divider consisting of two 1/4 watt 2.2k resistors. 2 - continuous rotation servos (Parallax) $13/each. 4 - 1/4 watt resistors Jameco, Radio Shack, etc. $0.99/100

Sensors:

2 Hi-Output IR LED's from Radio Shack part number (276-143) $1.79 each and 1 Sharp 40 kHz IR Receiver Module part number(?).

CPU/OS:

Basic Stamp 2 / PBasic 1.0

Other Info:

The Basic Stamp 2 I/O is below. You can see by the pinout below I only used a small fraction of the 16 IO ports on the stamp.

Pin #	Function
0	Servo 1 - Left Motor
1	Servo 2 - Right Motor
2	IR LED - Left Front
3	IR LED - Right Front
4	Spare
5	Spare
6	IR Detector Circuit
7	Spare
8	Spare
9	Spare
10	Spare
11	Spare
12	Spare
13	Spare
14	Spare
15	Spare

Much like the other two robots Baby Joe is a technology demonstrator. My 1st experience with Basic Stamps was very good! These are the coolest little chips. If you have a working COM port, snap this chip in, write a program, and your off and running.

Baby Joe, is very similar to TetherBot except he has a Basic Stamp II for a brain and 4 D cells as a power supply. The acrylic and aluminum chassis that I bought at Lowes, was real nice to work with and cheap (less than $5.00). I used a cabinet knob as a rest for the back of the robot. Since the robot is slightly back heavy it rest there nicely and does not cause too much friction on a carpet.

Baby Joe is another technology demonstrator built a lot like Tetherbot. The only difference is his size, the addition of a Basic Stamp II and a Battery pack. Other than that he does the same things.


Rear View Again I used the no 3rd wheel system. This did not present any problems and kept the bot's profile low. I added calibration port hole for the IR tuning potentiometer. I think this was the best feature of the new bot. Now I could calibrate the eyes with a debug program and then set the bot off to avoid things at different distances.	Front View Because I reused an old project box I could not fit the IR receiver inside the box, but no worries, it's only impact was on aesthetics.

Inside View

Now you see what makes Baby Joe go. The 4 D cells provide the power and on a PCB to the left mounted underneath you have the IR Oscillators and voltage regulator.

Flickr Photos (Beta)

Baby Joe

Baby Joe 2

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