NEW DOMESTIC ROBOTS-2010

2009 has come and gone now in a blink of a human eye. It was not a very good year for domestic robots since most part of 2009 was left empty of anything new. Not until the last quarter of 2009 did we notice much push from our friends in Korea by providing theSamsung "Tango" and its variations. Also an almost last minute surprise from Neato with their interesting XV-11. iRobot has remained under covers after canceling the ConnectR project and everything else was left to entertainment robots or research projects. 2010 is here and CES 2010 - Las Vegas is just a couple of days away. We are aware that the global economy is not at its best but this is when great technological revolutions start and evolve to bigger things. 2010 will be the year it makes or breaks known domestic robot companies and can bring unknown ones up to the world stage. As always, DomesRO will provide you with the latest information on domestic robots and related industries. Enjoy the ride!

NEW DOMESTIC ROBOTS-2010

2009 has come and gone now in a blink of a human eye. It was not a very good year for domestic robots since most part of 2009 was left empty of anything new. Not until the last quarter of 2009 did we notice much push from our friends in Korea by providing theSamsung "Tango" and its variations. Also an almost last minute surprise from Neato with their interesting XV-11. iRobot has remained under covers after canceling the ConnectR project and everything else was left to entertainment robots or research projects. 2010 is here and CES 2010 - Las Vegas is just a couple of days away. We are aware that the global economy is not at its best but this is when great technological revolutions start and evolve to bigger things. 2010 will be the year it makes or breaks known domestic robot companies and can bring unknown ones up to the world stage. As always, DomesRO will provide you with the latest information on domestic robots and related industries. Enjoy the ride!

ROBOT DOG OF SONY COMPANY

Courtesy New Scientist

Is robo-dog the pet of the future? Sony believes the robot industry can overtake the games market

A metal hound went on show in Tokyo on Tuesday that can bark but not hear. It can cock its leg but will not leave a mess on the carpet. It can even sulk but will never die - at least, not until its batteries run down.

The new toy was unveiled by Sony. Aibo, as it is called, is one of the most advanced "toy" robots yet developed commercially. The company hopes to drive an emerging market in cyber-pets following the worldwide success of Tamagotchi.

Aibo was put through its paces in a demonstration which began when it stood up after being patted on the head. It then waved hello with its front paw. Its best trick was catching a pink ball, which it saw using the color camera installed in its nose.

Robot domination

"The last 10 years of the 20th Century were dominated by personal computers and the Internet," said Sony vice president Toshitada Doi.

"For the next 10 years, until 2010, we are certain that robots with independent movement will be the big thing."

The gleaming metallic puppy has 18 joints producing 250 types of movement. It can play ball, crouch as if urinating and move its head, body and all its legs.

Aibo's owner can praise his dog by touching its head for more than two seconds. A sharp slap on the head is interpreted as punishment and puts the robot into a sulk.

At the moment, most of the commands are delivered via a remote control, but voice control is being worked on. Aibo, which means partner in Japanese, can make plenty of noise itself, barking, talking and even singing in English or Japanese.

The dog is loaded with sensors including the color camera, heat sensors, an infra-red range finder, touch sensors, acceleration and speed sensors and a stereo microphone.

A death function was debated by Sony but not included. Aibo can be revived at any time.

They will be on sale on the Internet from 1 June. Sony said it hoped to sell 3,000 in Japan and 2,000 in the United States.

Sony said it recognized that Aibo would never be a substitute for real dogs. "It is technically impossible to replace real animals with robots. In a sense, it would be a profanity to God," said general manager Tadashi Otsuki.

DOMESTIC ROBOTS-USES & DISADVANTAGES

Specifics [edit]

• Use of a single, open-source, robot operating system for all domestic robots mentioned in this document. This includes vacuum & mobbing robot, lawn mowing & pruning robot.
• The robots are to be made very simple; they are to use only augmented GPS (eg DGPS, AGPS, ...) or Galileo for positioning together with a compass to allow orientation. The robot software would then need to allow the drawing of the map complete with gps coordinates of the corners so that the robot knows the area it needs to run over.

This differs greatly with some common domestic robots as robotic lawn mowers; which use a border wire and sensors. Parameters such as the setting of the cleaning/mowing tool radius and the area which is not covered (between the tool's radius and the 4 sides of the machine) should be able to be altered (for each type and size of robot) No additional sensors, or collision detection, ... are to be foreseen

• Most of the robots (an exeption being the robotic lawn mower) are to use 2 caterpillar tracks with the area for the tool being placed in the middle body (between the tracks).
• All robots are to use a small hydrogen fuel cell as a power source. Oxyhydrogen or liquid nitrogen are used in the combustion engines of converted robotic lawn mowers. Power plugs with automated boom are to be used with converted battery-powered mowers.

Advantages [edit]

The approach followed has some great advantages; these include:

• Heavy reduction in cost: this due the possibility of home building, the reuse of already owned devices (eg non-robotic lawn mower), use of hydrogen, oxyhydrogen or liquid nitrogen instead of the more costly lithium batteries, elimination of costly sensors, ...
• independance of commercial manufacturers

Disadvantages [edit]

The disadvantages are:

• Due to the lack of sensors, the robot can not detect and avoid obstacles, causing some potential problems.

These include:

• • Rotating opened or closed doors can obstruct the path of the robot (opened doors can obstruct the path next to the entrance, while closed doors can obstruct the path at the entrance itself
  • People are best to keep out of a room that is being cleaned until the robot has finished cleaning in this room. This as people may obstruct the path of the robot, and the robot does not have sensors or collision detecting, meaning it will smash straight unto the person if the person blocks his path.
  • Depending on the way the robot has been home built, some margin can exist near the house walls that the robot is uncapable of sweeping
• The robot requires fairly "empty" rooms in order to sweep it; this means that all obstacles on the robot's path need to be cleared prior to the sweeping of the room by the robot

The designs [edit]

2 types of domestic robots are to be designed:

• A vacuum & mopping robot
• A lawn mowing robot

Vacuum & mopping robot [edit]

The vacuum & mopping robot is to be designed to incorporate 2 functions:

• simultanuous vacuum cleaning & mopping
• vacuum cleaning alone

Surfaces that allow both vacuum cleaning & mopping; will always use the dual function. Other surfaces such as sandy driveways and water permeable garden paths can use only the second function.

The vacuum cleaner is to incorporate from the front to the center of the device following utensils:

• a ecologic|soap + water outlet to wet the surface (alternatively electrolysed water may be used)
• a plastic brush: a brush for scrubbing the wettened surface
• a v-shaped wet mop and wet vacuum cleaner hose; the mop is to gather the water, soap & filth, while the wet vacuum cleaner hose is used to suck up the filth, soap and water. The wet vacuum cleaner hose is to be connected to 2 bags (or containers); one for storing the soap, water and filth (first function) and the second one for filth alone (for the second function)

Depending on the initial tests, the brushes may be fitted unto a rotating disc (to increase scrubbing) and perhaps the mop may be left out completely depending on how much water actually winds up being left over on the floor. If this amount is so little that it evaporates quickly anyhow, the mop is best left out. Also, perhaps the mop may be fixed to either a automaticly roll (rolling up when filled with water into a extra container under the mop in tilted position).

Lawn mowing robot [edit]

The lawn mowing robot is to be composed of a converted lawnmower and is not to be build from scratch. A non-robotic lawnmower (oxyhydrogen, liquid nitrogen or battery powered) is converted to a robotic one. This is done trough the implementation of a printed circuit board which is to incorporate the guidance system, and a drive axis. The power for the propulsion is to be derived from the main engine (used for running the blade). Rotating the mower after every straight run is done by either powering 2 opposing wheels (eg front right and back left or front left and back right) while 2 are momentarily not powered at all. An alternative (which is more technically dificult but perhaps more applicable to all types of lawnmowers) is the simple addition of hinges to allow the wheels to rotate.

FAQ [edit]

Why don't you use a border wire and sensors ? As mentioned before, the sensors create an extra cost to the robot. However, as you probably noticed that the robot thus requires a augmented GPS receiver, additional equipment for computation and compass, this is not the only reason. Another reason is that for most of the robots, the use of this method which makes sure that the robot uses straight runs is actually much more effective. Also for some of them (eg agricultural robots), the robot cannot just swarm around the field anyhow; the crops placed in the rows would obstruct the robot.

I noticed you described the conversion of a lawn mower; why isn't there a more efficient lawn mower design foreseen next to the lawn mower conversion design ? For example a legged lawn mower could be more efficient than a wheeled or tracked one. Indeed I thought of this; however the use of lawns alltogether is a mistake. Instead of lawns, paths made from small or large rocks, and the use of indiginous (long) plants is actually a more suitable and natural approach. Also as seen in xeriscaping, the plants then no longer require watering, fertilisation, ... However, as lawns today are such a common part of many gardens, the use of a robotic lawn mower is still a must. This however does not mean that it is useful to spend the time on designing a new, more efficient, lawn mower.

What possible expantions to the project could be done ? A possible expantion of the project I was thinking about was the use of the software in a soil cultivation robot (for preparing the soil before planting or sowing plants, or removing weeds). Also, a pruning robot could be an expantion of the project. However,as these machines are more useful to commercial entrepreneurs than home users, it is doubtful that they could use a small robot; rather the robot guidance system is better implemented to farm tractors (which can mount harrows, ploughs, ...). Also, I am not sure whether using the more efficient agricultural techniques (eg no-till farming) they would actually still be useful.

A small pruning robot however could be useful to make from scratch.

What about a fruit picking robot ? No, I considered it but fruit picking robots require far more advanced sensors and programming. It is doubtful that any DIY fruit picking robot project will succeed in this any time soon and I believe the costs for doing so will probably be higher (or just as expensive) than the commercial products now on the market. Also, given the fact that again this is a device for professional users, the time required for digging into this type of robot simply isn't worth i

MAKING OF ROBOT

If you've been looking for complete instructions on building a simple, yet capable, starter robot (Sandwich), this is your book! Thousands of Sandwich printed circuit boards have been sold.

Click the picture above to see a movie of Sandwich in action.

Robot Building for Beginners targets creative individuals that have the time, budget, and enthusiasm for building their own robots from scratch, but don't have the background in electronics or machining.

Click here to order your copy, today!

Take a look at the chapter summaries that follow:

Chapter 1: Welcome Robot Inventor!

This chapter introduces robot anatomy, followed by a philosophy of building robots that may help you to be successful in happily finishing projects.

Chapter 2: Where to Obtain Tools and Parts

Here I list some of my favorite part suppliers, along with techniques for getting the most for your money.

Whenever a particular part is described, a list of suppliers is included, along with part numbers and prices. This allows you to easily follow along with the experiments, using the exact same parts I use.

Chapter 3: Safety

Rather than glossing over safety, I feel this subject is important enough to dedicate an entire chapter to it. Besides simple protective measures, I describe some product materials to avoid.

Chapter 4: Digital Multimeter

This chapter describes every possible multimeter feature I could find. At the end of the chapter, three actual meter advertisements are compared.

Digital multimeters are so important to robotics, that subsequent chapters provide illustrated, step-by-step instructions for using a multimeter in each stage of building and testing a robot.

Chapter 5: Numbers and Units

Have you ever wondered about the numbering scheme of certain parts? This chapter details some common measurement units and methods of labeling small parts.

Chapter 6: Robot Line-Following

With this chapter, so begins the heart of the book, with the introduction of Sandwich, the line-following robot. A detailed tour is made of the features, dials, and switches onSandwich. You, too, can build this cool and capable robot!

Chapter 7: Nine-Volt Batteries

Nine-volt batteries are quite popular with smaller, lunchbox-size robots. A comparison of common battery chemistries is made, along with revealing the manufacturer that stuffed their battery with polystyrene foam. The shock! The horror!

Chapter 8: Clips and Test Leads

No legitimate robot designer should be without a few pairs of alligator clips and hook test leads. Here you'll learn how to test them with the continuity mode on a multimeter.

Chapter 9: Resistors

This chapter describes the function of a resistor, in plain, simple terms. Step-by-step instructions are provided to test a resistor in the ohm-mode of a multimeter.

Chapter 10: LEDs

The LED chapter was a blast to take photographs for. You'll learn about the different selection criteria for LEDs, including the brightness myth. And of course, you'll see how to test LEDs.

Chapter 11: Power On!

At this point in the book, you have everything you need to make a power-indicator circuit. A simple schematic is included, with a complete explanation of each element.

Chapter 12: Solderless Prototyping

Prototyping a circuit is a must. The process is painless with a solderless breadboard. Also covered in this chapter are: wire strippers, solid wire, jumpers, and pliers.

Chapter 13: Solderless Breadboard Setup

A good setup for your breadboard is to connect a rechargeable 9 V battery and a switch, extend the buses, and add a power indicator. This chapter shows you how to do it, along with methods of testing voltages throughout the board with a multimeter.

Chapter 14: Variable Resistors

Now that you've prepared your breadboard, you can start experimenting with circuits that are too complicated for alligator clips. This chapter details variable resistors, such as fine-tuning potentiometers and photoresistor sensors.

Just like the Robot Room web site, each circuit described in this book is first shown in schematic (or wire diagram) form and then illustrated on an actual breadboard.

Chapter 15: Comparators

A comparator is a really useful chip. Often it is a supplemental component used to preprocess sensor data for a microcontroller on a robot. In this case, the comparator is the brain of the line-following robot.

Chapter 16: Transistor Switches

A working knowledge of transistors is necessary to drive robot motors. Instructions to test a transistor are covered, as well as NPN and PNP bipolar test circuits you can build if your multimeter doesn't have a transistor test socket.

Chapter 17: DC Motors

What robot book would be complete without a close look at DC motors? This gave me an excuse to obtain and dissect a number of different motors and gearheads. (I was even able to put most of them back together again.)

Possibly the longest chapter in the book, it lists the many characteristics of motors and how you might go about selecting the proper motors for your robot. A table provides formulas for converting between different units of rotational force (torque). Learn about the significance and phases of motor current usage.

Gears, gearhead motors, and gear ratios are also described.

Chapter 18: Adding Gearhead Motors

In this chapter, a particular gearhead motor is selected for the line-following robot. Additionally, flyback diodes are added for the protection of the transistors.

Chapter 19: Wheels

From motors, we move on to wheels. The type of wheel makes a bigger difference to a robot than most people think. This chapter describes some of the factors to consider, along with my favorite wheel manufacturer.

Chapter 20: Coupler

If you're fortunate enough to find a matching set of wheels and motors suitable for your robot, then attaching the wheel to the motor shaft isn't a problem.

Usually though, there's a part, called a coupler, that's needed to connect the wheel to the motor. The couplers I make are compatible with LEGO wheels and gears. I use this kind of coupler on nearly all of my robots. In fact, many people joke that they first look for the coupler whenever I present one of my robots.

After you read this chapter, you'll learn the simple secrets to making a coupler yourself without fancy machinery. And, as always, step-by-step instructions are provided.

Chapter 21: Soldering Equipment

You can only proceed so far in robot building without soldering. Although it can seem intimidating, it's easy with a little practice and encouragement.

This chapter describes some popular soldering tools and supplies, such as a soldering iron, stand, sponge, desoldering bulb, flux, and (of course) solder.

Chapter 22: Soldering and Connecting

You won't want to solder everything together on your robot. In fact, some parts are best left to removable connectors. This chapter describes my personal favorite, the Molex KK-series connector, along with the pieces and tool you need to attach connectors to your robot.

This chapter also begins the soldering process for the line-following robot. Heat-shrink tubing, the hallmark of a professional, is also discussed.

Chapter 23: The Motherboard

The soldering section finishes with the complete schematic of the line-following robot. The choice of point-to-point wiring versus printed-circuit boards is covered, as well as expert tips for successful soldering.

At the end of this chapter, I list some quick techniques for verifying the quality of a circuit board BEFORE connecting it to power.

Chapter 24: Body Building

Few designers put enough time into selecting or making their robot's body. This chapter discloses a timesaving, yet uncompromising, body material. An easy technique for cutting holes in plastic is explained.

Also discussed: standoffs, screws, nuts, washers, nutdrivers, switch hardware, and acetone.

Chapter 25: Launching the Line-Follower

Tweaking and adjusting often make the biggest difference between an ordinary robot and a great robot. This chapter describes simple trials for your line-following robot to complete, and possible corrections if your robot doesn't match the behaviors and values listed for mine.

Frame by frame analysis shows how the line-following robot is able to follow both light and dark lines. The limiting factors are revealed, as well as interesting ideas for enhancements. This is one of my favorite chapters.

Chapter 26: Encore

Where do you go from here?

There are lots of interesting, but more complicated, robotic components that can be pursued for more advanced robots. This chapter describes some of the parts you may want to use on your next robot.

This chapter also discusses some wacky project ideas and some of the autonomous-robot contests held throughout the United States.

Appendix:

The book ends with a discussion of Ohm's Law, the different names for positive and negative voltage, and the things I accidentally destroyed while making the book.

MAKING OF ROBOT

If you've been looking for complete instructions on building a simple, yet capable, starter robot (Sandwich), this is your book! Thousands of Sandwich printed circuit boards have been sold.

Click the picture above to see a movie of Sandwich in action.

Robot Building for Beginners targets creative individuals that have the time, budget, and enthusiasm for building their own robots from scratch, but don't have the background in electronics or machining.

Click here to order your copy, today!

Take a look at the chapter summaries that follow:

Chapter 1: Welcome Robot Inventor!

This chapter introduces robot anatomy, followed by a philosophy of building robots that may help you to be successful in happily finishing projects.

Chapter 2: Where to Obtain Tools and Parts

Here I list some of my favorite part suppliers, along with techniques for getting the most for your money.

Whenever a particular part is described, a list of suppliers is included, along with part numbers and prices. This allows you to easily follow along with the experiments, using the exact same parts I use.

Chapter 3: Safety

Rather than glossing over safety, I feel this subject is important enough to dedicate an entire chapter to it. Besides simple protective measures, I describe some product materials to avoid.

Chapter 4: Digital Multimeter

This chapter describes every possible multimeter feature I could find. At the end of the chapter, three actual meter advertisements are compared.

Digital multimeters are so important to robotics, that subsequent chapters provide illustrated, step-by-step instructions for using a multimeter in each stage of building and testing a robot.

Chapter 5: Numbers and Units

Have you ever wondered about the numbering scheme of certain parts? This chapter details some common measurement units and methods of labeling small parts.

Chapter 6: Robot Line-Following

With this chapter, so begins the heart of the book, with the introduction of Sandwich, the line-following robot. A detailed tour is made of the features, dials, and switches onSandwich. You, too, can build this cool and capable robot!

Chapter 7: Nine-Volt Batteries

Nine-volt batteries are quite popular with smaller, lunchbox-size robots. A comparison of common battery chemistries is made, along with revealing the manufacturer that stuffed their battery with polystyrene foam. The shock! The horror!

Chapter 8: Clips and Test Leads

No legitimate robot designer should be without a few pairs of alligator clips and hook test leads. Here you'll learn how to test them with the continuity mode on a multimeter.

Chapter 9: Resistors

This chapter describes the function of a resistor, in plain, simple terms. Step-by-step instructions are provided to test a resistor in the ohm-mode of a multimeter.

Chapter 10: LEDs

The LED chapter was a blast to take photographs for. You'll learn about the different selection criteria for LEDs, including the brightness myth. And of course, you'll see how to test LEDs.

Chapter 11: Power On!

At this point in the book, you have everything you need to make a power-indicator circuit. A simple schematic is included, with a complete explanation of each element.

Chapter 12: Solderless Prototyping

Prototyping a circuit is a must. The process is painless with a solderless breadboard. Also covered in this chapter are: wire strippers, solid wire, jumpers, and pliers.

Chapter 13: Solderless Breadboard Setup

A good setup for your breadboard is to connect a rechargeable 9 V battery and a switch, extend the buses, and add a power indicator. This chapter shows you how to do it, along with methods of testing voltages throughout the board with a multimeter.

Chapter 14: Variable Resistors

Now that you've prepared your breadboard, you can start experimenting with circuits that are too complicated for alligator clips. This chapter details variable resistors, such as fine-tuning potentiometers and photoresistor sensors.

Just like the Robot Room web site, each circuit described in this book is first shown in schematic (or wire diagram) form and then illustrated on an actual breadboard.

Chapter 15: Comparators

A comparator is a really useful chip. Often it is a supplemental component used to preprocess sensor data for a microcontroller on a robot. In this case, the comparator is the brain of the line-following robot.

Chapter 16: Transistor Switches

A working knowledge of transistors is necessary to drive robot motors. Instructions to test a transistor are covered, as well as NPN and PNP bipolar test circuits you can build if your multimeter doesn't have a transistor test socket.

Chapter 17: DC Motors

What robot book would be complete without a close look at DC motors? This gave me an excuse to obtain and dissect a number of different motors and gearheads. (I was even able to put most of them back together again.)

Possibly the longest chapter in the book, it lists the many characteristics of motors and how you might go about selecting the proper motors for your robot. A table provides formulas for converting between different units of rotational force (torque). Learn about the significance and phases of motor current usage.

Gears, gearhead motors, and gear ratios are also described.

Chapter 18: Adding Gearhead Motors

In this chapter, a particular gearhead motor is selected for the line-following robot. Additionally, flyback diodes are added for the protection of the transistors.

Chapter 19: Wheels

From motors, we move on to wheels. The type of wheel makes a bigger difference to a robot than most people think. This chapter describes some of the factors to consider, along with my favorite wheel manufacturer.

Chapter 20: Coupler

If you're fortunate enough to find a matching set of wheels and motors suitable for your robot, then attaching the wheel to the motor shaft isn't a problem.

Usually though, there's a part, called a coupler, that's needed to connect the wheel to the motor. The couplers I make are compatible with LEGO wheels and gears. I use this kind of coupler on nearly all of my robots. In fact, many people joke that they first look for the coupler whenever I present one of my robots.

After you read this chapter, you'll learn the simple secrets to making a coupler yourself without fancy machinery. And, as always, step-by-step instructions are provided.

Chapter 21: Soldering Equipment

You can only proceed so far in robot building without soldering. Although it can seem intimidating, it's easy with a little practice and encouragement.

This chapter describes some popular soldering tools and supplies, such as a soldering iron, stand, sponge, desoldering bulb, flux, and (of course) solder.

Chapter 22: Soldering and Connecting

You won't want to solder everything together on your robot. In fact, some parts are best left to removable connectors. This chapter describes my personal favorite, the Molex KK-series connector, along with the pieces and tool you need to attach connectors to your robot.

This chapter also begins the soldering process for the line-following robot. Heat-shrink tubing, the hallmark of a professional, is also discussed.

Chapter 23: The Motherboard

The soldering section finishes with the complete schematic of the line-following robot. The choice of point-to-point wiring versus printed-circuit boards is covered, as well as expert tips for successful soldering.

At the end of this chapter, I list some quick techniques for verifying the quality of a circuit board BEFORE connecting it to power.

Chapter 24: Body Building

Few designers put enough time into selecting or making their robot's body. This chapter discloses a timesaving, yet uncompromising, body material. An easy technique for cutting holes in plastic is explained.

Also discussed: standoffs, screws, nuts, washers, nutdrivers, switch hardware, and acetone.

Chapter 25: Launching the Line-Follower

Tweaking and adjusting often make the biggest difference between an ordinary robot and a great robot. This chapter describes simple trials for your line-following robot to complete, and possible corrections if your robot doesn't match the behaviors and values listed for mine.

Frame by frame analysis shows how the line-following robot is able to follow both light and dark lines. The limiting factors are revealed, as well as interesting ideas for enhancements. This is one of my favorite chapters.

Chapter 26: Encore

Where do you go from here?

There are lots of interesting, but more complicated, robotic components that can be pursued for more advanced robots. This chapter describes some of the parts you may want to use on your next robot.

This chapter also discusses some wacky project ideas and some of the autonomous-robot contests held throughout the United States.

Appendix:

The book ends with a discussion of Ohm's Law, the different names for positive and negative voltage, and the things I accidentally destroyed while making the book.