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The Definitive Guide To Building Java RobotsLearn about Communication, Motion, Sensors, Speech, Vision, Navigation, and plenty of real world working examples! This book contains all the source code used to program Feynman5, Feynman6, and Carnot. For more information about this book click here. |
| Robots | Reviews & Guides |
|---|---|
 CRaB
This is a robot I created for the CRB (Columbus Ruby Brigade). It demonstraits some of the basic robotic principles: movement and visual recognition.  Feynman Jr
A smaller faster lighter version of Feynman6. Same great software, same cool functionality, just in a smaller package and much, much faster...  Carnot
This will a test platform for Feynman. The main reason for his creation is power supply issues and transportation issues with the current version of Feynman. There are also several problems with the supported Java APIs, mainly sun has abandon them: Java Communications and Java Media Framework.  Feynman 6
I have decided to create Feynman6 and retire Feynman5. This robot will be taller, have more 80/20 and less wires via a new distribution board with onboard carrier for a BS2.  Feynman 5
This is the robot I used for my book. It has pretty much the same components as Feynman3, but is smaller and is more stable.  Stan
Some guys at work were running around the parking lot with these little plastic cars. So one week-end I decided to modify Feynman into and Battle Bot minus the weapon. This bot actually moved about as fast in the short term as the cars. I did run over one but because of the STAR design of the robot I found it quite limited and poor to maneuver. Something I would correct in later robots.  Fours
I built this with some extra parts from CubeBot. He is powered by 4 AA batteries and an 9V battery for the CubeBot controller board. I put an SRF-04 Sonar on him so he could avoid things as he moved around. But that's all he really did.  Rovey
This is a robot that I did for a COSI training session. I had students login to my website and then control the robot from the internet. It consist of a pan & tilt camera, and an SSC Servo Controller tethered to a power supply and a serial port since it was on 24/7. This robot is also featured at Robots.Net.   Feynman 2
This is the same robot as Feynman 1, but I have modified the chassis. The chassis gave me a little more control over the sonar and provided better proximity detection with the bumpers and Sharp IR sensors.  Feynman 1
This was my first PC Robot. Here I had real sonars, real motors, real processing power! This robot is also featured at Robots.Net.  Baby Joe 2
This robot is just a chassis upgrade of the previous robot (Baby Joe).  Baby Joe 1
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.  TetherBot
This robot was the begining of my love and facination with robotics. Here I learned the power of hacking a servo, building my own sensors, and programming and controlling it via PC. This robot is also featured at Robots.Net.  FollowBot
This is my first robot. It cost less than $10 and took me a week-end to get it working. |
 Guides:
Ubuntu Text-To-Speech TTS
I was also able to install Text To Speech via Festival and Festvox (voices). Guides:
Finally an Ubuntu Webcam
It's taken me a few years, but I finally got a webcam working in Ubuntu. Click for the steps I took to get it working. Next, text-to-speech.  Bot Bits:
Robot News
I am going to be retiring a robot and upgrading one. The software has stalled pending robot updates. Bot Bits:
Feynman Jr. and Carnot at CodeMash
I was able to take Feynman Jr. and Carnot to CodeMash 2.0.0.8. The conference was awesome and I learned a little about my robots during the event. Bot Bits:
Been working on new robot and API
I have been working on a smaller version of a robot than Feynman 6, called Feynman Jr. I have also begun to refactor my Java API so that it will work with my new robots. Bot Bits:
Added Blog
I have started a blog at ScottsBots.Com. Well, it use to be my "Bot Bits" column but since I rarely used that and wanted to start talking more about robots, I decided to shift that to a blog. Enjoy my robot rambles. Bot Bits:
Voltage Measurement for your Robot
For those Basic Stamp 2 users out there. Just use RCTIME with a simple circuit. Depending on the values of your capacitor and resistors you can equate your RCTIME value to your voltage.  Reviews:
Intermediate Robot Building by David Cook
If you are looking for a good book that takes you beyond the basics, David Cooks's Intermediate takes you to the next level. Guides:
Installing UBUNTU on a Compact Flash
Instructions for installing UBUNTU 6.10 on a VIA EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX. This is a simple 5 step process and you will need the alternate i386 ISO. Guides:
Serial Web Server
To work on Carnot, I decided to go into .Net and create a web server that responds to my serial commands. It's a simple .exe that takes a serial input on the command line and it works great for the SSC (Scott Edwards Servo Controller). Bot Bits:
Feynman6 at COJUG
I talked about my robot Feynman6 at the Central Ohio Java Users group on Tuesday March 13, 2007. Guides:
Latest Code in CVS
Hi all. I have uploaded the latest code to the sourceforge CVS repository. host: javarobots Bot Bits:
Started New Club
I have started the Columbus Robotics Society. It's the first Robotics Club in Columbus, Ohio. Bot Bits:
New Web Site
This is my new robot site, moved from www.scottpreston.com. I have not moved everything yet, but I will get there by this week-end. Bot Bits:
Reviews & Stuff
Now that the book is done I am finally going to start reviewing products and creating guides. If you would like me to review your products or write about something contact me. Reviews:
Lynxmotion SSC-32 Servo Controller
This is a 32 channel serial servo controller with two modes of operation: Group Move & Mini-SSC II emulation. |