The Robot Builder’s Guide

Fred G. Martin

Table of contents :
Foreword……Page 4
Preface……Page 6
Introduction to this Guide……Page 12
Contents……Page 14
List of Figures……Page 22
Electronic Assembly Technique……Page 26
Soldering Technique……Page 27
Component Types & Polarity……Page 29
Component Mounting……Page 34
Component Value Markings……Page 35
Parts List……Page 202
Microprocessor Board……Page 36
Assembly……Page 37
Testing……Page 45
Assembly……Page 47
Testing……Page 51
Battery System……Page 53
Battery Charger……Page 54
Battery Pack Construction……Page 56
IR Transmitter……Page 58
Motor Switch Board……Page 61
Cable & Connector Wiring……Page 63
Sensor Wiring……Page 64
Touch Sensors……Page 68
Photocell Light Sensor……Page 69
IR Reflectance Sensor……Page 70
Single Bend Sensor……Page 71
Dual Bend Sensor……Page 72
Potentiometer……Page 73
Slotted Optical Switch……Page 74
Hall Effect Sensor……Page 75
Polaroid Motor……Page 76
Servo Motor……Page 79
Computer Cable Wiring……Page 81
Ratings & Specifications……Page 84
Measuring Motor Torque……Page 86
Speed, Torque & Gear Reduction……Page 87
Pulse Width Modulation……Page 88
Control……Page 89
Application……Page 90
Capacity……Page 92
Internal Resistance……Page 93
Rechargeability……Page 94
Battery Packs……Page 95
6.270 Battery Charger……Page 96
Fundamental LEGO Lengths……Page 98
LEGO Gearing……Page 101
Gear Reduction……Page 103
Low-Force Geartrains……Page 104
Sample Gearbox Design……Page 105
Analog & Digital Sensors……Page 106
Digital Inputs……Page 107
Connector Plug Standard……Page 108
Voltage Divider Circuit……Page 109
Tactile Sensors……Page 110
Touch Switch……Page 111
Bend Sensor……Page 113
Light Sensors……Page 114
IR Reflectance Sensor……Page 116
Slotted Optical Switch……Page 118
Magnetism (Hall Effect) Sensor……Page 119
Motor Current Sensor……Page 120
Robot Control……Page 122
Feedback Control……Page 123
Open-Loop Control……Page 125
Feed-Forward Control……Page 126
Manual Calibration……Page 127
Dealing with Changing Environmental Conditions……Page 128
Robot Control……Page 129
Sensor Unreliability……Page 130
Task-Oriented Control……Page 131
Coordination of Tasks……Page 135
IC Manual……Page 140
Getting Started……Page 141
IC Commands……Page 142
Line Editing……Page 143
A Quick C Tutorial……Page 144
Data Types……Page 146
Local & Global Variables……Page 147
Constants……Page 148
Operators……Page 149
Assignment Operators & Expressions……Page 150
Precedence & Order of Evaluation……Page 151
While……Page 152
LCD Screen Printing……Page 153
Formatting Command Summary……Page 154
Declaring & Initializing Arrays……Page 155
Declaring Pointer Variables……Page 156
Passing Pointers as Arguments……Page 157
Output Control……Page 158
Sensor Input……Page 160
Time Commands……Page 165
Overview……Page 166
Creating New Processes……Page 167
Destroying Processes……Page 168
Floating Point Functions……Page 169
Memory Access Functions……Page 170
Run-Time Errors……Page 171
Binary Source File……Page 172
Interrupt-Driven Binary Programs……Page 175
Passing Array Pointers to a Binary Program……Page 179
List Files……Page 180
Configuring IC……Page 181
Introduction to 6.270……Page 182
Kit Fee & Toolkit Fee……Page 183
Team Organization……Page 184
Credit Guidelines……Page 185
Schedule……Page 187
Balls……Page 194
Period of Play……Page 197
IR Beacon……Page 198
Contest Playing Table……Page 199
Structure……Page 200
$10 Electronics Rule……Page 201
Microprocessor & Memory……Page 208
Multiplexing Address & Data……Page 209
Memory Mapping……Page 210
Block Diagram……Page 211
Memory-Mapping the RAM……Page 212
74HC138 Memory Map Chip……Page 213
Digital Outputs……Page 216
Motor Drivers……Page 218
H-Bridge with Enable Circuitry……Page 220
L293 Motor Driver Chip……Page 221
Power Considerations……Page 224
Analog Inputs……Page 226
Motor Current Monitoring Circuit……Page 227
Input Multiplexing on the Expansion Board……Page 228
Serial Output……Page 229
Serial Input……Page 231
Power-Off Interrupt……Page 232
Power-Up Delays……Page 233
IR Transmission Circuit……Page 234
IR Beacon……Page 236
LCD Display……Page 237
Low-Battery Indicator……Page 239
Printed Circuit Layouts……Page 240
Microprocessor Board……Page 241
Expansion Board……Page 242
Motor Switch Board……Page 243
IR Beacon Board……Page 244
Retail Suppliers……Page 246
Ordering Catalogs……Page 247
Surplus Companies……Page 248
Retail Companies……Page 253
Speaker Driver Hack……Page 256