You know, if you want to use the idea of a glyph, you could have the robot drive onto a platform, or pad, have it read the glyph to stop ontop of the pad, then have the connection to the circuit on the bottom, so this circuit then connects and you use bare minimum, so to speak. Might work, don't know.

Dang I didn't know that the ir led's used that much power.

Have you thought about RFID tags?

I use them at work on agv's to give instructions like "stop wait for all clear, speed settings, laser range finder settings ".

There is another company that has a range of them and I believe they are serial so they will work no problem with EZ-Z.

The power consumption of IR LEDs is why, at least for me, any "IR beacons" would need to be on the dock or near an outlet so they can be mains powered not battery powered. This would work in my house, other houses I can't say. Well, power consumption and laziness.

@Erreul......Thanks for participating. Yeah that is one point I don't think we have mentioned yet...how to get the robot to recognize that it is docked correctly and issue a stop command. Because normally the on board sensors would be telling the robot to try and drive around the charger...or back away Its got to know that this is its charger and needs to keep going forward until the "juice" is flowing no matter what it's collision sensors are telling it. Maybe that is where the QR code or Glyph idea would help. When it sees one, a script could tell the robot to ignore its front ping or IR sensors during the docking phase. What do you think Rich?

There also should be a command issued so when the robot is say...12" (or so) away from docking to slow down the drive motors so it can maneuver more precisely and also dock gently.

What is everyone's opinion on this matter?

@robotmaker...Yeah I have been thinking about trying to find a Roomba on Ebay to buy and use parts from it to try out different things. But I want to get the POLOLU Beacons first to play with...ehem...I mean experiment with...LOL

After thinking about it, the magnet idea probably won't be able to work because how would you distinguish one from another?

Has anyone tried hooking a barcode reader to the EZ-B? I may resort to this method as a last ditch plan. I know Sparkfun has a barcode reader but don't know how to hook it up to the EZ-B...yet.

@Rural Geek...I'm not sure about the RFID idea. I will look into it. Thanks.

Rex

Yes I have ideas about the final approach to the dock. My initial idea, and one I am still fond of, is the use of a QR Code or Glyph on the dock, the robot identifies this and shuts off the collision avoidance and strolls on in to the dock. I plan to use two rows of small wheels, one either side, of a walkway/catwalk type doo-dah, this will guide the robot in perfectly and line up the connections.

If it needs it the Dock can also be lit easily, or even have the QR or Glyph on some plexiglass that is lit up, this will aid in identification even in dark conditions.

I can picture it in my head, I just haven't had chance to sketch it out yet...

That's my idea on it. Slowing down the motors may also help avoid any damage and to aid in accurate lining up.

@rural geek,on the RFID idea its only short distance a few inch or less,i have a few at home from spark fun ,to try idea like that and didnt have the distance

Rich the idea on QR codes not bad if on the dock,but i would want autonomous robot independance like some of us do,not depending on QR codes or beacons on the wall or on floors

But you idea it great for a low cost for others who dont have the money to spend

I will be soon trying a idea like pololu circuit to make it much cheaper using EZB

There is EZB on the robot and to use the pololu board you still need one EZB on the dock

SO you are only looking at a IR transmitter and IR receiver circuit at very low cost

For my docking design i am going to use LASER,its better then IR for many reasons

Dang it...RFID looks very promising but the cost is pretty high. Not sure how it could interface with EZ-B. It's cool because the tags don't have to have power.

RFID LINK

REX here is some info on RFID readers (RFID) Card Readers provide a low-cost solution to read passive RFID transponder tags up to 4 inches away.