Robotics

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Robotics
OP - January 27, 2010, 04:15 PM

Is anyone else here into robotics? That's all I've been thinking about lately. I bought a book on robotics but I can't do much since the tools I need aren't easily available here in Pakistan, but I've still been reading the book and how to build the various robots regardless. I'm definitely going to study robotic/mechatronic engineering in uni after next year .
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Re: Robotics
Reply #1 - January 27, 2010, 07:22 PM

hey! its a pretty interesting field. i am working on a robot my self for my uni project. we have to put a camera on an existing robot along with a mechanical actuator. the robot will have to move and knock the balls around using image recognition and the actuator.

studying robotics will give u a very good idea of software and electronics which is a valuable skill set. if you are looking to get started i suggest playing around with micro controllers first because they are usually the backbone of most robotic applications out there.

http://www.atmel.com/dyn/Products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=2735
http://www.atmel.com/products/

i suggest looking into the Atmel AVR family of microcontrollers and their development boards. they are great for starters. The boards just get connected to your standard rs232 or any other serial connectiions. may require an adapter for hardware compatibility.

There is also a great online forum for this family of micro controller:
www.avrfreaks.net

Good luck

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Re: Robotics
Reply #2 - January 27, 2010, 09:32 PM

Quote from: canex on January 27, 2010, 07:22 PM
hey! its a pretty interesting field. i am working on a robot my self for my uni project. we have to put a camera on an existing robot along with a mechanical actuator. the robot will have to move and knock the balls around using image recognition and the actuator.

hey, could you get it to kick balls into a net?

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Re: Robotics
Reply #3 - January 28, 2010, 01:05 AM

nope. that would be sick though. however that is an extremely complex project compared to what we are working on.

we are given this robot:
http://www.drrobot.com/products_item.asp?itemNumber=X80

so the camera will go on this robot and the actuator will go on top of it. the ball will be put on a column so we will have to approach the column and knock that ball off.

hope fully if i get an interesting job ill work on the really super complicated stuff

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Re: Robotics
Reply #4 - January 28, 2010, 04:53 AM

Quote from: canex on January 27, 2010, 07:22 PM
hey! its a pretty interesting field. i am working on a robot my self for my uni project. we have to put a camera on an existing robot along with a mechanical actuator. the robot will have to move and knock the balls around using image recognition and the actuator.

studying robotics will give u a very good idea of software and electronics which is a valuable skill set. if you are looking to get started i suggest playing around with micro controllers first because they are usually the backbone of most robotic applications out there.

http://www.atmel.com/dyn/Products/tools_card.asp?tool_id=2735
http://www.atmel.com/products/

i suggest looking into the Atmel AVR family of microcontrollers and their development boards. they are great for starters. The boards just get connected to your standard rs232 or any other serial connectiions. may require an adapter for hardware compatibility.

There is also a great online forum for this family of micro controller:
www.avrfreaks.net

Good luck

That's awesome man . What course are you doing? Do make a video of the production of the robot and then put it on youtube!
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Re: Robotics
Reply #5 - January 28, 2010, 05:37 AM

hey, i am studying mechatronics engineering. we deal with this stuff often. ill put up a vid once i finish it. it is still in the development phase.

what are your experiences so far with robotics? the atmel mcu all require C programming (at least most i am aware off) are u familiar with that language?

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Re: Robotics
Reply #6 - January 28, 2010, 05:52 AM

Yes I can do computer programming in PHP and Java. C is almost identical to PHP except for pointers , and java does automatic memory management without the need for pointers, hence I haven't learnt C yet. I was thinking of doing the following course in mechatronics & robotics engineering:
http://future.uws.edu.au/ug/eng_info_tech/bachelor_of_engineering_robotics_mechatronics

But I still need to do year 12 from here in Pakistan first.

How long is your course? Do you study mostly the programming and electronics or also the mechanical aspects of robot building?
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Re: Robotics
Reply #7 - January 28, 2010, 06:11 AM

thats a really great program. it seems like its majored right into first year. some programs have all engineers study the same material first year. I would recommend that if u do take this program keep your programming skills sharp by practicing on your own. That is because this program looks very specialized to me and i dont see any special programming courses, not sure how your micro-controller courses will deal with that. having the software skills will allow you a lot of flexibility in your career and help you during your studies. It also offers you a work term placement (coop or internship) during your studies which is very good.

I am in a 4 year program. we do a mix of software, electrical, mechanical, control system and embedded systems courses. my program is sort of hatched together from other programs so its pretty broad. We don't really focus on robots them selves as such. the various courses give us a lot of knowledge and theory on different components that could make up a robot. so for example for our final project with the robot we are using basic knowledge and putting things together, like image processing, electronics, programming and such.

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Re: Robotics
Reply #8 - January 28, 2010, 06:26 AM

Thanks for the advice man. I'm not worried about my programming skills, I do that for a living so I don't think I'll be forgetting how to code anytime soon . What I need to learn will be mostly the electronical and mechanical side.

Yea I think that course looks pretty good. I also read that they have the best robotics lab in australia. Which year of your course are you in now? Do you have any job offers for when you graduate? Does it seem like we'll be in demand by employers?
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Re: Robotics
Reply #9 - January 28, 2010, 07:21 AM

Quote from: liberated on January 27, 2010, 04:15 PM
Is anyone else here into robotics? That's all I've been thinking about lately. I bought a book on robotics but I can't do much since the tools I need aren't easily available here in Pakistan, but I've still been reading the book and how to build the various robots regardless. I'm definitely going to study robotic/mechatronic engineering in uni after next year .

Good choice Liberated, robotics could be the future buisness!

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Re: Robotics
Reply #10 - January 28, 2010, 09:07 AM

Something related that has a lot of potential -a self replicating machine (more or less) than can also make other stuff:
http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome
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Re: Robotics
Reply #11 - January 28, 2010, 05:32 PM

what a great product!

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