TI-H: BEAM bots, Quiz Wiz, and page updates
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TI-H: BEAM bots, Quiz Wiz, and page updates
I've updated my web page to include links to David Knaack's EL page. I've also
officialy quit doing upgrades for now. I've got one or two I've yet to finish
up, and they will get done, so those people don't need to worry.
I'm not going to do the EII for now (It's too much hassle) I may begin later,
but who knows! I'm not going to have time for ANY TI calc stuff. I'll probably
get back into this stuff later on. My new job is the kind where you get over
time nearly every day, and are expected to keep working for it. It's a realy
long houred job, and I'll be busier than heck for the next three months!
I also have to build a high quality robot in a month (4 legged, 10-12 motors,
fully articulated joints (2 axis shoulders, 1 axis elbows, 1 axis hip, 1 axis
knee, maybe a 1 axis ankle, and if I feel good, maybe another axis for the hip.
I've got preliminary pics of it on my page, and the photographs of my WORKING
little 2 motor walker, Walkman Junior.
Also I found that K-Mart (at least mine) still stocks the tiger Quiz wiz,
which I used to make a new case for my TI-85!
I havn't had time for too much on my page, but at least I have David Knaacks'
e-mail and web addresses.
I'm going to use all purchased materials for the Challenger series frame (my
complex bot). I may try to market them later on! They are 100% modular. You
get a basic frame with motors and cables and springs (All the cables run
through springs to give it a little bit of stretch, like tendons and muscles.
The frame is based on a Dog's skeleton, and it'll be awesome! The bot will
include 5 6 or 7 H-Bridge drivers to run the motors. The drivers will be made
ready for a multi speed upgrade. The "spine" will include card slots for
adding Neural functuion boards. You want it to be able to walk forward, plug
in a board with a Neural pathway that runs the motors to produce forward
locomotion. Want it to be able to turn, add a board that has Neural pathways
for running the shoulder driver to make it turn. Want it to be able to sit or
crouch or whatever? Just add the board!
It allows you to build it from the frame up and no board is dependent on
another. If you get more cash, you can build a high level behavior board with
more complex neural pathways to drive the low level boards. I'm planning an
emotional state driver that has 4 states: Happy, sad, frightened, and
aggressive (angry). It'll bias the entire system to operate based on it's
"emotional" state. Dogs are, after all, animals which react buy instinct and
emotion, with occasional recation by training. this bot is going to be VERRY
dog like. I'm getting it on a TV show, but to make the dead line, i have to
cut a lot. Rather than build a whole board to run it temporarily till I could
design a fully functioned one. The thing though, is that I didn't want to
waste time and money on an extra board. That's why I went with the modular
design. I build the frame in a couple weeks, and then I design a basic forward
walking Neural Network board. I plug it in, and I can add to it without
removing the existing board. GREAT design!!!
I'm just a little excited about this, and I figured I'dmight as well mention
it with my mention of my minor page update.
--
Richard Piotter
richfile@prairie.lakes.com
The Richfiles TI Hardware and BASIC web page:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/5081/Richfiles.html