----- Original Message -----
From: "Gies Family" <giesfamily@COX-INTERNET.COM>
To: <PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU>
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 10:05 PM
Subject: [PIC]: / [OT]: Direction in my robotics project


> Can anyone point me to some resources, reccomendations, distributors, etc.
> that will be useful when starting up a new PIC-based robotics project?
>
> The focus of this project is practical and cheap terrain handling on an
> autonomous, VERY modular (easy to add extra sensor modules), medium-power
> robot, whose main functions will be to:
> 1. Collect and display information on the surroundings
> 2. Display just about everything the robot thinks on various 7segs and the
> like
> 3. Be able to navigate to a set of infrared waypoints spread through my
> house, possibly with each IR beacon instructing the robot which way to go
to
> reach the next beacon

How about having each IR beacon with an ID freq/pulse?
Bot comes within x distance of B#1, then proceed to B2.
Have the bot translate each beacon's freq/pulses into a set
of directions such as move forward 10, turn 90deg left,
forward 50. If the bot finds Beacon 3 write a routine that
tells it to ignore B3 unless it has come from B2.

> I would like to have a hierarchical computing system in the robot, which I
> have planned out as follows:
> 1. Main processor hands out simple instruction bytes to low-end
> subprocessors (I2C bus? If so, what would you recommend for me to read so
as
> to learn about it?)
> 2. Subprocessors decode instructions and use them to run their subsystems
> (i.e. error code display, motors, memory action log display, etc.)
> 3. (In most cases) Subprocs report back to main processor to confirm that
> the task is done.
>I eventually plan to come up with a universal
> interface (PCI ports are a good example) that will allow me to create new
> daughterboards and swap like mad, but this is not my focus right now.

Is this right;
You have a pre-programmed PIC/microcontroller in each
module.
By plugging a module into any available "port" the main
controller would recognize and utilize it?
The PIC in each module would act on info sent from other
modules through the main controller.

> I eventually plan to come up with a universal
> interface (PCI ports are a good example) that will allow me to create new
> daughterboards and swap like mad, but this is not my focus right now.

Hmm... A couple of the robotics books I have mention
using an old PC motherboard and CPU as a bot's brains.
I'm currently learning how to flash LED's, operate DC motors,
relays and solenoids with my computers parallel port.

As far as recomendation of PIC's just about any. Two mice and
a trackball I gutted used PIC's and I've found a PC IRDA project
using a PIC. You could use the PIC's on your modules to process
info much like the CPU built into network or video cards. They
would be there to do some of the work for the main CPU thus
giving you a faster system.

Benefits of using a PC or Laptop:
Fast cheap CPU's P1's, 386's, 486's, P2's etc.
Industry standard internal ports PCI, ISA
Industry standard external ports parallel, serial, USB, kybd, mouse
Industry Satandard docs and code online for interfacing
Expandable RAM
Hard Drive
Rechargeable power source for laptops
Existing PCI and ISA development boards
USB - 127 possible devices
Built in keyboard, sound and display on laptops

I hope my ideas and questions are not out of line. Please
let me know if they are.

-Frank

--
http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us!
email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body