April 2021 Top 10 most read post on Robots and Physical Computing blog

• Most read posts on the Robots and Physical computing Blog

  Popular posts from this blog Make yourself a virtual gallery -  March 06, 2021 This short post builds on the previous posts (below), unless ...
• 

  Eggbot 2- the drawing crumble junkbot.

  figure 1 An earlier post    https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2021/04/junkbots-2-eggbot2.html  discussed the start of the deve...
• 

  Speech Recognition in Scratch 3 - turning Hello into Bonjour!

  The Raspberry Pi Foundation recently released a programming activity Alien Language , with support Dale from Machine Learning for Kids , tha...
• 

  Junkbots 2 - eggbot2

  A new iteration of the junkbots project or more accurately the Crumble-based eggbot sub-project ( https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspo...
• 

  WebVR 3 Playtime: Augmented Reality

  I am going to try to persuade you that using A-Frame it is not hard to do some simple Augmented Reality (AR) for free, via a browser, but th...
• 

  Scratch Robot Arm

  It is not physical but CBiS Education have release a free robot arm simulator for Scratch.  Downloadable from their site  http://w...
• 

  PS3 Controller to move a USB Robot Arm

  Guest Blogger Hiren Mistry, Nuffield Research Placement Student working at the University of Northampton. How to use a PS3 Controller to...
• 

  Tinkercad and Microbit: To make a neuron

  The free online CAD (and so much more) package Tinkercad  https://www.tinkercad.com/ under circuits; now has microbits as part of the list ...
• 

  Micro:bit, Servo control with Micropython or blocks

  You can control servos (small ones) from a Micro:Bit directly. Following a link from the David Whale (Twitter  @ whaleygeek ) , thank you, t...
• 

  Speech with EduBlocks on BBC microbit

  The microbit is a great piece of kit, not least of which because of the range of programming languages and tools that can be used with it - ...

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with. Twitter @scottturneruon

Eggbot 2- the drawing crumble junkbot.

figure 1

An earlier post   https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2021/04/junkbots-2-eggbot2.html discussed the start of the development of a two motored Crumble (from Redfern Electronics) based 'junk-bot'; based around controlling vibrating motors  (https://amzn.to/3mtxEy9) to move the bot.

This post focuses on addressing some of the issues raised in the earlier post. The motors are now glued, via a glue gun, onto the plastic egg (figure 2) and four felt-tip pens are also glued on (see figure 1 above) so there is a firm connection to the egg. Setting the pens in the right positions is the trickest part of the process and you are probably best to experiment with tape / sticky tack before finally gluing them in place.

figure 2

figure 3

I like the Crumble for this task because it is designed to control two motors using a simple graphical programming language, without any extra hardware.

figure 4

The program shown in figure 4 is trying out a lot of the possible combinations of direction for the motors. When the program is run it moves in (and draws squiggly lines) mostly, in arcs. There is still some work to be done on controlling it. It is sensitive to wires being touched, perhaps thinner wires connect the Crumble (figure 3) and the motors? The motors are perhaps not strong enough - though it does move, so perhaps stronger motors, upping the percentage power to the motors or upping the voltage (currently 4.5 to 6v and still within the capacities of the motors)?

It is good fun; there is a lot that can be experimented with,  placement and direction of the motors just being one area.

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with. Twitter @scottturneruon

Junkbots 2 - eggbot2

A new iteration of the junkbots project or more accurately the Crumble-based eggbot sub-project (https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2017/10/crumble-based-junk-eggbot.html) is underway. 

Previously it has been built around a single vibrating motor, 'controlled' in the loose sense by a Crumble Controller. (https://amzn.to/3dNl09e).The new development is to use smaller vibrating motors but two of them, controlled by the Crumble. This post looks at the early stage of the development and suggests where to go next. 

Currently, two vibrating motors (https://amzn.to/3mtxEy9) have been attached horizontally to half a plastic egg (figure 1), the kind you can find in dispensing machine with plastic toys, but Kinder Egg ones can also be used. A Crumble is used to control the motors separately (figure 2) by changing the motor's direction. Health warning: It is never going to accurate control but that is part of the charm.

Figure 1

Figure 2

The Crumble code (https://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble-software/) used to test the system is shown below.

It moves and changing the direction of the motors does seem to have an effect.

What needs to be done?

• There is a need for the motors more securely and the same with the wires to the motors. At the moment the motors falling off and wires disconnecting are the biggest problems. 
• Trying out the new model with pens to get it to draw is part of the next iteration. 
• Investigating the effect of directions and speed of the motors also needs to be investigated.

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with. Twitter @scottturneruon

Most read posts on the Robots and Physical computing Blog - March 2021

Popular posts from this blog

Make yourself a virtual gallery

- March 06, 2021

This short post builds on the previous posts (below), unless you have used A-Frame before please have a look at these: WebVR playtime 1: Basics of setting up, images and rotating blocks. WebVR playtime 2: video, 360 video and objects Using Glitch  ( https://glitch.com/ ) as a web development and hosting tool. We are going to create the start of a virtual Gallery, essentially 4 rectangles that images can be posted on, a cylinder that also images can be wrapped around and the floor and the sky. To do it following is posted into the index.hml <html>  <head>     <script src="https://aframe.io/releases/1.2.0/aframe.min.js">   </script>  </head>  <body>      <a-scene>          <a-box position="-1 2 -1"  rotation="0 -30 0" color="white" depth="2"  height="4" width="0.5"  src="https://cdn.glitch.com/febf6408-3c33-4608-ac90-b087753e5792%2Fpanic.png?v=1573395380360"><

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Initial experiments with Code Bug Connect

- March 14, 2021

Code Bug has been around for a while, and it is incredibly cute, When it first came, it was a very interesting piece of kit - and it is still is and fun to play with. It spec means it is still a very useful piece of kit. 5x5 Red LED display 2 buttons 6 touch sensitive I/O pads (4 input/output, power and ground) Micro USB socket CR2032 battery holder Expansion port for I2C, SPI and UART Blockly-based online programming interface CodeBug emulator for checking code before downloading In 2020 Code Bug launched and successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign ( https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/codebug/codebug-connect-cute-colourful-and-programmable-iot-wearable ) for a new version the Code Bug - CodeBug Connect with a serious upgrade.(and the name Connect is highly appropriate with USB tethering and Wifi capability in this version. The technical specification (taken from their site https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/codebug/codebug-connect-cute-colourful-and-programmable-iot-wearable

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Build yourself a Planet - Web VR

- February 26, 2021

Using Mozzila's brilliant AFrame, a web-based Virtual Reality model of a planet with rings and include a moon with an image on it. Step 1. Basic Planet The first step is to set a new site in  Glitch.com  and then add a white sphere on a black background. <html>   <head>     <script src="https://aframe.io/releases/0.9.2/aframe.min.js"></script>   </head>   <body>     <a-scene>      <a-sphere position="0 1.25 -5" radius="3" color="white" >       </a-sphere>          <a-sky color="black"></a-sky>     </a-scene>   </body> </html>     Using the Aframe 'tags' to create a white sphere and to create a black background Step 2: Rotate the planet and add some colour Now we can add a surface to the planet by finding an appropriate image to wrap around the sphere. in this example, I used the site Solar Systems Scop

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Speech Recognition in Scratch 3 - turning Hello into Bonjour!

- July 18, 2020

The Raspberry Pi Foundation recently released a programming activity Alien Language , with support Dale from Machine Learning for Kids , that is a brilliant use of Scratch 3 - Speech Recognition to control a sprite in an alien language. Do the activity, and it is very much worth doing, and it will make sense! I  would also recommend going to the  machinelearningforkids.co.uk   site anyway it is full of exciting things to do (for example loads of activities  https://machinelearningforkids.co.uk/#!/worksheets  ) . Scratch 3 has lots of extensions that are accessible through the Extension button in the Scratch 3 editor (see below) which add new fun new blocks to play with. The critical thing for this post is  Machine Learning for Kids  have created a Scratch 3 template with their own extensions for Scratch 3 within it  https://machinelearningforkids.co.uk/scratch3/ . One of which is a Speech to Text extension (see below). You must use this one not the standard Scratch 3. My idea is to c

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How to do it yourself: Microbit Junkbot

- September 11, 2016

What is a Junkbot? For this project, it is a moving ‘bot’ made from waste materials, combined with an electric motor and a programmable device (in this case a Micro:Bit) to control (or try) it. An example is shown below. More details on junkbots can be found at  http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/ Stage 1 - The start of a Junkbot This stage is relatively simple. Tape some pens or straws to a drinks can. Stage 2 - Physical arrangement of Microbit and motor control board The control part is this via a Micro:bit ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4hVG2Br1W1LKCmw8nSm9WnQ/the-bbc-micro-bit) . Kitronik produce a motor driver board, and provide quite a bit of support for it, for the Micro:Bit (the latest version of the board can be found at  https://www.kitronik.co.uk/5620-motor-driver-board-for-the-bbc-microbit-v2.html  ). A 6v battery pack is connected (see on the left of the image) and wires going to a motor are attached to the first block on the front left (marked a

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Scratch Robot Arm

- July 23, 2015

It is not physical but CBiS Education have release a free robot arm simulator for Scratch.  Downloadable from their site  http://www.cbinfosystems.com/cardboard2code_module2.aspx  - it includes a Scratch project, guidance on Scratch along with an exercises in using the robot arm simulation and an exercise with teacher's guidance. Left my son with it, asked him if he could make it do something if a new sprite is added and the gripper touched it (similar to the exercise in the notes). He went on to produce a sprite that when it is touched by the gripper, went on to change colour a few times. I could see this being potentially used in Coding Clubs within schools. CBiS produce a physical version of this, details are available at   http://www.cbinfosystems.com/cardboard2code_module3.aspx All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with.

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Programming Robots Virtually 3: LEGO EV3

- May 02, 2020

In this series of posts, I am going to look at experimenting with a few  tools that allow robots to be simulated, programmed, these are ideally web-based, free and simple to use. In this post,the focus is on one that has been around for a while Makecode for the  LEGO Mindstorms EV3  robotics kit available at  https://makecode.mindstorms.com/#editor  another example of the flexible MakeCode format. A very useful guide to using this coding tool is available at  https://makecode.com/blog/lego/05-15-2018 This time it does not give you a built robot but a programmable simulation of the Brick, all the sensors and motors; which it automatically connects together depending on the code (see above). I like this idea it means it is flexible, as well as encouraging thinking about the design and operations of the programs before trying it out physically. So to experiment with it.  I played with a number of elements: When touch sensor is pressed (looks like a box with a cross on it) driv

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How to produce a Microbit neural network

- April 03, 2018

This is really part two of a set of post  in response to a question from Carl Simmons ( @Activ8Thinking ) concerning building a   micro:bit  simple neuron.  In the previous post a single neuron was produced. This post looks at producing a network of neurons, ie. neural network; looking to solve the problem that a single neuron can't solve, making an Exclusive OR gate (XOR) 1. Quick Overview 1.1 The neuron itself Inputs are going to be binary Weighted sum is bias+W1*input1+w2*input2 If weighted sum>=0 then the output is True (T on the LEDs) or '1' If weighted sum<0 then the output is False (F on the LEDs) or '0' 1.2 The XOR Essentially for the two input case if the two inputs are different then the output is True. The figure below shows the arrangement of the connections; pin 2 is the output of the neurons. The two micro:bits/neurons on the left of the picture taking in the two inputs, the same inputs go to these two neurons; the output from th

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Crumble based Junk-Eggbot

- October 30, 2017

Full details at http://bit.ly/2yZ3dZT There was three inspirations for this project ·       Eggbot - http://www.instructables.com/id/Plastic-Egg-Bot/?utm_content=buffer9b065&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer ·   Femi Owolade supported by Nic Hughes ran a session at Mozilla Festival 2016 using the Crumble’s to make a wheeled robot. ·   The junkbot project https://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/ Kit ·       Kinder Egg (without the Chocolate and toy) ·       Crumble ·       4x Crocodile clips and leads ·       Battery pack and 3xAA ·       Vibrating motor ·       Tape (lots of) . Sticky-tack of some form. ·       Pens ·       Paper ·       Scissors ·       Glue and Gluegun (optional) Stage 1: Fix the vibrating motor into the Egg. Stick (sticky-tack is a good temporary method) the vibrating motor into the Egg with the motor electrical connections sticking out the bottom l

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Escape the Maze with a VR robot - Vex VR

- February 21, 2021

You don't need to buy a robot to get programming a robot, now there are a range of free and relatively simple to start with robot simulators to play with. Three examples are listed below: - Make code for Lego EV3  https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/05/programming-robots-virtually-3-lego-ev3.html   - i Robot simulator  https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/04/programming-robots-virtually-2-irobot.html - Vex robotics Vexcode VR   https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/04/programming-robots-virtually-1-vexcode.html   It is the last one of these ( https://www.vexrobotics.com/vexcode-vr ) that is the focus of this post and return to hit, after an earlier discussion in  https://robotsandphysicalcomputing.blogspot.com/2020/04/programming-robots-virtually-1-vexcode.html   .  Two of the nice things about the package, apart from being free, are it uses a Scratch-like programming language and it provides a 3D environment and models - playgrounds

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All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with. Twitter @scottturneruon