Check the following Tips and Tricks for Robosapien:
The RoboSapien is designed for modifications. Here are some RS hacker hints.
First off, I warn that completely replacing the RS brain should only be
attempted by those with a lot of time, electronic skills, and programming ego.
You don't have to though -- if you carefully remove the connectors and lift the
RS motherboard, on the back you will find all inputs and outputs labeled next to
gold pads convenient for soldering interface wires.
- M means motors,
- P means input or output port,
- VDD is raw battery voltage (caution: fluctuates wildly)
- Vcc is regulated 3.6v (100mA but don't overload it)
- Gnd is universal ground.
The only way to input commands is by direct serial input to the IR-OUT pin
(active low signals, 1200bps), and through the P1.4 (right) and P1.1 (left)
touch sensors. In three I/O ports, you have his entire body now under control.
The 6 outputs for the eyes (P2.0 to P2.5) can be used as a very effective
digital-level feedback source. If you look carefully, you'll see his eyes give
distinct patterns for all conditions. Mapping these will tell your uP
everything it needs about what the robot is doing.
The chest area is mostly empty space and ideal for mounting any brain add-ons.
However, glue tinfoil (or equivalent) across his sternum first so the waist and
shoulder motors do not cause interference.
Most of the secret I/R codes are designed so that a controlling computer can
cause him to dovetail commands very quickly (up to 30 baud) and even be
programmed at very high rates from a nearby I/R port. Some people will already
have noticed that it is possible to move the robot by the remote faster than he
can move himself. Taken to the limit, the robot can be a very responsive
"horse" to any uP controller or I/R equipped PDA or laptop.
The IR Carrier is 39.2kHz. Data is modulated using a space coded signal with 8 data bits (data clock is 1200Hz, but actual data rate varies depending on the data).
NOTES:
Several different launch codes (Executing the main program)
Here´s a look at a camera stabilizer built from a pc i/o port shield, fishing wire, one rubberband, two paperclips and a couple of small nuts and bolts. The camera mount is from an old piece of predrilled bent aluminum stock. The camera is pulled either left or right by the robo's swinging gait and snaps back to horizontal due to the one rubber band. While my cam lacks a fast capture it still improved greatly on keeping the image steady. As of now I have had to use a usb wired cam. The frame of the camera mount is on a bearing made from a screw and a plastic grommet so as to let the cam swing up and down on each side.
This weekend I hacked in an external, wired power and sound source into my
RoboSapien. This lets me use it as a always on extention to our talking smart
house ( http://misterhouse.net).
I control the RS via a USB RedRat IR interface, sending out a 'arm in' command
every 5 minutes to keep it from going into sleep mode. Whenver MisterHouse
speaks, it will send random commands to make the RS animated, also optionally
sending it's speech into the RS speaker. Those of you familar with Perl code can
review it here:
http://misterhouse.net:8080/bin/browse.pl?/code/common/robot_robosapien.pl
I just created a 5 MB, 4 minute video of it saying some goofy things here:
http://misterhouse.net/public/movies/mh_robot1.wmv
I was amazed at how well that little internal speaker plays sound!
Also see this movie
Robosapien walks much faster with both arms down and fully eextended to the sides (so the hands are open). This gives him a little extra side to side action, enabling his feet to move more forward before planting. The gain in speed is about 150 to 200 % normal, depending on the terrain.
Here's my first little hack on this guy. I had a submini 1K
linear pot laying around from the inline volume control on an old set of Koss
headphones. Snip-snip, solder-solder, quick bit of whittling with an x-acto and
a little bit of hot glue here and there, and I now have a nice little volume
slider for my robot.
It's tucked away nicely behind the robot's head, where it's barely noticeable
but easily accesible. I can adjust the sound from full blast to a barely audible
whisper. In fact, the sound of the motors easily drowns out the yawns, farts and
burps. Now I can try out my new animations after midnight without waking my wife
and scaring the cats...
I've made a remote for use with PocketPC or Phillips Pronto that is easier to use than the original remote. I have included a picture and the .ccf file.
The file can be used with the Phillips Pronto or any remote software that supports Phillips .ccf configurations, such as TV Remote Controller from www.pdawin.com . The remote features macros for one-button programming of some of the more popular hidden features, such as the autonomous walking mode. This is a work in progress, so some macro buttons will not function properly. The functions can be customized in the free ProntoEdit software available at www.remotecentral.com.
From testing, a record lifetime of 28 hours was recently obtained with a
latest-version RS from the factory on Energizer Alkalines. Your mileage may vary
but that's still pretty good.
The reason we don't recommend NiCads is that under strong load conditions (like
when his arms are trapped under a pillow while dancing, for example), there is
the danger of overloading his motor driver chip. As long as you're careful
though, they should do you fine. Nicads will provide a constant power source so
he can perform more uniformly. (You might also notice that the loop mounts on
the soles of his feet make excellent points for a floor-mounted autocharger.)
NiMH can be used but to compensate for the lesser weight you have to raise his
outside footpads on each foot by at least 2mm (placing #4 washers under his
footpads works fine). He will walk a bit shallower but won't stumble. Some
adjustment may be necessary.
And to really optimize his battery life, a 1 farad, low internal-resistance
supercap (7v rating) across his battery contacts on the motherboard really
extends his battery life by reducing dynamic current loads.
Thanks.
The RS uP needs signals to be within 0.3v of Vdd (3.3v) before problems arise.
The I/O pins are not TTL compatible unless you use an appropriate level
translator like a 47k resistor for inputs, or a N channel FET or transistor for
outputs. 74LCXxxx style up-shifting buffers also work (74LCX245 comes to mind).
I regret to say that direct 5v TTL driving or sinking RS uP I/Os will result in
progressive brain disorders for both the robot and the user, and is strongly
discouraged.
The outputs from the motor driver are TTL levels, but are quite noisy as they
drive motors.
Hope this helps.
Press Tilt left fast after each other till Robosapien locks it
Left arm down
Left arm out
Left arm in
Also see the movie
To make Robosapien receive better signal cut a slit in a card toilet roll holder, wrap it in foil and stick it on the back of his head Robosapien will now receive better signal and still be able to be controlled from all angles.
I found out that my wireless cam has a much larger reach when I shut town all Bluetooth devices (my phone, PDA, and BT adaptor for my PC). Bluetooth is operating on the same frequency as my wireless cam which is 2.4 GHz, So Bluetooth was 'scrambling' the video signal...
The arm wires of Robosapien V2 seem to have some room for extra cabling, this is probably a hackers help from Mark T. so you can hack your RSV2 without seeing the extra cabling.
www.aibohack.com has deciphered the IR codes of the RSV2 controller, you can download them here
Mark W. Tilden has send me the following picture. It shows a RSV2 balancing on his heels.
Do try this at home
How to control Robosapien with PC ?
IRDA port is not able to control Robosapien, the protocol is not compatible with
Robosapien infrared remote control. There was only USB UIRT until this day. But
price is cheaper than Robosapien (Oops)
With several components, we are able to make an interface IR connect thru a
default serial COM port (RS232).
We need some common components: IR LED, resistors, CMOS 4011, 2 transistors, 2
Condensators, an IR Transmiter of an old mouse…
We use PC port COM2: RTS (pin 7) and Ground (pin 5)
We use Visual Basic 6 to transmit IR remote command to Robosapien.
Timing based on 1/1200 second clock (~.833ms)
Signal is normally high (idle, no IR).
Start: signal goes low for 8/1200 sec.
Data bits: for each of 8 data bits, space encoded signal depending on bit value
Sends the most significant data bit first
If the data bit is 0: signal goes high for 1/1200 sec, and
low for 1/1200 sec.
If the data bit is 1: signal goes high for 4/1200 sec, and
low for 1/1200 sec.
BTW: The first bit (msb) is always 1 (valid codes are from $80 to $FF)
Carrier is 39,2 kHz
The RSMedia is designed as a hackers dream, everything the QRIO was supposed to be without the cost.
A simple mod and you can telnet straight into it's LINUX brains and run your own programs,
or just use our own conditional interaction editor to set up your own behavior routines.
