RC car + picaxe == ??

Almost all hobbyist robotics has that as its only application.  I think
it's best to accept it, or find a more useful hobby (knitting or
furniture-making, perhaps).  But for most of us, how useful the
applications are really isn't important; it's about learning new skills
and building something cool.

Best,
- Joe

That's true.  I shouldn't have used the word 'useful'.  My goal /is/ to
build something cool, regardless of how useful it may or may not be.
I'm just looking for something that hasn't been done quite so many
times.

I was considering having it 'find' something.  Drive around a room
looking for an object (which, for the sake of simplicity, would be
something easily locatable... IR, RF, etc), and stop when it finds it.

Thoughts?
--
Ian Kilgore
echo "pfxz@pfxz.trw" | tr pzfwxt ikagno

Well, one thing I've always wanted (but haven't yet done) is a robot
which can find its own charging station, charge itself up, and then go
back out to roam the world.  This is nontrivial, but could be a goal to
work towards.

Another idea: make it serve drinks at your next party.  I don't recall
whether you said this was a truck, but if it is (or can be hacked into
one), then put a cup holder in the truck bed, with a switch so your bot
can tell whether there is a can of soda/beer there.  Set it down in the
kitchen with a can in its holder, and program it to go wander around the
living room until it detects that the can has disappeared (i.e., one of
your guests has grabbed it).  Then have it scuttle back to the kitchen
and wait for a reload.  (You might have to pay your pre-teen to be the
can reloader.)

This isn't trivial either, requiring some navigation, but it's not
ridiculous either.  Again, maybe a goal to shoot for.

HTH,
- Joe

That's a rather cool idea.  Of course, I'd have to build a charging
station and such, but that could be fun.


Yep, it's a truck.  Although the can reloader could be a hurdle, as I
don't have any spare pre-teens (they're all at work in the coal mines).

In all seriousness, these are both excellent ideas.  I'll spend some
time pondering them.  Thanks Joe :)


--
Ian Kilgore
echo "pfxz@pfxz.trw" | tr pzfwxt ikagno

engfeh, sorry for the dual replyage, but I just had a thought:  Those
two ideas fit with each other perfectly.  That is, building a robot that
serves a drink, and then goes back to its charger, where it recieves
another drink, and wanders back out.

Of course, this would be even less trivial (more nontrivial?)[1], but it
also sounds like fun :)


[1] Grammer nazis fear my deadly gaze.
--
Ian Kilgore
echo "pfxz@pfxz.trw" | tr pzfwxt ikagno

Remote control cars are not as easy to turn into robotics platforms as
R/C vehicles that have differential steering, that is, one motor on each
side. The big problem with the really low-cost cars is that the steering
is not proportional. It pulls in one direction or the other, with a
spring-loaded center. Accurate proportional steering is not easy, and
most R/C cars don't do well here.

Take a look at some of the "hackable" R/C bases I've found and that I
offer on my site -- you might be able to find something similar where
you are:

http://www.budgetrobotics.com/shop/?shop=1&cat 2&

What to look for:

1. Dual motors, rather than steering, unless the car is high-end with a
high-resolution proportional steering mechanism.
2. Either the ability to take the motors and wheels out of the chassis
(rare, because of the construction of most of these toys ), or easy
removal of the body parts to use the chassis with your own added-decks.
3. Has a low-enough gear ratio that the control electronics you provide
can keep up with it.

By comparison, the little Mini-knockoff
(http://www.budgetrobotics.com/shop/?shop=1&cat 6) is fun as a remote
control car, but would make for a poor robot base. It's too fast,
doesn't have proportional control, and if you take it apart everything
inside just spring out at you!

-- Gordon