JonHylands
09-12-2007, 08:08 AM
So, one of the things I've been working on for a while now is a tracked base for the Bioloid humanoid research robot I built, BrainBot (http://www.bioloid.info/tiki/tiki-index.php?page=BrainEngineering+BrainBot). This replaces the legs, and forms a stable platform on which you can do vision and/or manipulation research, both of which are things the Brain Engineering Lab (the group that is paying the bills) is interested in.
I have a couple videos on my blog (http://www.huv.com/blog/2007/09/tracked-base.html), and here's a picture of the base:
http://www.bioloid.info/BrainBot-TrackedBase-04-small.jpg
The base is a LynxMotion Tri-Track (http://www.lynxmotion.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=109) kit. The track motors are driven through a Dimension Engineering Sabertooth 2x10 (http://www.dimensionengineering.com/Sabertooth2X10.htm) motor driver board. Control is provided over the Bioloid bus using my general I/O module (http://www.huv.com/blog/2007/07/catching-up.html), which allows you to set the speed of each motor through the standard control table interface, like any other bus device.
On top, the pan and tilt mechanism for the body is controlled with a couple AX-12 servos, which are (of course) on the same bus. You basically remove four screws that hold the leg support base to the chest compartment, and unplug the leg bus connection wires, and you can replace the legs with this base. The whole operation would take about ten minutes.
Unfortunately, the only BrainBot prototype in existence right now is at the Brain Engineering Lab in New Hampshire, so I don't have any pictures of it attached to this new base, but I have a CAD model rendering of it on an earlier posting to my blog (http://www.huv.com/blog/2007/08/another-chapter-for-brainbot.html).
- Jon
I have a couple videos on my blog (http://www.huv.com/blog/2007/09/tracked-base.html), and here's a picture of the base:
http://www.bioloid.info/BrainBot-TrackedBase-04-small.jpg
The base is a LynxMotion Tri-Track (http://www.lynxmotion.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=109) kit. The track motors are driven through a Dimension Engineering Sabertooth 2x10 (http://www.dimensionengineering.com/Sabertooth2X10.htm) motor driver board. Control is provided over the Bioloid bus using my general I/O module (http://www.huv.com/blog/2007/07/catching-up.html), which allows you to set the speed of each motor through the standard control table interface, like any other bus device.
On top, the pan and tilt mechanism for the body is controlled with a couple AX-12 servos, which are (of course) on the same bus. You basically remove four screws that hold the leg support base to the chest compartment, and unplug the leg bus connection wires, and you can replace the legs with this base. The whole operation would take about ten minutes.
Unfortunately, the only BrainBot prototype in existence right now is at the Brain Engineering Lab in New Hampshire, so I don't have any pictures of it attached to this new base, but I have a CAD model rendering of it on an earlier posting to my blog (http://www.huv.com/blog/2007/08/another-chapter-for-brainbot.html).
- Jon