Niek's Omnibot Adventure

Niek

Netherlands
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I loved the idea about modding my own omnibot so i found one on ebay and bought it :P

My initial plan is pretty basic, just put in some servo's for the head and arms, i have an H-bridge for the movement and put in a camera.

I bought it for about $51 and $64 shipping, but I ended up paying an extra $45 on import duties (which I think is ridiculous because it's not even sold anymore) I just got the box with my omnibot (it was shipped inside a burger king box ):

Look at all those stamps! User-inserted image

thank you! User-inserted image

Here comes the head User-inserted image

What a beautiful baby.. User-inserted image

Fortunately, he wasn't that discoloured from the sun so I just washed him and didn't have to repaint.

Here's the entire collection of video's. Please excuse my poor English, I wasn't doing bilingual education back when I shot these:

I'm currently working on renovating him. He was very poorly glued together and his arms snapped off. I'm planning to release a final video before my visit to EZ-Robot in July.

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#1  

Lyron are you the kid in your profile picture?

Netherlands
#4  

Editing a video right now....

#5  

I figured out that the inside.of the.door.itself is a great place for the.ezb and motor controller with easy access:) also the torso easily holds large 6v or.12v batteries for long autonomous runtimes. User-inserted image

User-inserted image

Mounting on or by the door may be ideal for you , easy access with one screw so your not taking the whole bot apart all the time.

Netherlands
#6  

good tip! i will definately do that if everything fits!

I'm thinking of putting a netbook on the front panel that will control the EZ-B.

Netherlands
#7  

So i've made a video about my current progress, i hope you can understand what i'm saying:

I've now fully taken him apart and cleaned him, now i'm waiting for parts to put inside :D

Netherlands
#9  

Thanks! Appreciate it :D

Spain
#10  

good job!, do not give up when you find a problem, sure here you will not lack support. :)

PRO
Synthiam
#11  

Dude you sure have a great work space! Very organized. I can understand you just fine :)

Excited to see your progress. The videos are a great idea. Very friendly and informative. Keep'm coming!

PS, how old are you? I think you might be one of the youngest robot builders i've ever met!

Netherlands
#12  

Thanks, it really means a lot hearing that from you,

I'm 13 years old (14 next month) so i'm hoping to finish my omnibot so he can serve drinks at my birthday:D I ordered some 20kg/cm servo's for in the arms.

As for my workspace, It was really messy before so i decided to buy lots of little drawers and i organized and labeled everything.

#13  

Great vid.....those screws on your omni looked like they were in there pretty tight......Very well done!

Netherlands
#14  

Thanks,

The screws were REALLY tight, took me almost 20 minutes for 6 screws blush

#15  

"Dude you sure have a great work space! Very organized." DJ, you took the words right outta my mouth! lol Great Vid Lyron! Good luck with your Omni Build!!!

Netherlands
#16  

Just bought an eee-pc i'm going to put inside omni,

Now i can also use a better quality camera since it doesn't have to be wireless anymore:) I could also use a usb->ttl converter in stead of bluetooth :D

#17  

Don't try to go.too high on the camera. Get you a Logitech with 2mp resolution or lower. 640 x 480 works well. Ezb software doesn't support hd cameras yet.

#18  

@NIEK i also found a schematic for ominbot by tomy and robie sr this site has some manuals on alot of robots,plus some schematics and lots of great info and links

omnibot by tomy schematic

Netherlands
#19  

@robotmaker

I just looked on ebay but that's $200+ w/o RAM and hard drive while i only payed $100 for the eee pc second hand..

#20  

@niek i got mine on ebay $125 and other one for $85 both had hard drives one thing about the eee pc ,it draws about 3 times as much current much more heavy ,so will need a bigger battery and larger batteries to handle the load,i have asus netbook eee model and found all this out $200 one you found might be new,since thats near the price of one

Netherlands
#21  

@robotmaker Could you please look one up on ebay for me then? I didn't already buy the eee pc so there might still be hope

#22  

so far none used on ebay,they sell quick

#23  

Great video. i wish you a lot of luck with your BOT.

#25  

anyone looking for 6 volt battery for omnibot ,ebay i see has it for about $55 they are crazy found a few places for under $10 1 year guarantee $6.80 part # UB645

LOW COST UB645 BATTERY

#26  

@niek and others i designed h-bridge design and pcb boards all info in zip file,made this design awhile back and sold many boards if anyone needs to buy the boards let me know,more that buy the boards the lower the cost to have it made ,boards are in 2 parts ,main reason is that the board is universal logic circuit on one board and pwm h-bridge on another rated at 60 amp cont,but you can easy remove mosfets to save money,remove 4 of the 8 mosfets give you 30 amps i dont get money from this and dont need it HBRIDGE.zip files in bmp and sch

Netherlands
#27  

okay,

My birthday was last sunday so i finished it up in the weekend, my family was really impressed, it even served drinks from my homemade tray!

[img]User-inserted image[/img]

So i'm still in the process of making videos, here is how i did the drive mechanism:

#28  

@niek happy birthday,right now i am still in china for a few more days ,1am here it looks good,i bought 2 of that omnibot and omnibot 2000 i getting from jstarne (josh) i got a lot of plans for mine adding my LEAF project inside it,plus changing his hands ,plus alot more i see the little guy likes his IPOD

Netherlands
#29  

@robotmaker

Thanks!

#31  

i travel alot been all over the world,mostly need to get to netherlands my next big trip is in aug to ALASKA,small trip to tampa fla and clearwater to see winter the dolphin very big in animals,like zoo's plus mountain climbing,tampa going sky diving lessons

Netherlands
#32  

@robotmaker

If you ever get to the netherlands, be sure to visit me!

#33  

Clean looking omnibot! Did you use the origional sound effects that you had posted earlier?

That USB adapter is exactly what Im looking for with my next project! do you remember where you got it?

Netherlands
#34  

Thanks!

Yes, i used the sounds i posted earlier.

I got the USB FTDI Cable from SparkFun for about $14

#35  

Really nice job my little friend. Great looking omnibot! Of course I would expect great work from you! You are going to have a great future! Your friend, Lloyd

#36  

here is FTDI cable usb-ttl with case,makes it easy to hook up just wire 3 wire cable with 3 pin post for $6.99 free shipping from canada,dont have too have a bare board on top of cpu usb-ttl with case

#37  

the cpu board i told you about went $60 on ebay complete with memory and hard drive i did post about it a few days ago for you ,but i guess you missed it

Netherlands
#38  

Rendering part 3..

Netherlands
#39  

Here's part 3:

#40  

Niek,

Ultra Cool!!! I think I see a Budding D.J. the Second! :D

#41  

@Niek - I am more impressed you with your work with every update. Fantastic!!!

Netherlands
#42  

Thank you :D

PRO
Synthiam
#43  

That's my favorite video yet! Really good job on that one :)

Netherlands
#44  

Thanks :)

Netherlands
#45  

Oh and @DJ, could you change the title to Niek's omnibot adventure please? :D

United Kingdom
#46  

Good work. I really enjoyed watching that latest video. Should be a super little robot, when finished.

#47  

Very nice job! I'm as proud of you as if you are my own grandson!!!!!!!! You have a very good command of english. What camera did you use? Lloyd

#48  

what camera did you use EZ ROBOT bluetooth or usb,and are you going to use a ITX board great job looks good

#49  

Niek... awesome job and only 14 very impressive.

Thinking of a field in robotics?

I think we will see great things from you.

Samantha

#50  

I would be proud of him if he was my son,good to see some schools getting young kids in to working and building robots,this is now the robotic age,even my neice like robots too

also forgot what is the make of the display,i heard something about sparkfun in video

#51  

What are you using to edit with? Camera make, Hardware, software?

just curious. It makes a really good video.

Netherlands
#52  

Thank you all! :D

@MovieMaker What i'm using to film it is a Flip MinoHD to film it. I edit all of the video's on my main laptop, which has an i7, Geforce GT540M and SSD. I edit it using Cyberlink Powerdirector.

@robotmaker I recently got a mini-ITX for free from one of my dad's colleagues, but the specs are lower than the netbook i'm currently using.

The LCD is a SparkFun LCD with serial backpack. I've replaced the EZ-B's bluetooth module with a Sparkfun USB->Serial adapter. I order a lot of stuff from Sparkfun because shipping to the Netherlands is really cheap compared to radioshack, mouser, digikey etcetera.

#53  

did you get the 1.2 GHZ OR THE 1 GHZ both work great with EZB and ARC plus WINDOWS XP PRO thats about the same video setup i have only using a better board and the lastest I7 core ,board takes 2 I7 core processor,

Netherlands
#54  

I'm sorry, i can't follow you. Could you please use punctuation?

#55  

what ITX BOARD did get was it 1ghz processor or 1.2 ghz processor and what windows software are you using

#56  

He asked if the mini-itx you have is a 1Ghz or 1.2Ghz. Then he said Windows XP Pro and ARC work great on them. Then he commented that his video recording and editing setup is similar to yours, except his computer takes 2 of the latest I7 core processors.

#57  

thanks ndavid just right having a hard time using the computer with my arm and elbow hurting from my fall i had

Netherlands
#58  

Aha.

I don't know the specific brand of the mini-itx, think it's a VIA Epia from '06. Clock speed is i think only half a Gigahertz

The Netbook my robot has on its back is a asus eee pc 4g surf. It runs XP really well from its 4gb SSD chip.I've also modified it to have a touchscreen.

#59  

thats pretty slow,i think i know the model of it ,BEST mini ITX is the PX10000G or PX11000G 4" by 3" size up to 1.1 ghz plus under 12 watt of power perfect for small robots

Netherlands
#60  

@robotmaker

I think i'm just going to keep the EEE pc on him for now. I don't really have money for a mini ITX + LCD right now.

#61  

@NIEK if i found another good deal will let you know,last 2 on ebay i bought was one at $54 and one at $79 complete with hard drive,i did find a much better and about the same size at 2ghz and 2 gig ram with WIFI AND MORE AT $450 getting 2 so far

BUT really good job on your first robot design,i have a great neice age 10 thats trying to learn and help me

#62  

Hi Niek, Nice job on the robot and the video. I think we all well be reading about you some day. keep up the good work.

@Robotmaker, I am still looking for a min itx board for my Leaf project. Can you let me know also if you find a good deal on one.

Thanks :P

#63  

@bc what size board will fit inside your robot 7" by 7" or pico size 3 1/2 by 4 for leaf you need about 2 ghz 1.1ghz may work,i have one but havent tested it yet and are you using the animated face,that uses a lot of memory resources and speed,plus need to use windows xp pro

#64  

I am using windows xp pro. No animated face, I am going to build a face for it. 7" by 7" or pico size will work. I am also trying to get a chatbot working with it. His name is ZORK.

robotmaker thanks for any help you can give me.

BC

Netherlands
#65  

So we were exposing our stuff with my hackerspace last saturday. Omnibot was the center of attention.

Here is a video of him bringing money to the barrel organ:

#66  

Niek he is really awesome. Very impressived. Internet high five!

Netherlands
#67  

High fives back

Thank you :D

Netherlands
#68  

I also have some footage of him just standing there, i think i'm going to post that

#69  

I watched your videos then I bought an omnibot 5402! Great inspiration!

#70  

@Neik I wanted to see how your robot is going? Everything up till now has been awesome. I would live to see him running about your house. Seriously The fact you manage to do these things so well at your age means you really have potential in electronic engineering , mechanical engineering or other hands on profession. I really believe you would succeed. College should be in your future my friend - Josh S

#71  

I think NEIK will do great in college,like i did I started young at electronics and became real good Also a degree in robotics is a good course to go i wasoffer a job at a robotics company ,but too far away in (california) so might be another idea to see if your colleges in your area has that type of course

Netherlands
#72  

Hi @jstarne1 For the last year, he's been standing in a clauset with a broken shoulder. I couldn't figure out any good mounting options so I had glued it on and well, it broke. Any good mounting tips?

As soon as I finish high school, I'm planning to go to a technical university. I'm thinking about one in Delft or Eindhoven but I could also go study in a foreign country.

-Niek

#73  

Hi Mike can you post pics of how he is broken? I'm happy to help you get the little guy going. Ever thought about making him an air soft robot. It adds fun and is a great was to replace a broken arm too. :)

Netherlands
#74  

The problem started when I accidentally cut the elbow off too short. I hot-glued some washers in place to compensate for the shortage. Here are some pictures: click click

And this is where he's been standing for the last year: click

Any help would be really appreciated :D

#75  

Niek, You did an awesome job on that robot! It's a shame to see it out of commission. I am kind of bumbling along trying to program my robot. I wish I had your talent, but the fabrication and building part is what I am good at. I would like to offer a suggestion. Hot glue is great for a lot of things, but it is not strong enough for what you are trying to do there. I would pull the metal washers off and scrape out all of the hot glue. Then get yourself some nylon washers the same diameter of the part that you are trying to extend, and glue them on one at a time with "Super Glue" or something like that. Epoxy resins are good for that sort of thing too. Just don't glue your fingers to it.

Just another thought.

You could wrap a piece of cardboard (or even a playing card) around the piece that you cut too short, having it stick out to the length that you need. Stick a rubber band around it and fill the extra space with epoxy. Peel the card out when it dries.

There is always a way to fix things if you put your mind to it.

#76  

Niek,

Wonderful job on the robot. That was how I was with computers back in 1964, a long time ago in another ...

Keep up the great work, learn all you can from DJ and others.

As I tell my kids, look at something from a 10,000 foot view, step back.

Danger! read your post of the 17th, thanks for the info.

DJ maybe we could have a new post area called tips and hints plus Rich's post too.

:):):) :)

J

#77  

Good Job, Niek!

I was wondering how you attach your Asus. Is it with Velcro?

Netherlands
#78  

@MovieMaker

Yes, I used the ultra-strong velcro that can hold up to 10kg.

#79  

Thanks for the reply. Keep up the good work, Buddy.

;)

Belgium
#80  

Fantastisch ! Je hebt het echt in je vingers ! Proficiat en doe zo verder.