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i-Qbot:01 video tutorial
VRbot - Voice Recognition Module
Sunday, 02 August 2009
VRbot Module is designed to easily add versatile voice command functionality to robots, in particular ROBONOVA-I. The VRbot module provides users with a host of built-in Speaker Independent (SI) commands that will allow basic control of the Robot movement straight out-of-the-box. In addition, users have the possibility to setup up to 32 user-defined Speaker Dependent (SD) triggers or commands to control their robots.
Features:
A host of built-in speaker independent (SI) commands for ready to run basic controls
Supports up to 32 user-defined Speaker Dependent (SD) triggers or commands as well as Voice Passwords. SD custom commands can be spoken in ANY language.
Easy-to-use and simple Graphical User Interface to program Voice Commands to your robot
Languages currently supported for SI commands: English U.S., Italian, Japanese and German. More languages available in the near future.
Works with Robonova and Robozak MR-C3024 controller boards
Module can be used with any host with an UART interface (powered at 3.3V - 5V)
Simple and robust serial protocol to access and program through the host board
All of the VRbot functionality can easily be accessed from the MR-C32024 controller board through a simple, yet robust serial protocol. All you need to do is connect the VRbot module to your ROBONOVA board, connect your robot to a PC, power up, and you are ready to go. You will not have to worry about needing additional adapter boards.
Upon power up, the supplied VRbotGUI software automatically downloads a roboBASIC bridge program to the controller board, which will allow immediate voice control of the robot with the built-in SI command set.
The bridge program also enables programming of the speaker dependent commands into VRbot by using the PC interface. After creating and training all desired commands in the VRbotGUI, users can create a basic template program, open it in the roboBASIC editor and assign specific behavior to each command. This can finally be downloaded and run on the ROBONOVA controller essentially giving your robot the ability to listen and adhere to your voice commands.
Last Updated ( Sunday, 02 August 2009 )
Unpacking and Assembling Spykee
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Finally I found the time to assemble Spykee and make some movies about it. While a written review is still to come, check out the movies below to learn how to assemble the Spykee robot! If you have a Spykee robot yourself, join the forum at Spykee-Robot.com.
Spykee review soon on this site!
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Finally, after more than 1 year of waiting, Spykee is here! A few days ago I received a sample of this robot and this weekend I started assembling the robot. While a complete review will be online soon on this site, I could not resist already putting pictures online. I made pictures as well as video recordings while I was building the robot.
In order not to spoil the surprise I will stop here. Check the Spykee Forum for more details and discussing various Spykee topics. Just keep checking this site for the complete Spykee Review!
i-Qbot (i-Droid) video tutorial - final part 90
Sunday, 09 November 2008
Two years ago I was spending my Christmas holiday on a Dutch island called 'Texel'. During the commercial break on Discovery Channel I saw for the first time the announcement of a new exciting robotics project 'i-Qbot'. Next day I went to a bookstore to buy the first part of this project. It contained a DVD and some parts of the head. I was really excited ...
When I returned from holiday I visited several robotics forums and discussed this project. One of the main discussed topics was whether this project was worth over 700 euro's. Finally I know the answer for sure: YES!!! The i-Qbot project is THE most fascinating robotics project I know. Over a period of 90 weeks you receive every week a magazine and new parts to learn about robotics and built your robot. You do mechanics, electronics and software.
Check the vid for the end result: a mobile robot, running on Linux, with many sensors (ultrasonic, temperature, touch, light, sound), Bluetooth/USB/serial connectivity, moving arms, a gripper, IR control, LEDs, and moving head. The robot can be programming in Java, or by using a visual editor. I can only hope a new and even more exciting robotics project will be published the coming years. Meanwhile, I keep exploring the possibilities of my Little Robotic Friend: i-Qbot!
Last Updated ( Monday, 17 November 2008 )
Meet another humanoid robot: Reem-B
Friday, 03 October 2008
Over the last 10 years researchers have developed a better understanding humanoid robotics technology. A prove of this is given once more by a company called Pal Technology Robotics. This company has just announced its second humanoid robot: Reem-B.
Reem-B is a humanoid robot that is operational for 2 hours on a fully charged battery pack. The robot weight is 60kg and its height is 1.47 meters. Futhermore, the robot is equiped with various advanced sensors, including a stereo camera that gives the robot face recognition capabilities.
There are moments in your life you encounter something that you never forget and influences the way you think about things. One of such encounters I personally had was about 10 years ago when I saw a documentary about the work of Valentino Braitenberg.
Creating robots with intelligent behavior is a complex task and required ingenious algorithms or electronics … this is what I always thought until I heard Braitenberg explaining his theory on complex behavior of mobile robots. Already in 1984 Braitenberg did some ‘thought’ experiments with mobile robots, which he called ‘vehicles’. A vehicle is a device with two motors (i.e. wheels) and some sensors. Braitenberg showed that complex vehicle behavior like ‘love’, ‘anger’ and ‘fear’ can be created by a very simple wiring scheme between the sensors and the motors of the vehicle.
After I had viewed this Braitenberg documentary I started programming my own Braitenberg vehicle simulator in the C programming language. It was really fascinating to see Braitenberg’s theory in action: from simple wiring rules complex robot behavior emerges. When I applied Braitenberg’s theory to a real physical robot and show this to my colleagues at the university, everybody thought that I wrote a very complex program. In fact, the basic Braitenberg algorithm can be captured in two lines of code:
left_motor = a * left_sensor + b * right_sensor
right_motor = c * left_sensor + d * right_sensor
where a, b, c and d are some constants whose value determines the behavior of the vehicle. All kind of (nonlinear) extensions are possible to this basic algorithm, but these two lines are the basics and give rise to very complex robot behavior. From this moment on I always try to seek the simplicity behind complex problems.
Anyone interested in robotics should know and see the Braitenberg Vehicles in action. Braitenberg’s book on his vehicles can be found here. The idea is soo simple that you can easily implement it using Lego Mindstorms. An other option is to use a simulator, such as found here.
