Category Archives: Uncategorized

Buying an Arduino at Radio Shack

Posted on January 4, 2012 by engineerzero

Ever since I was informed that Radio Shack was going to sell Arduinos, I’ve been swinging by the local store to check what they have in stock. Well, last night there was a Mega and a motor controller shield on … Continue reading →

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Arduino Pin 13 as low-res serial monitor

Posted on January 3, 2012 by engineerzero

Now that I have data to send from the computer to the arduino, I’d like to verify that it has gotten to the arduino. My original assumption was that I could echo back the data and read it on the … Continue reading →

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GIRC: Reviewing Output in the Processing Console

Posted on January 2, 2012 by engineerzero

After I generate a path and convert the data into turn-and-move format, I want to send the data to the arduino-robot. For this I will use the USB/serial cable. But before I send any data, I want to make sure … Continue reading →

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GIRC Distance Commands

Posted on December 31, 2011 by engineerzero

In the above illustration, the first Command Element has a command code of 44, which tells us that it is a Move command, and that we are to move 360 plus whatever is in the second Command Element minus 33. … Continue reading →

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GIRC Turn Codes

Posted on December 30, 2011 by engineerzero

Here we make a 76 degree right turn in GIRC, and this information has to be sent over the USB/Serial cable to the microcontroller aboard the robot. This communication is done with a control code pair. As shown, the first … Continue reading →

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GIRC Path Data Conversion

Posted on December 29, 2011 by engineerzero

The user inputs path data to GIRC by clicking points on the screen. Processing then draws segments between the points and calculates x,y coordinate data. This data is then converted into distance and turn data which will then be sent … Continue reading →

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Five Stages of Programmer’s Grief

Posted on December 28, 2011 by engineerzero

I knew this, but I forgot it yesterday when I was working on GIRC. This convention of inverting the y-axis for screen display isn’t peculiar to Processing, it’s common to many programming languages. There is a way to change the … Continue reading →

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GIRC Path Calculations

Posted on December 28, 2011 by engineerzero

(ATTN Google Searchers: Click here for Generation Starship Orinoco.) The user guides the robot in GIRC by creating a path. The path is composed of segments which are created by mouse clicks. The program calculates the length (or distance traveled) … Continue reading →

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Arduino Cheapbot gets a Mini Breadboard Makeover

Posted on December 23, 2011 by engineerzero

Videos of delivery guys gone wild may be viral these days, but Santa Zero was good to me and delivered these presents intact and on time. They will help in making my cheapbot kit a reality. I’ve only just browsed … Continue reading →

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GIRC data display with Processing

Posted on December 22, 2011 by engineerzero

GIRC (Graphical Interface for Robotic Control) is a program (aka sketch) that is written in Processing and enables the user to graphically program my robot to follow a course. The poor little microcontroller doesn’t understand computer graphics, so I have … Continue reading →

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