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Asked — Edited

Can I Do This With Ez Robot?

What I want to do is the following -

Encapsulated programs that will control motors and select voice files to be played.

The programs will be randomly selected to be run.

Is this possible?

Background - B9Greg is currently running a C++ platform that communicates with OOPic and Motor controllers. Basically, B9Greg runs scripts that I write - but they are loaded randomly when you first turn him on. So, you don't know what he is coming to do next.

Prefect example - YouTube video "Starfest 2012" - there is no editing, it's not scripted, it just happened that way.

Thanks for any help you can point me to.

Greg


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#1  
Welcome Greg! I'm glad you made it over here. I love that youtube vid you did. I've watched it many times and still get a chuckle and get a little envious because of your fantastic B9 build.

So people don't have to search to hard here's the direct link:


I'll let others add to this thread but as I have mentioned to you before; the things you want to do, ARC and the EZB board can do. In fact the control software (ARC) is set up just like you described your needs to be. You add "controls" that are no different then encapsulated programs that either respond to keyboard strokes, RC controller commands or scripts you write in the EZ platform language. A second type of ARC program called EZ-SDK even can run C++ or some other languages for advanced users like you but I don't have the skills to write anything to that level. However even the most advanced users find that the regular ARC program is usually all they need. Go here and download and install ARC and play around with it:
http://synthiam.com/Products/ARC

Here's a short vid talking about all this:


ARC also has a personality generator built in as one of the controls. Once you add it you can have it trigger controls or run scripts you write at different intervals.

There is a ton of Videos that the designer,DJ, has posted that will showcase what EZB can do and how to use it. Follow this link and you'll find about 15 pages of short videos. Browse through them and you'll get a good feeling of what this is all about:
www.ez-robot.com/Videos/

Also you can browse through project threads of robots people have built and have posted here:
www.ez-robot.com/Robots/

My project thread showing some of what I've done with my B9 is here:
http://www.ez-robot.com/Community/Forum/posts.aspx?threadId=2263

Incase you don't want to page through the whole project the first page has a bunch of youtube vids I made. I have most of the basic programming is complete but still need to develop more of his personality and smooth out the scripts. EZB is controlling all the motors and servos, Speech recognition, triggering voice files and a personality generator.

Sadly there wont be any EZB boards available till about the last month of this year. However if your interested it will be worth the wait.

Just out of curiosity, Why do you want to abandon your current platform?

Have Fun!
Dave Schulpius
#2  
The current system was written by someone else - it's written at a level that is way above my understanding. So, right now, all I can do is write new scripts - but I can't add any new functions - such as the bottom row of chest buttons. Those were used at one time to turn off and on individual motors, then I replaced the on-off switches with momentary switches that are better suited for the top row but now the bottom row just doesn't do anything useful.

I guess that pretty well wraps it up.

Thanks for the links - I have a lot of learning to do.

Greg
#3  
I've got most all my chest buttons wired through EZB's ADC ports and will be useing them to trigger scripts or turn on and off functions. Very slick!

If you need any help or advice I'm always just an email away. There are lots of others on this forum that are always ready to help and answer questions.
United Kingdom
#4  
Welcome Greg. That's an impressive B9 you have there.

As Dave has said, the EZ-B is a great platform for the B9 and yes, you will be able to do everything you want it to do through scripts and controls such as the personality generator. It's all very easy to use and doesn't take much getting used to but even if you do get stuck there are a bunch of us on here who will guide you in the right direction.
#6  
Thanks for all the nice comments and suggestions - It's nice to know that I'm not alone trying to get this done.

Question - how much can I do right now - without the actual EZ board?

Thanks,

Greg
#7  
You could download the software and kinda snoop around the different menus to get a feel for how to build the different options available. Check some of the threads here for optional hardware to enhance your robot.
#8  
In truth, sadly it will be hard to see if the things you set up in ARC is correct and working with the actual board with motors or sensors hooked up to it. Cause and effect if you follow me.

However, You can get a feel for the software and where everything is. You can set up controls and add scripts. However you cant check any of them.

You can download other members projects that either are complete and working or ones that are still in production. Look in EZ-Cloud for these and download and run any of them. Look into the controls and scripts at how others are using them with their robots. There are also a lot of examples that DJ has made for us that show different ways to set up any number of things like h-bridges, camera tracking, exc.
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