Who would not like to have a universal assistant ready to carry out any task: wash the dishes, buy food, change the wheel in the car, and even take the children to the garden, and the parents to work? The idea of creating mechanized assistants has occupied engineering minds since ancient times. And Karel Capek even came up with a word for a mechanical servant - a robot that performs duties instead of a person.
Fortunately, in the current digital age, such assistants are sure to become a reality soon. In fact, intelligent mechanisms already help a person with household chores: a robot vacuum cleaner will clean up while the owners are at work, a slow cooker will help cook food, no worse than a self-collecting tablecloth, and a playful Aibo puppy will happily bring slippers or a ball. Complex robots are used in manufacturing, medicine and space. They allow you to partially, or even completely, replace human labor in difficult or dangerous conditions. At the same time, androids try to look like people outwardly, while industrial robots are usually created for economic and technological reasons, and their external decor is by no means a priority.
But it turns out that you can try to make a robot using improvised means. So, you can design an original mechanism from a telephone receiver, a computer mouse, a toothbrush, an old camera or an ubiquitous plastic bottle. By placing several sensors on the platform, such a robot can be programmed to perform simple operations: adjusting the light, giving signals, moving around the room. Of course, this is far from a multifunctional assistant from science fiction films, but such an activity develops ingenuity and creative engineering thinking, and unconditionally arouses admiration among those who consider robotics to be absolutely not handicraft.
Cyborg out of the box
One of the easiest ways to make a robot is to purchase a ready-made robotics kit with a step-by-step guide. This option is also suitable for those who are going to seriously engage in technical creativity, because one package contains all the necessary parts for mechanics: from electronic boards and specialized sensors, to a stock of bolts and stickers. Along with instructions that allow you to create a rather complex mechanism. Thanks to the many accessories, such a robot can serve as an excellent base for creativity.
Basic school knowledge in physics and skills from labor lessons are enough to assemble the first robot. A variety of sensors and motors obey control panels, and special programming environments allow you to create real cyborgs that can execute commands.
For example, the sensor of a mechanical robot can detect the presence or absence of a surface in front of the device, and the program code can indicate in which direction the wheelbase should be turned. This robot will never fall off the table! By the way, real robotic vacuum cleaners work on a similar principle. In addition to cleaning according to a set schedule and the ability to return to the base for recharging on time, this intelligent assistant can independently build cleaning trajectories. Since the floor can contain a variety of obstacles, such as chairs and wires, the robot must constantly scan the path ahead and avoid such obstacles.
In order for a self-created robot to be able to execute various commands, manufacturers provide for the possibility of programming it. Having compiled an algorithm for the behavior of the robot in various conditions, it is necessary to create a code for the interaction of sensors with the outside world. This is possible due to the presence of a microcomputer, which is the brain center of such a mechanical robot.
Mobile mechanism of own production
Even without specialized, and usually expensive, kits, it is quite possible to make a mechanical manipulator with improvised means. So, having caught fire with the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a robot, you should carefully analyze the stocks of home bins for the presence of unclaimed spare parts that can be used in this creative undertaking. Will go:
- a motor (for example, from an old toy);
- wheels from toy cars;
- designer details;
- carton boxes;
- fountain pen refills;
- adhesive tape of different types;
- glue;
- buttons, beads;
- screws, nuts, paper clips;
- all kinds of wires;
- light bulbs;
- battery (suitable for the motor voltage).
Tip: "It's a good skill when building a robot to be able to handle a soldering iron, because it will help to securely fasten the mechanism, especially electrical components."
With the help of these publicly available components, you can create a real technical miracle.
So, in order to make your own robot from materials available at home, you should:
- prepare the found parts for the mechanism, check their performance;
- draw a layout of the future robot, taking into account the available equipment;
- fold the body for the robot from the designer or cardboard parts;
- glue or solder the parts responsible for the movement of the mechanism (for example, fasten the robot motor to the wheelbase);
- provide power to the motor by connecting it with a conductor to the corresponding contacts of the battery;
- complement the thematic decor of the device.
Tip: “Beady eyes for a robot, decorative wire antenna horns, spring legs, diode bulbs will help to animate even the most boring mechanism. These elements can be attached with glue or tape.
You can make the mechanism of such a robot in a few hours, after which it remains to come up with a name for the robot and present it to admiring viewers. Surely some of them will pick up an innovative idea and be able to make their own mechanical characters.
Famous smart machines
The cute robot Wall-E wins over the viewer of the film of the same name, forcing him to empathize with his dramatic adventures, while the Terminator demonstrates the power of a soulless invincible machine. Star Wars characters, faithful droids R2D2 and C3PO, accompany them on their journeys through the galaxy far, far away, and the romantic Werther even sacrifices himself in a fight with space pirates.
Outside of cinema, there are also mechanical robots. So, the world admires the skills of the humanoid robot Asimo, who can walk up the stairs, play football, serve drinks and say hello politely. The Spirit and Curiosity rovers are equipped with autonomous chemical laboratories, which made it possible to analyze samples of Martian soils. Unmanned robotic cars can move without human intervention, even along complex city streets with high risks of unforeseen events.
Perhaps it is from home attempts to create the first intelligent mechanisms that inventions will grow that will change the technical panorama of the future and the life of mankind.
Today we will tell you how to make a robot from improvised means. The resulting “high-tech android”, although it will be small in size and is unlikely to be able to help you with the housework, will certainly amuse both children and adults.
Necessary materials
In order to make a robot, you do not need knowledge of nuclear physics. It is possible to make a robot at home from ordinary materials that are constantly at hand. So what we need:- 2 pieces of wire
- 1 motor
- 1 AA battery
- 3 push pins
- 2 pieces of foam board or similar material
- 2-3 heads of old toothbrushes or a few paperclips
1. Attach the battery to the motor
Using a glue gun, attach a piece of foam board to the motor housing. Then glue the battery to it.
At the very end of the destabilizer, drop a couple of drops of glue, or attach some decorative element - this will add individuality to the robot and increase the range of its movements.
3. Legs
Now you need to equip the robot with lower limbs. If you use toothbrush heads for this, glue them to the bottom of the motor. As a layer, you can use the same foam board.
5. Battery connection
Using a heat gun, glue the wire to one end of the battery. You can choose any of the two wires and either side of the battery - polarity does not matter in this case. If you're good at soldering, you can also use solder instead of glue for this step.
6. Eyes
As the eyes of the robot, a pair of beads is quite suitable, which we attach with hot glue to one of the ends of the battery. At this step, you can show your imagination and come up with the appearance of the eyes at your discretion.To create your own robot, it is not necessary to receive a higher education or read the masses. It is enough to use the step-by-step instructions offered by the masters of robotics on their websites. On the Internet, you can find a lot of useful information on the development of autonomous robotic systems.
10 Resources for Beginning Robotics
The information on the site allows you to independently create a robot with complex behavior. Here you can find sample programs, diagrams, reference materials, ready-made examples, articles and photos.
A separate section is dedicated to beginners on the site. The creators of the resource put a lot of emphasis on microcontrollers, the development of universal boards for robotics and soldering microcircuits. Here you can also find the source codes of programs and many articles with practical advice.
The site has a special course "Step by Step", which describes in detail the process of creating the simplest BEAM robots, as well as automated systems based on AVR microcontrollers.
A site where novice robot creators can find all the necessary theoretical and practical information. It also hosts a large number of useful thematic articles, updates the news and you can ask a question to experienced roboticists on the forum.
This resource is dedicated to a gradual immersion in the world of robot creation. It all starts with the knowledge of Arduino, after which the novice developer is told about AVR microcontrollers and more modern ARM analogues. Detailed descriptions and diagrams explain how and what to do in a very accessible way.
A site about how to make a BEAM robot with your own hands. There is a whole section on the basics, logic diagrams, examples, etc.
This resource very intelligibly describes how to create a robot yourself, where to start, what you need to know, where to look for information and the necessary details. The service also contains a section with a blog, forum and news.
A huge live forum dedicated to the creation of robots. Topics for beginners are open here, interesting projects and ideas are considered, microcontrollers, ready-made modules, electronics and mechanics are described. And most importantly - you can ask any question about robotics and get a detailed answer from professionals.
The amateur robotics resource is dedicated primarily to his own project "Homemade Robot". However, here you can find a lot of useful thematic articles, links to interesting sites, learn about the author's achievements and discuss various design solutions.
The Arduino hardware platform is the most convenient for developing robotic systems. The site information allows you to quickly understand this environment, master the programming language and create several simple projects.
A popular toy - a robot - can not only be bought in a store. It is much more interesting to make it with your own hands, and the amount of materials from which craftsmen make their little friends is limited only by the imagination of the master. You can suggest the main directions for creation. So, a do-it-yourself robot can be made using several techniques.
Crochet
You can crochet a wonderful robot - the Android OS logo, familiar to users of smartphones and tablets. Such a toy can be used as a key chain, a container for small things (beads, buttons, etc.), because it has a plastic container inside from a kinder surprise.
For knitting you will need:
- light green or light green yarn;
- hook number 2.5;
- plastic container from kinder surprise;
- glue and beads for the eyes.
How to make such a toy, you can see in the video tutorial:
We sew from felt
An equally interesting model can be sewn from felt. A master class is offered for beginners in robotics.
Workpiece dimensions:
- torso - 4.5 cm;
- head - 3.5 cm;
- legs - 2 cm;
- hands - 1.5 cm.
Each square is sewn from 6 parts.
The cube is stuffed with filler.
Robot parts can be glued to each other or sewn.
From plywood
A plywood robot is much stronger and more stable than the previous ones. It can perform various functions provided by the design. The appearance of such a robot depends only on your imagination.
A moving robot can pick up and move small objects.
From matchboxes
Matchboxes are pasted over with colored paper (you can use any other material). They are glued to each other with glue or paper clips are used.
You can make from matchboxes and just a robot, and a transformer.
Twisted wire:
Different variants
If you give free rein to your imagination, robots can be made from anything. Excellent models are obtained from plastic bottles and caps from them.
The details of this robot are assembled on a strong wire. Therefore, the robot can move its arms and legs.
You can also make a robot out of a pack of cigarettes.
Edible robots are obtained from mastic. They are bright and beautiful.
It is very easy to make a robot out of boxes. It will make for a great photo shoot.
It is interesting to make a robot from geometric shapes with a child.
You can make a robot completely out of waste material. For example, like this.
Make a robot very simple Let's see what it takes to create a robot at home, in order to understand the basics of robotics.
Surely, after watching movies about robots, you often wanted to build your comrade in arms, but you didn’t know where to start. Of course, you will not be able to build a bipedal terminator, but we do not aim for this. Anyone who knows how to properly hold a soldering iron in their hands can assemble a simple robot and this does not require deep knowledge, although they will not interfere. Amateur robotics is not much different from circuit engineering, only much more interesting, because areas such as mechanics and programming are also affected here. All components are readily available and are not that expensive. So progress does not stand still, and we will use it to our advantage.
Introduction
So. What is a robot? In most cases, this is an automatic device that responds to any environmental actions. Robots can be controlled by a human or perform pre-programmed actions. Typically, the robot has a variety of sensors (distance, rotation angle, acceleration), video cameras, manipulators. The electronic part of the robot consists of a microcontroller (MC) - a microcircuit that contains a processor, a clock generator, various peripherals, RAM and permanent memory. There are a huge number of different microcontrollers in the world for different applications, and powerful robots can be assembled on their basis. For amateur buildings, AVR microcontrollers are widely used. They are by far the most accessible and on the Internet you can find many examples based on these MKs. To work with microcontrollers you need to be able to program in assembler or C and have a basic knowledge of digital and analog electronics. In our project, we will use C. Programming for MK is not much different from programming on a computer, the syntax of the language is the same, most of the functions are practically the same, and the new ones are quite easy to learn and convenient to use.
What do we need
To begin with, our robot will be able to simply go around obstacles, that is, repeat the normal behavior of most animals in nature. Everything we need to build such a robot can be found in radio engineering stores. Let's decide how our robot will move. The most successful, I think, are the tracks that are used in tanks, this is the most convenient solution, because the tracks have a greater cross-country ability than the wheels of the car and it is more convenient to control them (to turn, it is enough to rotate the tracks in different directions). Therefore, you will need any toy tank that has tracks that rotate independently of each other, you can buy one at any toy store for a reasonable price. From this tank, you only need a platform with tracks and motors with gearboxes, you can safely unscrew the rest and throw it away. We also need a microcontroller, my choice fell on the ATmega16 - it has enough ports for connecting sensors and peripherals, and in general it is quite convenient. You will also need to buy some radio components, a soldering iron, a multimeter.
Making a board with MK
In our case, the microcontroller will perform the functions of the brain, but we will not start with it, but with the power supply of the robot's brain. Proper nutrition is the key to health, so we will start with how to properly feed our robot, because beginner robot builders usually make mistakes on this. And in order for our robot to work normally, you need to use a voltage stabilizer. I prefer the L7805 chip - it is designed to output a stable voltage of 5V, which is what our microcontroller needs. But due to the fact that the voltage drop on this chip is about 2.5V, a minimum of 7.5V must be supplied to it. Together with this stabilizer, electrolytic capacitors are used to smooth out voltage ripples and a diode must be included in the circuit to protect against polarity reversal.
Now we can work on our microcontroller. The case of the MK is DIP (it’s more convenient to solder) and has forty pins. On board there is an ADC, PWM, USART and many other things that we will not use for now. Let's look at a few important nodes. The RESET output (the 9th leg of the MK) is pulled up by the resistor R1 to the "plus" of the power source - this must be done! Otherwise, your MK may unintentionally reset or, in other words, fail. It is also desirable, but not mandatory, to connect RESET through ceramic capacitor C1 to ground. In the diagram, you can also see a 1000 uF electrolyte, it saves you from voltage drops when the engines are running, which will also have a positive effect on the operation of the microcontroller. Crystal resonator X1 and capacitors C2, C3 should be placed as close as possible to the XTAL1 and XTAL2 pins.
I won’t talk about how to flash MK, since you can read about it on the Internet. We will write the program in C, I chose CodeVisionAVR as the programming environment. It's quite a handy environment and useful for beginners because it has a built-in code generation wizard.
Motor control
An equally important component in our robot is the motor driver, which makes it easier for us to control it. Never and under no circumstances should motors be connected directly to the MK! In general, powerful loads cannot be controlled directly from the microcontroller, otherwise it will burn out. Use key transistors. For our case, there is a special chip - L293D. In such simple projects, always try to use this particular chip with the “D” index, as it has built-in diodes for overload protection. This chip is very easy to manage and easy to get in radio engineering stores. It is available in two DIP and SOIC packages. We will use in a DIP package because of the ease of mounting on the board. The L293D has separate motor and logic power supplies. Therefore, we will power the microcircuit itself from the stabilizer (VSS input), and the motors directly from batteries (VS input). L293D can withstand a load of 600 mA per channel, and it has two of these channels, that is, two motors can be connected to one microcircuit. But to be on the safe side, we will combine the channels, and then we need one mic for each engine. It follows that the L293D will be able to withstand 1.2 A. To achieve this, you need to combine the legs of the micro, as shown in the diagram. The microcircuit works as follows: when a logical “0” is applied to IN1 and IN2, and a logical unit is applied to IN3 and IN4, the motor rotates in one direction, and if the signals are inverted, a logical zero is applied, then the motor will start to rotate in the opposite direction. Pins EN1 and EN2 are responsible for turning on each channel. We connect them and connect them to the "plus" power supply from the stabilizer. Since the microcircuit heats up during operation, and installing radiators is problematic on this type of case, heat removal is provided by GND legs - it is better to solder them on a wide contact area. That's all you need to know about motor drivers for the first time.
Obstacle sensors
So that our robot can navigate and not crash into everything, we will install two infrared sensors on it. The simplest sensor consists of an IR diode that emits in the infrared spectrum and a phototransistor that will receive a signal from the IR diode. The principle is this: when there is no obstacle in front of the sensor, the IR rays do not fall on the phototransistor and it does not open. If there is an obstacle in front of the sensor, then the rays from it are reflected and fall on the transistor - it opens and current begins to flow. The disadvantage of such sensors is that they can react differently to different surfaces and are not protected from interference - the sensor may accidentally work from extraneous signals from other devices. Signal modulation can protect against interference, but for now we will not bother with this. For starters, that's enough.
Robot firmware
To revive the robot, you need to write firmware for it, that is, a program that would take readings from sensors and control engines. My program is the most simple, it does not contain complex structures and will be understandable to everyone. The next two lines include header files for our microcontroller and commands for generating delays:
#include
#include
The following lines are conditional because the PORTC values depend on how you connected the motor driver to your microcontroller:
PORTC.0 = 1; PORTC.1 = 0; PORTC.2 = 1; PORTC.3 = 0; A value of 0xFF means that the output will be a log. "1", and 0x00 is a log. "0". With the following construction, we check if there is an obstacle in front of the robot and on which side it is: if (!(PINB & (1< If light from an IR diode hits the phototransistor, then a log is set on the leg of the microcontroller. "0" and the robot starts moving back to move away from the obstacle, then turns around so as not to collide with the obstacle again and then goes forward again. Since we have two sensors, we check the presence of an obstacle twice - on the right and on the left, and therefore we can find out which side the obstacle is on. The "delay_ms(1000)" command indicates that one second will elapse before the next command starts executing. I have covered most of the aspects that will help you build your first robot. But the robotics doesn't end there. If you assemble this robot, then you will have a lot of opportunities to expand it. You can improve the algorithm of the robot, such as what to do if the obstacle is not on one side, but right in front of the robot. It also does not hurt to install an encoder - a simple device that will help you accurately position and know the location of your robot in space. For clarity, it is possible to install a color or monochrome display that can show useful information - battery charge level, distance to an obstacle, various debugging information. The improvement of sensors will not interfere - the installation of TSOP (these are IR receivers that perceive a signal of only a certain frequency) instead of conventional phototransistors. In addition to infrared sensors, there are ultrasonic sensors, which are more expensive, and also not without drawbacks, but have recently been gaining popularity among robot builders. In order for the robot to respond to sound, it would be nice to install microphones with an amplifier. But the really interesting thing, I think, is installing the camera and programming machine vision based on it. There is a set of special OpenCV libraries with which you can program face recognition, movements on colored beacons, and a lot of other interesting things. It all depends on your imagination and skills. List of components: ATmega16 in DIP-40 package> L7805 in TO-220 package L293D in DIP-16 package x2 pcs. resistors with a power of 0.25 W with denominations: 10 kOhm x1 pcs., 220 Ohm x4 pcs. ceramic capacitors: 0.1 uF, 1 uF, 22 pF electrolytic capacitors: 1000 uF x 16 V, 220 uF x 16V x2 pcs. diode 1N4001 or 1N4004 16 MHz quartz resonator IR diodes: any in the amount of two pieces will do. phototransistors, also any, but reacting only to the wavelength of IR rays Firmware code: At the moment my robot is almost complete. It has a wireless camera, a distance sensor (both the camera and this sensor are installed on a rotary tower), an obstacle sensor, an encoder, a signal receiver from the remote control and an RS-232 interface for connecting to a computer. It works in two modes: autonomous and manual (receives control signals from the remote control), the camera can also be turned on / off remotely or by the robot itself to save battery power. I am writing a firmware for the protection of the apartment (image transfer to a computer, motion detection, detour of the premises).Conclusion
