next topic »

[on:]

I am trying to make a humanoid robot. The robots movement will be controlled using mindflex and the robots' hands will be controlled with a glove that is on the users hand. I have made projects with arduino before, but nothing this complex. I have a few questions about how I will accomplish this.

1. Can i use arduino boards to control the robot, and if so, do I need to use more than one?
2. How do you hack a mindflex to control a robot
3. Which board should I use?
4. Are there any tutorials on how to build a complex humanoid robot (which arms, hands, and legs)?
5. How would I connect a glove to an arduino so I can control the hands of the robot?

It would be very helpful if these questions could be answered. Thank you. 

[Reply #1 on:]

Nothing like jumping into the deep end of the pool with a load of bricks strapped to your back.

Robotics involves so many aspects - mechanical, electrical, computers, sensors, and worst of all,
software, not to mention mind-control - that the only viable course is to follow the 'learning curve'.
That's why they teach arithmetic before algebra before calculus, and before complex variable
theory.

Build 2 or 3 simpler robots first, and learn what the heck it's all about, one step at a time.

Humanoids are by far the hardest to do, so start with a simple differential-drive servo-driven bot first.
If you insist on exploring the deep end first, good luck, better to buy an off-the-shelf humanoid.

  

[Reply #2 on:]

I have built a few simple robots and plenty of advanced robots, but this is by far the hardest. I just need some advice from other people.

[Reply #3 on:]

.... plenty of advanced robots,

These are very specialized things you are asking about - mindflex [what the heck is that?], glove
control - and it sounds like it might be better to go to a Robotics group to ask, like Seattle Robotics
or the Leaf Project, both in Yahoo Groups.

If you've already built advanced robots, you are probably able to do your own advanced research
on such specialized topics.

I've used the basic Arduino boards on a couple of robots [and many other controllers on other robots],
and the Arduinos are really not the best selection. They are hard to interface to typical robotic type
subsystems, and I ran out of program and RAM space quickly on my more advanced robots using the
Duemilanove board.

The Mega board is more powerful, but too large for small bots. You need a lot of processing power for
a humanoid, but in a smaller board. For a humanoid, you will need 20 or so servos, and a dedicated servo
controller board would probably be a good way to go.

Besides the off the shelf humanoids, which will have relatively easy to program control systems, there are
zillions of others, and you need to research them individually to find out more on how things are done,
eg

http://www.androidworld.com/

[Reply #4 on:]

The new 32-bit Due may be more appropriate for this, and there are boards out there designed for robot control. Either way I would think you'd need more than one.

You may get better answers on more robot-oriented forums like these

http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotforum/
http://www.lynxmotion.net/
http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/forum.php

______
Rob