Tag Archives: robotics

Grisbot Hoop Capture Challenge

Grisbot not only maneuvers, now it can capture and retrieve objects. At any rate, I’m thinking of making a hoop capture challenge. Roughly, the hook device and the capture operation look like this: Because the hook automatically captures the hoop, … Continue reading

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Progress Bug in Scratch

Instead of a conventional status bar to track the progress of the data transmission, I decided it would be more fun to make a ‘progress bug.’ The bug would look like the robot and march across the screen as the … Continue reading

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Modifying Scratch Interface

Perhaps I’m trying to fix something that isn’t broke, but I thought I’d try to improve the Grisbot:Scratch interface. Instead of clicking an icon in the corner to go to the specific waypoint data, you now click the waypoint sprite … Continue reading

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Grisbot Scratch Communications Screen Layout

This communications screen layout is an improvement over the one I used in Processing. The user goes to the comm screen, holds the robot up to the screen and turns it on, and calibrates the high values. Then the user … Continue reading

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Broadcasting in Scratch

Suppose you click on one sprite and you want other sprites to move accordingly? I have that problem when I click on the waypoint button and want the turn and move controls for servo timing to show the values selected … Continue reading

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Custom slider controls in Scratch

To acquire user input for the Scratch version of Grisbot’s computer interface, I’m using slider controls. In the above example, I’ve made a ‘slider icon’ in the form of a red ‘I.’ Position the mouse over the icon and hold … Continue reading

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Having a Product

One day Steve Jobs was given a presentation by Apple engineers on the status of a major project. He listened, frowned, and replied, “We still don’t have a product.” That’s the issue that has been haunting me the past couple … Continue reading

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Programming ATMega328 with Arduino platform

In theory, it’s possible to program the ATMega328 while it’s off the Arduino platform. Simply connect the Rx, Tx, GND, 5V and reset pins, and you’re in business. Well, it didn’t work for me and in the process I realized … Continue reading

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Rewiring the robot

BEFORE: AFTER: The robot simply stopped working. I had to strip everything down to the breadboard, then build back up again. Now it seems to be working once more.

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Assembly line for robots

We hear all the time about robots on the assembly line. Well, here is an assembly line for robots. As my experience as a temp taught me, every assembly line begins with bins full of parts. In this case, the … Continue reading

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