fast documentation of hardware and software projects
For a previous project involving stepper motors, I wanted the microcontroller to remember exactly where the stepper motor was even after power loss. There wasn’t enough time to attempt it then, so I thought I’d try something similar now.
Following on from my previous blog post using a webcam and a laser as a rangefinder, it’s now mounted on a cheap 3 euro stepper motor and used to make a 2d map of the surroundings. As you can see from the video the results are not great, I think with a bit more work…
It’s a speedy piece of kit by the looks of it! At the moment the code written just keeps it from falling off the table. When this video was shot there were little white specks on the table causing the robot to turn around even when it was on black.
There’s a Robosumo competition coming up. The microcontroller chosen for the job was the PIC 18F14k50. The sensors being used are Sharp infrared rangefinder (to locate the opposing robot), and IR colour detecting sensors (to detect when the robot has reached the edge of the ring). All of these sensors give out a voltage somewhere…