There's a lot of similarities, but there is one MAJOR difference. On the first version, I faked the movements. The robot basically moved around to several preprogrammed positions. It didn't really do any mathematical calculations. But now I have found someone who has done those calculations and he was kind enough to share lots (all) of the mathematics I need to make this thing pretty impressive. He even did a complete and thorough tutorial on the Trossen robotics page. See it here. I have been following his instructions and they are quite good. If you want to build a complete Flexpicker Delta robot and don't know where to start with the programming and Math, go here. It's pretty involved though, so if you don't have a strong stomach for 3D geometry and Math, be warned.
I am confident that his programming works because he has a great video that can be found on the tutorial.
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteI also copied mzavatskys design, and he provided me with the code for his robot, I redid it with a better motor controller, and bluetooth messaging for testing, I could send you my files if you want!
regards
Lukas
Sounds Great, I would love to see it. Send it to Tinkernology_at_yahoo dot com.
ReplyDeleteI have been working on this project very diligently since this post. In fact, you can see an early picture here...
http://tinkernology.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-did-you-build-this-weekend.html
I did a lot of work on the motor controllers myself. The first thing I did was I adjusted the motor speeds so that when moving from point A to point B, the motors all arrived at their target at the same time. This took out a lot of shake and rattle of the whole structure.
The second thing I did was write some code to make the end effector move in a straight line and not make that annoying curve when moving. I calculated Point A and Point B, then a set number of points between them on a line. Then the robot moves to each of those points without stopping and with the motor speeds adjusted accordingly. It works GREAT, and it's very beautiful, even graceful.
The four Flexpickers pull blocks off a conveyor belt, which is run by a fifth NXT. The conveyor sends a binary light signal to all the other robots to tell it when and what to do. I just ordered some more bulldozer tracks because the flexpickers are way too fast for one conveyor, so I am going to double it up.
It's pretty slick.
I would love to see what you are doing. I am in the unfortunate state of "Flexpicker on the brain all the time," so what ever you have, I am interested in.
Shep
I sent you an email, if you have any questions feel free to reply!
ReplyDelete