Hi All
Introducing the AIMEC:EZ1
We are in discussions with DJ to produce a special version of our AIMEC (Artificially Intelligent Mechanical Electronic Companion) robot for the EZ-B, this will be a very advanced robot that will be made available in kit form, which will probably be by the end of this year.
Some history, the first AMI (Applied Machine Intelligence) robot was the AIMEC:3 which is a "hyper-tech" toy and we were very close to licensing this design to a large US toy manufacturer, but the deal fell through. Our most advanced robot is the AIMEC:4 which is still in development, this robot has advanced voice recognition (Dragon 11), face recognition and eye tracking and object recognition the robot has an advanced Ai core and is capable of self learning. When we came across the fantastic EZ-B system that the genius DJ Sures produced we immediately thought that it would be really cool to make a EZ-B version and this is what we are currently developing the AIMEC:EZ1. This robot is the development platform for a ground breaking robotics kit that we plan to sell to the general public, for the first time a highly advanced robot will be available (in various versions) at a price that hobbyists would be able to afford.
I have been building robots for over 30 years and some of my designs are recorded on Cybernetic Zoo
http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=2280
http://cyberneticzoo.com/?p=3984
On our team we have the brilliant model maker (and engineer) Steve Cole (Articole Studios) http://www.articolestudios.co.uk/ who is also a member of this forum @ukrobotman, with Alex Cole on 3D design and (the incredibly talented) Mike Hodgson on software development. I am doing mechanical, electronics and sensor designs and firmware development for support PIC microcontrollers that enhance the EZ-B boards operation over the I2C bus.
We are all looking forward to working closely with DJ and his team in the new future!
Tony
-- Conceptioneering Ltd - Inventors of the Award Winning Cube World To see Product Innovation - visit our website at www.conceptioneering.co.uk To see Robotic Innovation - visit our website at www.appliedmachineintelligence.co.uk
Here is a first look at the new EZ:1 5DOF arm. Its almost silent while moving with zero holding noise and current draw in its holding position.
I have now got to build the new heavy duty (worm driven) shoulder servo, I should be able to get a video up of the new arm fitted in the next couple of weeks.
These new servo's can be controlled by the I2C bus which saves a lot of port lines.
great to see the arm sorted I would imagine you have a very gentle move from these motors also
Pat
Yes the operation of the new servo's is very smooth, incredibly quiet and the torque to current consumption is unbelievable! Its very difficult to stop rotation as they have so much torque while the servo is only drawing a couple of hundred milliamps! These new smart servos are designed for 12V operation.
I purchased a number of the motor drives you suggested, if you want a few I can post them over to you (free of charge)?
For these new smart servos, I used a 14 pin PIC16F1823 this is a really nice microcontroller packed with features. Here is the prototype servo controller board that is connected to an external H bridge, it has an ICSP port (In Circuit Serial Programming) which is very useful while de-bugging or modifying the firmware.
Excellent Tony Am I correct in saying that you controll these motors from I2C, I thought they were just 12 volt only ,or is it possible because of your pic circuit and h bridge?
From my experience you may have to decrease the power when lowering the arm and increase when raising it up,to allow for its weight,But no doub't you will come up with an appropiate circuit or programming solution.Looking forward to your design solution. Thanks for your kind offer will be in email contact
Pat
Pat
Yes the new smart servo can be I2C bus controlled via the PIC (thats the 4 pin header on the board) or PPM (some say PWM). The new servo is 12 volt. I will be looking at adding a PID algorithm to the arm movement at some point to improve operation.
Tony
Here is the prototype wrist smart servo (in debug mode with LCD display active) showing more of the electronics.
The current sense function is really neat, for the hand you can send down from the EZ-B a grasp (pressure) command via the I2C bus so the claw can go from a very delicate hold right up to crush hold!
Currently the hand grasp (hold) pressure is quite extensive and is a value from one to a hundred.
Debug feature interesting Tony not just building a robot do I detect a boot test where all movements may be monitored and errors reported,possibly add to cost but could be invaluable in any remote monitoring or fault finding
Pat
You are right the smart servos now monitor there own operation and have a number of safety shutdown features built in which is necessary as they have so much torque.
I am sending the servo motor drives off to you today, if you carefully remove the plastic actuator you will find a 5.9mm spindle and 6mm hubs fit nicely on these.
I Look forward to seeing the arm that you build with these!
Tony