My boxes were delivered yesterday and I didn't get time to "explore" until after 4AM local time today. Why 4AM? Old age, chronic pain, high horsepower Rx pain meds that might make me comfy enough to doze off while reading - only to wake at 4AM :-(
I know the Versabot (BOT110) has a CD with the example programs on it.
Are the example programs for the Microbot (BOT120) available for download somewhere or is it all "Copy from the manual"?
That's not a problem as I can get PDF contents to PE in one or two steps. Just thought I'd ask before repeating work someone else has already done.
Does anyone have a favorite project or projects using the Microbot, whether your own ideas or someone else's?
Ideas:
Map a route through a maze (maybe a dwelling with very smooth floors?) with distances (wheel revolutions forward/backward, angle of turns) recorded (or wirelessly transmitted to a PC for logging) and then convert that recorded data to a list of electronic "waypoints" that the bot could then follow to quickly repeat all or any portion of a previous journey?
Convert patterns to "waypoints" to create program segments such that the bot could "draw" a sketch of where it had traveled? Think: simple map. Maybe include using IR to "flag" certain points? I remember seeing a mod for the Microbot to have non-waiting IR input, so could that be used as a command to "mark" a point? Possibly three IR commands: "startmark", the point number, "endmark". The coding is easier with "start" and "end" command keys (whatever the IR remote has that you don't use elsewhere).
Corollary: Given a string of characters, draw those characters. Basically being able to draw/plot something of almost any size. Think "Happy Birthday" in letters a foot (30.5cm) tall. The turns for curved letters might need some attention if drawing sizes 2X or X/2 but the line lengths and character spacing should be simple multiplication or division. Think HP 7475 plotter on steroids ;-)
Sample listing in BotPlot language ;-)
Step through string.
For each character.
Move to NextCharacterStart
PenDown
On Asciivalue "A" gosub DrawUppercaseA
On Asciivalue "b" gosub DrawLowercaseb
PenUp
Next Character.
The NextCharacterStart position would be calculated from the size of the characters being drawn (including any 2X or X/2 type commands) and the last PenUp position. That would require knowing how far the bot has moved and in which directions since the initial starting point. How finely does that movement need to be tracked? Millimeters? Some % of distance moved? What type of sensor(s) for distance traveled? Measure angles of turns using ultrasonic ranging or difference in degrees of rotation of each wheel?
I know I'll be staying near the home fires for the next week or so because of the less than inviting morning temperatures. 19⁰F (-7.2⁰C) is not my idea of a good morning :-( But I suspect the Microbot might keep me busy for at least a few hours ;-) It's certainly small enough to be able to corral it with pieces of the heavyweight cardboard a lawnmower was shipped in.
I think I've already found more than a week's work :-(