04.25.08
Phased Array PCB V0.1 Finished
Not tested yet, but here are some images of the finished PCB!
01.15.08
Non Existent Projects?
After months and days of searching I cant find any websites that are developing a hobby based phased array soultion for robots or whatever, so I am very very tempted to get to work on this straight away when I move in, rather than spending time on my robot like I had planned. Also, another idea for today was to control stuff throught the pretty much redundant lifedrive we have, it is bluetooth and wifi enabled, so these could be utilised to form an advanced remot control?
01.12.08
Quick Zbot IR note
I could mount the IR and the IR rx on the top and bottom of the boards, then I wouldnt have to worry about them interfering with each other! Cant believe I didnt think of that before! Might not fit with the wiskers on though?
Also, I could add some transistors to make the power output a bit more beefy.
12.07.07
Quick thoughts on the Ultrasonic Phased Array Project
Just been doing some bored research again, and I came accross this image:
This would be a good route to investigate when I do get it up and running. I Could initially scan for objects, then focus in using this technique. First seen here but there must be other sources out there. Hence, once some beam steering has been accomplished, it would be good to upgrade it to focused beam steering. Cool!
11.22.07
Next Things to do for the ZBot
Well after a long period where I had no access to my electronic equipment, the time is nearly upon me to get it all back out (just in time for the christmas holidays!). Heres what I need to do:
- Go over the IR code and change/rewrite if nessecary
- Change the IR diodes to radial types
- Hot Melt Glue the whiskers on rather than sticky pad.
- Have a look at the circuitry and implement anything I have recently learnt
- Implement PID Control ( Found a great link here)
- Investigate/Simulate/Create Phased array Sonar (Almost a project in itself) (Got all the bits)
- Integrate and EFPD?
- Investigate zigbee and see if its worth it. (I had seen a website where an xbee module was connected to a USB via an FTDI chip - cant find it now)
- Anything else I cant think of in the process…
05.21.07
ZBot V0.1a Update
Well Ive now got the IR obsticle detection pairs setup on some stripboard. You can read about what Ive done here:
Phil
05.13.07
ZBot Mini Report
Ive completed a very quick mini-report for my investigation into the ZBot Prototype V0.1.
[For some reason the pdf crashes my adobe reader when opened in the browser. If it does, just download it. It works fine.]
Phil
05.10.07
First Incarnation of the ZBot
Well Ive spent today getting a simple bot going, and its working ok(ish) on the breadboard, so Im now going to transfer the IR’s to stripboard and then the rest of the bot to something.
ZBot IR
Got the 2 IR working. Bit of a pain in the bum in the fact that its, once again, not mega reliable with triggors at random moments and sensitivity to flourecent lights and sunlight etc.
Now Im going to get the motor working like before with the following circuit:
taken from here.
The code is already written in C18, so It shouldnt take to long to get it working again.
Phil
04.27.07
Downgrading ZBot
Well Ive just about finished my Thesis, so I will have a bit of time to start the ZBot again. Decided that Im going to forget the I2C because its a bit too big. I could do it, but I dont really have the time.
So I’ll spend one weekend getting a full 2 IR LED up and running. Then decide what to do.
Oh, and Ive been accepted for the PhD!
Dr. Phil here we come!