This isn't a tutorial, or a guide, it's just a project post. You will see a lot of these.
This uses my Botboard mini Pro 28. Please feel free to read the project guide on that.
This is a working project, so i still have quite a bit to do. Such as make a way to hold the botboard mini, and the battery in place. Maybe add some LED's or something.
Videos can be found here or on Youtube.
Lets get started. This is a simple 2 DOF hexapod, It wasn't very hard to make, though i did have to remake it a few times. It's design is pretty straight forward, you'll notice the middle row of servos are not directly in the middle, this was to compensate for the servos size and shape.
I use 7gram micro servos. And no matter how you look at it, these servos are fantastic. They are fast, strong, and cheap at $3.40 USD for a 2 pack. Thats $1.70 each.
My hexapod is controlled by a Gameboy Advance SP wirelessly using bluetooth adapters from sparkfun. It is configured using a terminal using AT commands. ATI? For example sends back all the current settings. command mode is set when the bluetooth is not connected. I also use a Sureelectronics bluetooth adapter that i got from ebay. But i suggest the sparkfun version as it is command configurable.
Update: best to use Roving Network's adapters, class 1 100m adapters.
Gameboy advance serial output guide. The gameboy advance SP puts out ~3.3v and uses TTL signals, so you can power the bluetooth adapters without any additional circuitry. But in order to use a GBA SP, you'll need a flash cartridge. They aren't illegal, but they walk a fine line, so getting one can be tricky. Yes, theres legitimate reasons to have one, this is one of them.
Well here are some pictures with notes for each. Click the pictures to open in a background tab.
A closeup, It looks curved for some reason, though i assure you this is not the case.
It's using a 7 cell Ni-MH battery pack, essentially 7 rechargable AAA batteries.
Next is the botboard mini pro 28, with the Sure-Electronics UART Bluetooth adapter, This one requires an SPI programmer to reconfigure. The sparkfun uart adapter is better as it only needs simple serial commands. But the Roving Networks adapters are the best choices. But i didn't have access to those when i made this hexapod.
More pictures of the bot are coming.
Here we have 3 pictures of the gameboy advance, with EXT to header adapter, and the sparkfun bluetooth adapter.
Next we have the Sure Electronics, Bluetooth uart adapter. The header pins are ground, Vdd, RX, TX. The header pins are the same on the Sparkfun, but the wiring is different. This adapter includes a female header which goes to the SPI pins which i use to reconfigure this adapter. The sparkfun adapter does not need this, and is configurable remotely. The wires and the trace antenna are encased in hot glue. It's removable, but keeps it all secure. The wiring is 30 AWG Solid Kynar wire.
Heres the lovely Sparkfun BTM-182 bluetooth uart adapter, prior to being encased in hotglue.
2 comments
Ragu Solai says:
December 5, 2010 at 4:35 pm (UTC -8 )
I like your Craft Stick 2DOF Hexapod and using the the botboard mini Pro 28; It is very amusing.
I am familier with Basic Atom Pro28 and like the new editor MicroStudio. I used do bread boadingnow I am 60 my eyes gave up on me and concentration is almost gone but still my hobby is Electronic. couple of years ago I did finish a 2DOF stick Hexapod and it worked fine.
I try to make a small hexapod for my grandson it will be 2or 3 times biger than yours.
I need a favor can you provide the codes for TriPod Walking only; I will do the rest of it
With regards,
R.Solai
Fallentine says:
December 6, 2010 at 10:46 am (UTC -8 )
Like most 2DOF hexapods i use the tripod/power pod gait.
I’d share my code, but it would be completely useless for you as i use specific values for each servo. Because i’m not using precision brackets and the sticks are glued on not every servo touches down or centers using the same value.
However once you start making your bot, get back to me and i’ll help you with the gait motion.
Also you may want to consider asking at the www.Lynxmotion.net forums.
They have a few advance programmers and robot builders there.