Bob Built On Bits

Hi Hazbot .

Nice use of a often thrown away matrial . Love Bobs head . Go to the toy store and get a plastic ball thats a tight fit in the bottles , Cut it in half , Glue half a ball in each bottle , a bit of paint and bingo BIG CUTE eyes .

Nice work .

Steve_C .

amazing! you used your imagination!!...

Thanks - The credit goes to my 14 year old son Austin who designed him. Bob is in sketch phase so things like his eyes, body and arms are a work in progress. We are looking at getting some portable electric screwdrivers installed to motor him around. Aussie and I both like tracks so we are on the lookout and trying to think of ways to make a set economically and effective.

Cheers

Hazbot Australia

Hello Hazbot,

Very original. How are you going to add drill motors? Interesting...

I like the ball idea for eyes...

Samantha

As a fun experiment we went to the local Hardware store Bunnings and tried using 2 X $20 XU1 3.6 volt electric screw driver motors running off the EZ-Z kits servos pulse boards - but there was just too much current for PWM to work and they didn't turn. We are now in the throws of buying a couple of cheap 1-5 amp motor controllers. That way we can control them off the EZ-B with a separate power supply. We have a fairly steep driveway and the task is to get Bob zooming up to the top, turn around and come back down with the camera running. Word of warning, try to avoid pulling the cover of the gear box off electric screwdrivers - all the gears and bearing can drop out making it a challenge to get them all back in (they are metal).

This is Bob (Built on Bits) with his new eyes. Up to this point he didn't have any. We intend to have the H-bridge running my electric screwdriver motors when we get a new Battery. In the meantime Bobs moving around on the orignal servos that came with the kit - but this time running through the H-bridge off an old electric 14 V drill motor.

HI Hazbot

Dont it feel good when ya get the robot moving under control for the first time. A kind of "ITS ALIVE" Moment.

Nice mate.

Steve_C.

Sure does Steve, I've had him free roaming in the living room with collision detection and sonar running but I'm still keen to get him powering up our driveway on Tank tracks. I've tried a few things but I think it's coming down to the bike chains and roller skate combination. Before I start that I need to get a battery that has the amps to power 2 electric screwdrivers I bought for propulsion. Once the motors are powered I can start on the Tracks.

have you checked out the sabertooth controllers.plenty of grunt in them. and a motorbike battery will do for testing.

steve_c

Yeah, they might be the go. I'm getting a 11 volt Lipo off Richie on Wednesday which should give me the 2 x 2 amps I need to get the motors spinning. If that fails then I will go with the sabertooth.

Your robot is great!, Has a great personality, is the closest thing to being alive and it's like watching an X-ray of his belly, I like the video of the robot in action, not all robot builders make a video and it is a shame because is a source of inspiration to other builders. With this type of robot can play much in the dark! How much it took to build it? if you weighed the robot, what is your weight? I have a possible solution for you if you do not want to invest money in saber-toothed traction system for the wheels, I am about to buy two high torque servos and modified for continuous rotation servos and replace damaged so my first Robot the servos are these and is the same model I use for the collar of my robot RSP The servo:

SERVO

Hi R2D2 - This robot cost next to nothing to build apart from DJs Kit ($235.00) Bob is very light weight (not much more than 1 kilo) due to his construction frame (90 degree angle perferated yellow coated tin ) -As I've mentioned before it's the cheap stuff they use to finish off the edges on plaster walls. The stuff is fantastic for building robots, commonly available in Hardware stores and super cheap. I've got the continious servos that came with the kit and presently use them off the L298 H-bridge and they rocket Bob alongon 2 inch diametre wheels at a PW of only 20% off a 14.4 RYIOBI electric drill battery. I love the application of continuous servos for wheel propulsion - they are light and can be very powerfull as you have stated - but have one obvious problem - they have a very short shaft for connectiing to wheel configurations. There is a high stress point at the nylon cog that presses into whatever attachment you want on there. I know there are ways around this but it's just technically annoying. Now the electric screw driver motors and or drills I have a sturdy protruding rod attachment (used to fit in your screw driver or drill attachments) and you can have many combinations for connecting quite large wheels and the shaft can take it. What kills them as a perfect solution is their weight and current. I've discovered the XU1 screw driver motors draw a hefty 2 amps of current through the H-bridge, hence I need a motor bike battery or similar that can deliver what they need. Hopefully Richie has one suitable. The next big step for me is to have this Robot zooming along on some Wall-e type tracks - Tracks that can take him up my steep driveway and through Parks. I've studied just about every D.I.Y track design and they will be the big challenge. All the other stuff is on hold untill my son Austin and I can come up with Bobs legs (tracks) to get around.

Cheers

Okay, you have everything under control, I like that.

HI Hazbot

Have you thought about using big rc truck wheels , the ones with the knobbly tyres.

They will do the off road thing really well.

Chain drive three together , 3 on each side , Has good as tracks.

Steve_C.

Thanks Steve - I'll definately check the truck wheels idea - I have been on the lookout for large toys with tracks on them -

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Bright-1-14-RC-Treadzone-Red-Radio-Control-Track-Vehicle-Toy-BNIB-C6LA-/350558565608?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item519eeb34e8

This is a really cool bot. Are those CDs in the back of his "eyes"? Very clever use of everyday objects. I've often thought of turning my bar-b-que grill into a large bot. Hmmmmmm

Get it to cook your food to . Im coming put another pound of ribs on mate.

Hi Bret, those are CDs. I'm presently still racking my brain over Bobs treads. I recently tried building tracks from scratch using the same stuff we built him with - cutting 20 X 2 inch strips 2 inches wide and threading them together with nylon electrical cable ties. The resulting treads looked awsome on him but not reliable (jamming). I'm now experimenting with an old pair of roller blades.

Ok, wasted more $ and days on tracks - that's it ! I've learned if you don't have the machinery to make them - get an alternative. Im now going for a 1/16 tank base (you can get an entire tank of ebay for $100 Aust). If anyone has had a bad experience with rc tanks please let me know. Dogbot has inspired me to go this direction.

Update - ordered a base for Bob 1/16 Tank (23 cm wide by 33 cm long) - from China (free shipping)

Bob is going to have to get slimmer but thats OK. Looking forward the challenge of joining the two together.

Hozbot don't feel bad I do the same thing. I think I learn better that way than just doing it the easy way. I get a better understanding of how it works.

Thanks sfoy, I have learned so much about tank treads by spending so much time trying to make them, I can really appreciated their design and capabilities. I firmly believe the part of a Robot that gives it mobility is one of the most important challenges ahead of us no matter what size or shape your Robot is.

Gasp, Bobs tank base only got posted today - the wait is frustrating me and the Robot

(Bob without Legs/Wheels)

Poor Bob.

This is the hardest part for me. Waiting for parts. I have no patience.

Still waiting ...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!

Me too. It's poopie isn't it? Ugh....... Has it at least shipped already?

They sent an email saying it was shipped Tuesday (3 days ago) - There is no telling when it will turn up and that's the frustrating part - meantime I'm experimenting with arms that can grab things -

Whilst waiting for his legs (tracks) I've added arms and claws but having issues running 6 servos through the board (Bob gets the jitters) - even blinks out at times. I think it's power related. Is there a simple way to run the servos from a H bridge or a voltage regulator ? UPDATE - Richies tip to run a pc fan over the board fixed everything - pretty sure my problems were from the board overheating - no there are no shakes and Bob is back to behaving whilst running off the 11.1 Lipo. looking forward to stronger servos for Bobs shoulders.

Bobs latest photos

Bobs head - removed the plastic bottles and now his head is much lighter and stable

Strips of perspex hold Bobs head in place

Perspex is so handy and easy to glue, rivet or screw to the frame.

The CD's help keep his arms rigid.. They are still work in progress

Bob from above

This PC fan makes all the difference - running him off 11.1 volts with no problems - fan is direct to battery.

Thinking of adding a charge housing inside Bob for my mobile phone which always seems to get lost and flat at the same time.

It sounds like your board is browning out because of too much current draw by those servos. You should run your servos off a separate power supply. The same thing happened to my B.O.B. robot. You could probably use a step down regulator to drop your voltage to 6V just for the servos. THat is what I am doing with my B9.

Thanks Bret, with the help of Richie I'm getting a regulator and arranging seperate power to the servos just as you say - I'm also getting stronger servos for his arms.

Special thanks to R2D2 for idea of the claw counter weight being a servo that (with a rod) can run down the arm from the opposite end of the hand and double as a wrist turner...it also takes away the bulk of the servo from the hand (claw) area.

Bobs weight is creeping up since his new arms. Our Target weight was 2.5 kilos - he now weighs 2.6 kilos without his treads (still waiting). His components are still a mix as intended - but we must keep his weight down.

BOBS SPECS

Current weight - 2.6 kilograms Height (without treads) 700 mm Design and concept : Austin .S

1. Frame :Tin Edging bead
2. Eyes : DVD discs
3. Arms : Recycled Aluminum (an old ruler)
4. Arm stabilizer counter weights - old skateboard wheels (recently removed)
5. support structure and board support (Bits of used perspex)
6. structure connections - small bolts, rivets and hot glue
7. Battery holder ( foam pieces of the EZ Robot parts box)
8. Cooling fan - 12 volt recycled PC fan
9. Board - camera , sensor and 2 servos : EZ Robots - Canada 10.Claws, Batteries , servos and technical support : Richies RC and Robotics Australia 11.Used Champaign cork & plastic nobs off an old metal detector for his wrist.
10. Carbon fibre rod from an old Kite (used to turn wrist)

With the help of Richie I'm looking to strengthen his arms today with stronger servos and bi-pass the board with power to them to rule out any possible brown outs as we are also looking at adding servo's to rotate his wrists (R2D2) idea to assist counterweight for arms.

Nice... Is Richie close to you?

Yes - Just 10 minutes up the road - I saw his Wall-e entry and he so helpful with incredible knowledge, I'm very lucky.

Yeah, that is awesome. I would LOVE to have someone close to me.

Bob was on the operation table today - new arms and a wrist (unfortunately his claw servo on his right arm gave out just before this video) but thats an easy fix next week. His wrist turns using a carbon fibre rod that runs down from the back of his elbow, the rotations are sweeet. We are still waiting on those darn treads...Thanks Richie for your help today.

wow you have done a good job and fast, that balance works great! I love robots built from scratch.

Bobs workout with new arms - notice how he looks around in case people are watching...

Sweet.......... that is pretty awesome.

I love red eyed tree frogs. I also see you have Robosapien v1. That is the same torso that I used for my newest bot. Are you going to hook him up to the EZ-B?

Samantha

Bob Starts Rockin before I go off to work...

Hi Samantha, thanks for your kind thoughts and yes, Robosapien will get fitted out with an EZ_B eventually. Bob remains our main project for the time and we are keen to get that tank base attached to him (still waiting on delivery). Once we get him moving around effectively we can develop his speach capability and then incorporate infared or various communication systems to operate devices around the house. Once we climb those mountains we will re-think his design. My 14 year old son Austin has some great ideas but it all takes time. Cheers

Hi Hazbot,

Thanks for all the hype and it's awesome to have customers like you (and I get to see and play with other robots much like how I get to play with many types of RC cars as I do repairs and tune ups

Thought I'd drop in and have a look and boy you don't muck around. The wrists are awesome and looks like the new servos did the trick for BOB's arms. I read you did a gripper servo, They are only 2.5 kg and that's about the biggest servo that can be fixed in the gripper,without spending more money. I'm thinking of adding a small servo saver to the grippers (like the type on small RC cars). as there is a fine line between gripping an object hard enough and too hard (=burnt out servo) really needs a spring hence the servo saver. I'm going to start adding them to the grippers as just part of the gripper kits...a must have...

I think all claws and grippers should have one really. You would'nt have a model cars steering hooked up to a servo without a servo saver. (I also burnt out a servo on GRIPSTER...one of the new kits soon available from my store

"Richie's RC & Robotics") Anyway I'll replace that one next week for you no charge. BTW I got to see BOB in the real the other day and was really impressed. BOB is really " Built On Bits" Pretty amazing what you can do with just a few bucks down at Bunnings and some bits n pieces lying around in the shed. Ohh and of cause the trusty hot glue gun.

I will put some photos and maybe a video of GRIPSTER later today...

Ohhh and Wall-e is still with us, I just can't manage the work that is required to finish him at the moment.

Rich (Richie) "Richie's RC") P.S. We are adding a new gripper to the catalogue in the next few weeks and these ones are slightly larger and will hold any std servo. ( could hook up say a 20kg or 40kg OUCH if it bites you..

That is great you are getting your son involved. I wish I would've been into this stuff when mine was younger. He's 19 now and thinks he KNOWS EVERYTHING!!!!!

Thanks Richie..look forward to those servo savers - and see you next week. Sfoy, in my family it's my 16 year old daughter Hannah that knows everything...lol

Really happy today - the Tank base arrived and Bob slotted on top as planned. The tanks acceleration is amazing. We had to shorten Bob about 8 cm to give him a lower center of gravity (he was too wobbly).

The tank has a plastic pellet firing turret giving Bob weapons capability - (totally not planned)and my son Austin can vouch for the fact they sting when fired at bare feet at close range. Our next mission is to see if the base can get Bob up to the letter box (maybe collect the mail) at the top of the driveway - it's steep and a real challenge.

Heres Bob perched on a 1/16 Toy Tank. OK on the positive side, it is powerful and has 2 speeds, it also has some form of suspension (causing Bob to rock forward and back during acceleration). Bob made it all the way up the steep driveway and back, an awesome accomplishment. On the down side, the radio transmitter that came with it is hungry for batteries (takes 8 AAs) and the range is poor. I'm looking forward to hacking it soon to rig up the H-bridge via the Ez-b with a toggle switch. One last thing is that these tanks are a little on the narrow side for Robots - apart from that, they pack a punch for moving from A to B.

Bob's looking great. Love the new treads.

That's pretty awesome, look at BOB go.....

He sounds pretty quite too. Awesome job....

Samantha

THat's AWESOME!

Looks Great! Watch out for the carpet threads, the tracks LOVE those.

I think you made a good buy for that tank! is fast, good speed, I saw that you use a lipo battery, this is good but very light, if I could add more batteries in the robot base or replace it with a battery lead pordrian reduced oscillations of the robot to accelerate and stop (lower center of gravity) Maybe a 5 amp 12v and not 12v and weighs as much as 7 Amp. His robot amazes me, for me the best robot which satisfies these requirements: Much with so little CONGRATULATIONS.:)

Thanks guys, in many ways you have all helped the development of Bob and I thank you for that. Now he is definitely up for a design improvement to lower his centre of gravity. I'm thinking of receding the front of his frame from half way up to give him a chest and emphasize his arms and shoulders. Battery placement is another thing I will be experimenting with to help his balance. Of course my son Austin enjoys racing Bob around with arms waving and shooting those stinging plastic pellets from the base - they sting when you cop them in the ankles - ouch.

UPDATE - Bob has had a design change. His front is elongated as in the coming months I'm having a small touchpad pc valcro'd to his chest. This body was thrown together in a few hours and is in test phase, more of a custom fit to the tank base and give Bob a sleeker but somewhat Sumo look. His stability has greatly improved. Again, special thanks to Richie from Richie's RC and Robotics for getting Tanks transmitter working properly and adding a few spares. Richie you servos are holding up well, your quality parts and service are excellent.

He looks better..... Good job!

Thanks Hazbot, I'm more than happy to help and you know how much I hate playing with other peoples toys...LOL You didn't tell me that you are planing to strap a PC to BOB that will be awesome. You will have to let me know how the 20amp H-bridge goes once you get a chance to test it. (only $25.00 plus shipping people)

Richie's RC

Thanks Richie, I'll keep you posted on that H-bridge. Right now I'm testing the limits on how far the tank base can take him since you solved the RC signal glitch. Video of him getting up the steep driveway soon. I'm happy to say he made it (about 40 meters return trip from house to letter box and back.

This is a true milestone video of Bob making his way up our driveway and back. He nearly toppled over a few times (it is much more steep than it looks).

That's awesome!!!!

Hazbot fantastic! that time has its battery autonomy? Lipo is a 2 or three elements? how many milliamps?

R2D2, for his trip up to the letterbox and back Bob used the battery that came with the tank, a 7.2 volt 1700mah Nicad Battery pack, whilst his EZ board and servos run off a 11 volt Lipo with a 6 volt regulator.

On the subject of batteries, my research points the same direction as the advise given from Bobs tech support crew (Richie - RC and Robotics ) - Lipos are the way to go. They are light, can punch out the amps and fast charging. You do need to nurse their charging with a quality charger that balances the cells but they more than make up for any down side. I learned how good they are through RC aeroplanes and helicopters. Eventually Bob will have 3 seperate Lipos (Board & Servos) (Tank from H-Bridge via board) (Tank direct via RC Transmitter).

HAzbot, Bob really turned out Great! If you don't mind sharring your script with me, i would like to see it. My Marty (George-ous) is all working great accept Object avoidance.

Thanks,

Mel

Cheers Moviemaker, I'm in the process of testing a new H-bridge on Bobs Tank base. once I install it and get his radar working again I would be glad to share the script but it's nothing fancy. Simple Ping collision detection should be working for you, I had no real problems. As you would know - you need to tweak interval and distance in the config menu and be sure the sensor has a clear scan range (so it's not picking up any edges of the robot as it scans out).

Thank You, my friend.

Woo hoo... He did it

Ok MovieMaker, This could be a case of der..Hazbot.. I know that anyway and I'm not sure about using the camera with script to be autonomous but to run autonomous with ping I have to have Radar Scan, Ping collision and ping distance all running. Once running I just use the Movement Panel to start him forward and he just keeps going, roaming around and avoiding things. I have reverse back before turning checked in the Radar Scan control and Bob reverses back away from chairs and tables with no problems.

Bob went to the operating table today to have his motors H-Bridge enabled. No fancy switches at the moment, just simple connections to enable him to go from RC to EZ. The operation was a complete success.

Cool!

Hazbot,

I have Ping Radar and Ping collision. But I do NOT have Ping distance. Maybe that is it.

Thanks for your info.

Bob is now refueling his Lipos and getting ready for a day at school (running scripts) - Richie, the Charger I bought from you is great, I love the beep cut-off alarm and different battery features. These pics will be the last for a while until Bob gets his touch pad vest. I have really enjoyed developing and working on Bob. Cheers

Ooooo that looks like a nice charger.

Richie, where did you get it?

Haz... touch pad vest?

Samantha

Hi Samantha,

I sell a whole range of nice multi function chargers, you can check them out Here on my web site.

Richie

Thanks Richie, I will.

hazbot,

I would like to see some closeups of the shoulders. You took off the weight, didn't you. Now, how does it work?

Thanks,

Mel

Moviemaker..did you get your obstacle avoidance (Ping working - I'm curious). Anyway, heres a shot of Bobs arm and shoulder - nothing hi-tech but works great for wrist turning. I think R2D2 gave me the idea. The shoulder is a simple aluminum housing that holds the servo and there's not too much load on the servo that turns his arm (Richie supplied - can lift 5 Kilos or there abouts). The black rod on this arm is actually some used plastic sprinkler tube - that runs into an old Metal detector control nob that pushed into the servo at the end (shoulder). Down the other end the tube runs into an alloy sleeve that fits inside orange PVC electrical conduit.

Hazbot,

Thank you so much. When I did JUST the object avoidence  it worked and tried to avoid. But, it still goes straight at something when it is trying to avoid the red ball. I think I am going to start from scratch and attempt to write a C script that can be compiled and maybe won't bog things down. We will see. Many hours of efforts ahead.

I Love your robot. It is Super!

Mel

I'm happy to say I'm at the stage now where I can share Bob more with my son Austin who came up with his original design. It has been quite a road to get him to a level of fun and functioning. I'm now concentrating on script , adding sound and finally, a touch tablet that will valcro to his chest. One day I hope to have him roaming around using infra-red or similar to turn things off and on, give weather reports, talk recepies etc but thats a long ways off yet. It's fair to say Richie has been a big help on the project as has been all the suggestions, ideas and hints given by Robot Enthusiasts at this site. Good luck with your roaming...

Hazbot! You are Incredible. That machine turned out Fantastic. You have the gift that is almost rare these days. You can take something economical and make a great robot with it being very Simple. That is the key to a great design, having it Simple. I have enjoyed watching this machine Evolve. Keep us posted on any changes you make. I especially like it when you took the box look and tilted back the front. cool!

Keep up the good work.

Mel

Thanks Moviemaker, I don't know about me being gifted but the project did come out better than we expected. Bobs creation came from the desire to get my 14 year old son Austin into robotics and through Bob I hope to achieve this. Now he's at a slow evolutionary pace I can get my son more into how Bob works, the script side of things and help him with his electronics. You are a top gun in this field so I will be keeping a peek on what you and everyone gets up to in perfecting the "apple mac" of robots. Cheers

TIME TO HAVE BOB ON BOB !

Our current challenge is to get Bob to speak and respond to commands directed to him rather than from a separate computer. Initially this started by looking at options for an MP3 trigger which are very limited and expensive for what they do. We have experimented with low cost - low tech options without much success. The current best low cost alternative is a walkie talkie system. We feel this is a much better option than the MP3 trigger. Ultimately we want Bob to be able to take commands from voice direct to robot and there is no better option than having Brains On Board (BOB) - hows that for an anagram coincidence.

Unless I'm missing something, MS windows is currently the best environment to run the ARC. I'm starting the hunt for a light, small inexpensive netbook with camera, earphone and microphone jacks, blutooth and wifi running windows. Provided it is not too wide I can accommodate Bobs torso to fit the netbook to angle out from his chest (sloping forward) with a portable cover.

If anyone knows of any bargain on such with wifi and bluetooth - please let me know. I will also post my findings.

Bob is fantastic!

Thanks bret. He's slowly evolving

We've come to the conclusion that Robots need to have their insides easily accessible and if possible, a way of seeing inside in case something goes wrong. A recent modification is to have his microprocessor open out from his back. This way we can work on him easily without pushing through wires or trying to see connections with things getting in the way. The PC fan you can see at the top of his back has worked really well and surprisingly does not drain the battery as much as we thought it might. It cools both the microprocessor and the H-bridge really well. Special thanks to Richie of Richies RC and Robotics and my tech head brother Dean for some R & D on getting him to speak. Still work in progress. The great thing about having a Bob on Bob setup is the screen can reflect Bobs moods. For example hearts racing across if someone says nice things to him - or a tux chest display when he arrives at a party, all kinds of fun things.

This was an early shot of the tank adaption. In a sucessful operation 2 weeks ago the turret and nozzle you can see were removed which dramatically reduced his weight. Also his top frame now sits neatly on a perspex cover over the tank base (so you can see his drive motors and wires inside).

If all goes well, you will NEVER finish your robot. You will only finish the basic unit of him. Then you will keep improving for the rest of your life. At least, that is my plan. I haven't quite got the basic idea I had finished,but thanks to all of you on the forum and D.J. , I am getting closer every day.

God Bless! Take care. Bob is ONE HECK OF A ROBOT. He is one of my favorites.

:D

Mel

Just like the Mona Lisa - Michael Angelo was never satisfied with her - but look at that smile...

Cheers Moviemaker, your one hell of a nice bloke..and your Robotics is totally inspiring..

Hazbot,

Bob is Awesome...

I felt the same way and did not want my bot to be confined to a computer. I am going with the mini itx, and hard drive etc. a netbook might even be better for you.

Me too. It is fun to hack some toys, but you are confined to the limits of those toys (unless you are Josh or Samantha haha). I'm mostly doing that now to learn, but my eventual goal is build my own design. But I was not sure of the open design. It does seem great for access and ventilation. Do you worry about someone or something getting inside and messing up wiring or something? It would definitely keep it lighter too. Hmmmmmm...

Hi Bret,

Ultimately Bob will have thin ventilation type covers with perspex sections so you can see inside to any part of the Robot. The Keyboard of the 10 inch notebook that will slope down the front of his chest will also have a cover. The importance of open plan design came to me when as a kid I loved watching submarines and documentaries on them. The guys that built them stressed the importance of having all their mechanisms and wiring virtually exposed for quick and easy access. Aircraft use a similar principle to this but they also use covers for aesthetic reasons ( people would get nervous if they could see all the wiring conduit vibrating above their heads). Fortunately Bob resides mostly around the house so there's no real concerns (apart from dust and a little UV through the windows).

Cheers

:)

Awww Bret.. your sweet.

Haz I have to agree. I am not fond of flying to begin with not sure I'd want to see the inside of a plane I am about to get into. Hahahaha....

I do like the idea of being able to see inside. I think I'd be cool. I think I will have some strips where you'll be able to see inside.

Bob gets a Brain. Project (Brains on Board) begins

Looked at all the options. RobotMaker - the Aspire one d270 series has a hack option of replacing the hard drive with a SSD. The store owner assured me a $69 SSD fits perfectly into replace the HDD if required. Of all the netbooks this model fits the bill,Windows 7, light weight, wifi, blue tooth, mic input jack, speaker out jack, SSD adaptable for the super bargain price $284 Aust. from Office Works (normal retail is at least $349)

The other option was a SSD dedicated netbook and they are few and quites expensive with low memory. So now the new fun begins - can somebody stop that Robot .. Bob come back here now !

:)    

That sounds like a great deal.....

Yes Sam, thanks - it was a real bargain.

Brains on Board Update

Spent about 3 to 4 hours on Bob today. Had to build an entire new body cage to fit the netbook but after much measuring, tin snipping and riveting, he came out really good. He still gets around as fast as ever but he is nearly twice the size he was. The netbook sits with the screen as a torso and the keyboard slopes down as a chest. Got the bluetooth and speech recognition happening and having real fun with a few hundred sound FX.

Back to work next few days but I will be doing some video on the new improved brainy Bob mid week.

:)

Can't wait to see BOB again after he has been renewed. Please post stills also.

thanks,

Mel

No worries MM. a Photo session is on the cards in the next few days -

Bob un- plugged - At the moment he looks more like a notebook holder with arms but he will improve with covers and some visual effects on the monitor.

This robot is constantly morphing! your robot is an example of rapid and continuous.

Fantastic!

Bravo! Way to go there, Hazbot. Looks good.

:D

Wow you got it already.

We got it by chance through a great deal from a store in our area. Once I knew you could fit a ssd I grabbed it. Robotmakers suggestion of running XP is one I'm looking at as an OS instead of Windows 7 but I need more research on that. One thing that concerned me initially with this project is the robot KEEPS GETTING BIGGER. Bob has grown nearly 3 times his original size. This is partly due to the fact that he now accommodates a 10 inch netbook, and an external speaker (with inbuilt amplifier). As far as house-bots go I think he's about where its at for size. He still gets through doors easily. He now reminds me of the Hue, Due and Lewy robots of the classic scifi "Silent Running" except they were bi-peds.

Bob still gets around on those widened tank treads but they are now quite noisy with the extra weight (still powerful). I'm seeing Richie at his workshop next week to come up with a good base tread design. Richie has some new really robust thick and solid treads to experiment with on a base running continuous servo's. One of the design criteria is Plug and play - see how we go.

Bobs put on weight. Bob now weighs in at a hefty 6.1 Kilos. That's 3 times his original weight simply by accommodating a slim netbook on him. The tank tracks still move him around even at that weight but I'm not sure how long they'll last. I'n now running Windows 7 Ultimate and everything flows wonderfully.

UPDATE: SOUND BEAUTIFUL SOUND ! Tried different Mic's and the best one by far is a Guitar Hero mic from Austins Guitar Hero set. It has a cable with a USB that plugs into the netbook and WOW. You can talk to Bob from across the room - it's awesome. I'm trying out commands for Bob to play music tracks of different sorts (depending on my mood - not Bobs). So far I've had absolutely no feedback problems I was expecting. I;m as excited about all this as when we first made him....

Bob is fun companion in the kitchen and seems to be developing his own personality.

Today I moved his arms up to a more respectable level and installed some soundproof sponge around his speaker amp. Today I fully tested the voice recognition by having him play music tracks by voice command, tell jokes and give me weather reports whilst I was washing up. This worked excellent with one strange twist. If I made a clang with a plate or dropped a folk on the tiles - a particular sound fx chirp I gave him would come on and then it would return to the music. It was kind of like Bob was telling me to be careful each time there was a clang. For a bit of fun I set him up with a sponge and T-Towel to pass to me when I asked for them. Now I'm waiting on my timers to have him wake up in the morning, motor from the lounge to the kitchen and give me a bunch of reminders and reports - then track back to the lounge and switch off.

Excellent hazbot, I think we all expect a video soon!

I love it!

Thanks Bret.

The netbook apron on Bob has been major breakthrough in robotics for me. There is no space issue because the 10 inch netbook drapes over the robot like an apron (on the outside) not the inside. The monitor makes a perfect chest to display emotions , radar weather reports, slide show of loved ones. just about anything you can think of.

It's just awesome what can now be done with him with the only added weight of 1.1 kilos. I urge everyone out there to seriously think about it. It's like going from a single engine wind up toy train to a full on scalextric race car set. Mp3 triggers, mini motherboard construction alternatives alternatives to windows 7 are out there but this works and voice command directly to the robot rocks. I havn't even touched on using skype to control him and use the camera on the monitor he now has for a chest. Brains on Board with a netbook works - I've proven it !

My current quest is to have Bob wake up in the morning and motor his way from the lounge room, stop and wait for my voice commands (Bob, give me the weather forcast etc) then have him return to his corner in the lounge room and switch off.

Bret if you have any navigation tips on how to achieve this I would greatly appreciate it. Cheers

Bobs (Brain on Board Netbook - new discovery)

THE FUN GETS BETTER !.

Now I can get inside our Robot ! Using Skype.

I recently discovered Bobs brain (netbook Apron) has an excellent telepresence feature using Skype. The idea is nothing new, it's used in popular mobile Telepresence robots and as a Nanny device for Parents to check on their kids etc.

You simply set up 2 accounts, set the one on the Robot to auto answer, call him from another computer anywhere and then look through the camera on the netbook and talk to people. It's really funny seeing myself or friends talking through Bobs chest (very much like the situations where people were captured inside Robots in the 1960's the TV show "Lost in Space".

I could not believe how clear and powerful the tiny camera is on the netbook. I'm going to get a wide angle lense so when you call into Bob, you can look out with a much wider veiw of wherever he is. One last thing that I'm about to try is using my voice via Skype to steer Bob around - now that's going to be interesting.

A video on all this stuff will be coming in the next few days.

:D

Bob Update.

Since adding Bobs brain (netbook) his potential has grown 1000 times. I've been messing with him as a voice activation Juke box, a Skype Bot and a crazy dancer giving all kinds of information and holding sponges and T-Towels for me when I wash up in the kitchen.

I have some footage but I'm so busy running so many scripts with him that the video has gone on the back foot. Also Richie from Richies RC and Robotics is working on some new tracks for him (he now weighs in at over 6 kilos). I'm also looking at giving him some skin here and there. Bob has consumed me...I've become a slave to the Robot already.....

Sound like you are having fun with the EZB based robot.

Goody for you!

Sweet! Can't wait to see video.

With all this talk on Artificial Intelligence - the question remains - Are Robots capable of Love .. ?

I put the question to Bob..

Nice!

Very nice, I like to share videos, if a picture is worth a 1000 words, a video is worth a lot more. With that configuration of laptop you can remove very fast, also while you use laptop on bob, bob can hold your drink! My three year old daughter laughs laugh listening to bob like a baby! ha ha ha.:D

He's a lot of fun now - visitors to the house get a laugh and you can customize responses for different people.. Cheryl is a neighbor that barracks for an opposition footy team - I'm Harry so he has to love me.. after all - I made him...

Hi all, as part of Bobs evolution, we are in the process of adding Kinect to get Bob to reach our next goal to have him wake up , then navigate and map his way around the house. Whilst we are aiming to reach this goal, we want him to retain his character and not become a boring Eddie. Austin and myself are examining all the options available in Robotics and will keep in touch with EZ-Robot developments that can help us in this area of progress.

Cheers

Wow you have made great progress. Bob is awesome....

OK.. Bob is bigger, better and wakes up and goes to sleep (with or without his Master). see my general discussion discovery about how to Autoconnect without even being at your computer.

SPECIAL THANKS to Richie of Richies RC and Robots he now has fantastic tank treads, see through skin and can carry 2 bottles of wine inside him. Richie added 2 powerfull servo's and a new ingenious tank treads that had Bob powering outside through long grass, over tree branches and down the street.

No more H-Bridge, these turbo-servo puppies pull Bob along like a snowplough pulling a kiddie slay. I'm not sure if he has the treads for general purchase but when he does - you must try them. Come on Richie, get them up on your site, they are great - really !

http://richies-rc.com.au/catalog/

So whats next. When I get time there will be more video and pics of Bob with his new treads. For Christmas he's getting a Kinect so he can navigate around the house and he most probably have 3 different boards in him.

Haz-bot, my Friend!

What did you say was the model and make of your servo you are using for wheels?

Also, you made a comment about BOB doing something that he was not programmed to do. When ever that happens, we call it Emergent Behavior. You tell the robot to do two or three things and he starts doing stuff on his own that you did not tell him to do. I have experienced this on some of my robots. It is really neat and a little creepy sometimes. Sometimes, Marty will just start laughing or simply tell me "Hello, Sweetie." Also, this adds personality to the bot.

One of my robots out of nowhere said he was looking for a man named "somebody", I forget. But, that was NOT in his programming at all. I looked through all of the code, and it was not there.

Hi MM,

Typically me, I'm not sure what make and model of the servos but I'm sure the engineer of the system, my friend Richie of Richies RC & Robotics will give you the specs if you contact him at his web site.

http://richies-rc.com.au

On the subject of Robots doing stuff outside what we program or expect them to do - yes,it happens and this is a big fun part for me. There is no doubt when you combine speech recognition with actions, our robots seem to do weird and unexpected things. I remember PC computer chess programs in the 90's that seemed to make illegal moves to win games. Whilst we are on the subject, I'll let you in on a great discovery I made in my quest for total Robot automation. It happened while I was trying to figure the script to have Bob auto connect with the board. DJ helped solve it but in trying to do it in a unique and different way I discovered Windows has a program in System tools called Task Scheduler. You can use it to WAKE UP your PC from Hibernation or Sleep mode. Then I discovered a program called Mouse and Keyboard recorder. This program has a schedule feature that can replay as many mouse clicks as you like at a specific time. So I started thinking... Ok, I get the digital timer to switch Bob on at a specific time.. He lights up at say 9:00 am. His board is flashing but he needs a computer so using Task Scheduler, his apron netbook comes on at say, 9:05. Then at 9:10 am, Mouse recorder comes on giving Bob commands - the curser starts moving around as if Bob is doing it himself. It's Awesome to watch Bob come alive in these 3 steps and have him complete tasks as if he is doing it himself. Then you can schedule everything to shut down. You need digital timers and Windows 7 or similar to do it but I urge everyone to try it.

Cheers

Hazbot

Bob wakes up now automatically and makes his way through the dim light of the lounge room (completely blind). In case you didn't see it, there is a ghostly cursor moving around with keystrokes running the ez/builder. He is actually being directed from a previous recording of me steering him to the kitchen.

Instead of running purely from scripts and code, this way of operating Bob gives him a human element and looks kind of cool. Full credit to Richie for providing tracks that keep Bob moving with very little margin for error. I've programmed the timer for Bob to meet me in the Kitchen and play music on my work days. It's a fun start to the day,

That is really cool. I have been following this project from the beginning and he has come so far. I am very impressed with your work.

I am glad he missed the stairs. He would've turned into a very different guy.

good work!

Bob looks awesome.... He has really evolved. :o)

Thanks for all the positive comments.

I think the biggest breakthroughs have been the onboard netbook and the Mouse Cursor/Key stroke Automator. Whilst I have the upmost respect for all of you out there punching away code, I'm basically lazy, time poor and always looking for the easy way to do things.

It is my hope that in the near future, instead of bashing away at scripts and code, that there will be a series of buttons on your laptop or mobile phone and your only task will be to click away your instructions to get your housebot to do the things it needs to do. Of course at the cutting edge, there will always be some form of code entries, a smoking soldering iron, wire cutters, batteries and a clutter of nuts and bolts - That's the real Magic of Building Robots.

Hazbot, I wanted to ask you what was the model number of your tracks and where did you buy them. How big are they?

Thanks,

Mel

Ok, I see where you have already mentioned that. sorry :-(

Yesterday, I had to Totally disassemble Marty. (RIP)

I have NEVER been able to get her to avoid objects. It may not be her fault because I live in a very small apartment (you have to back up to turn around). Everything else worked good. I am going to totally rebuild her. Her Hair gets in the way and tangled up in the servos. The arms are not balanced. Plus, I cannot user her as a telepresence unit in her current state. All of the wires are so thin and not very strong. I am going to be putting back twisted wires for less interference. I am going to add a PIR so she can tell me if there are any carbon based units near. I already have a temperature sensor. But, I need to convert it to F. Right now it is just a number between 0 and 2. I purchased a trash can to put her guts in. Hopefully, it will not create a heated situation. I may need to add a fan.

I have been operating her with Team-Viewer so I would not have to type on the notebook.

I have watched closely and have been AMAZED at what you have done with BOB , he is AWSOME!

Sincerely,

Moviemaker (Mel)

:D

I have come to a very clear conclusion. Your son is a GREAT designer and YOU are a wonderful Dad.