Category Archives: Uncategorized

Arduino robot with phototransistor mode switch (attempt #1)

Posted on December 21, 2011 by engineerzero

I have a program (aka ‘sketch’) which steers my arduino robot (ie, cheapbot) in a square path. I revised it to use a phototransistor as a mode switch between standby and act (ie, move) modes. Originally, I used the delay() … Continue reading →

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Real, Photoshop, or Movie CGI?

Posted on December 14, 2011 by engineerzero

Answer is here.

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Starship Orinoco

Posted on December 14, 2011 by engineerzero

Starship Orinoco is a generation-type starship. It is fusion powered and has a cruise velocity of five to ten percent the speed of light. Hence it takes decades to travel to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The … Continue reading →

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Phototransistor as robot mode switch

Posted on December 13, 2011 by engineerzero

Here’s the thing about cheapbot: as soon as you program it, it wants to go. It really needs a mode switch with two modes: one to accept commands, and the other to execute them. Also I want to be able … Continue reading →

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Arduino and Phototransistor

Posted on December 10, 2011 by engineerzero

Here is the experiment with the photocell replaced with a phototransistor, the NTE3034A. Here is the flashlight OFF data from the Arduino IDE serial monitor: Here is the flashlight ON data: This phototransistor is actually designed for infrared, so I … Continue reading →

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Arduino and Photocell

Posted on November 6, 2011 by engineerzero

This is an experiment out of the Getting Started with Arduino book. As you can see, an analog port is connected to a circuit with a photocell (Radio Shack part 276-1657) and resistor (220 ohm). I used a flashlight to … Continue reading →

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Arduino Monster Robot

Posted on October 30, 2011 by engineerzero

For Halloween, I thought I would try to make a glowing monster mask for my budget arduino robot. Here’s the original, somewhat overly ambitious plan that I made: Since I already had the robot, the first thing I had to … Continue reading →

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Budget Arduino Robot Upgrades

Posted on October 20, 2011 by engineerzero

I’ve done some upgrades to my arduino robot. The change that seemed to help the most in the accuracy department was to upgrade the wheels. The potato chip container lids were kind of flimsy, so I replaced them with hard … Continue reading →

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Budget Arduino Robot Project

Posted on October 14, 2011 by engineerzero

Given the problems that I was having on using GIRC (Graphical Interface for Robotic Control) with RC toys, I decided to build my own Arduino-controlled servo-driven robot. Aside from the electronics, the body probably cost less than five dollars. A … Continue reading →

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Seattle Maker Faire: The Case for Magnuson Park

Posted on October 7, 2011 by engineerzero

(NOTE: The Seattle Mini Maker Faire will be held at the Seattle Center on June 2-3, 2012. For more information, please visit the official web site at makerfaireseattle.com. As for this blog entry, I like the pictures of Magnuson Park … Continue reading →

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