AKA "My B.I.O.-BUG Hack"
Click on any image to enlarge.
| The Plan: Rip the Hasbro toy bug guts out of a B.I.O.-Bug and turn him into a true green BEAM machine. I want him to be solar powered and able to walk continuously when in direct sun. The circuits should be analog, BEAM, and as simple as possible while still allowing robust enough behavior to give him a chance for autonomous survival. | ||||||||||||
| The Implementation: I started construction by building a pair of H-Bridge motor drivers. I had already decided to use the "Power Smart" modification by Wilf Rigter. I used two of Dave's 25cBB circuit boards from Solarbotics' BEP kit and SMT transistors to build my driver boards. | ||||||||||||
| The H-Bridges were then tested and installed in "Green Machine". A test master/slave Bicore was then built using one of Dave's BC3 circuit boards from Solarbotics' BEP kit. Measurements were then taken to determine voltage and current that would be required for "Green Machine" to operate. | ||||||||||||
| Because I could not find the 5 Volt, 500 mA solar panel that I needed I decided to build one. I ordered polysilicon solar cells from Wil at Plastecs and assembled them on a piece of lightweight foam board. Then came the test that would make or break the project . . .
. . . I connected the test master/slave Bicore with some jumper cables then plugged the solar panel into the rear mounted power plug and placed "Green Machine" in the noon sun. Success!!! He took off walking, dragging the solar panel and the Bicore behind! This is what it feels like to work on BEAM robots. Thanks MWT! | 
Next I had to build "Green Machine" a serviceable, durable and lightweight solar panel mounting system. I know, maybe I'm neglecting the A in BEAM just a little, but hey, it's a good thing to haul your carport around with you when you plan on living in the sun. Those UV rays are heck on a plastic body. Details: front top, bottom, rear top, bottom. | 
Now it was time to tweak the walking gait using the test Bicore mounted in the chassis. This is not intended to be the final circuit but only a test bed to develop the circuit as this project moves forward. I did get a chance to test and was impressed with his ability to walk through the snow matted grass (and some mud) in the back yard POWERED COMPLETELY BY THE SOUTHERN MICHIGAN FEBRUARY NOON SUN !! Click here for movie. | 
The Current Status: (Feb.25,2002) Working on installing reverser circuit that not only uses the front feelers for obstacle avoidance but also a shadow edge sensor that will cause a "reverse and turn" action (ala, cheap remote) to prevent him from wandering out of the sun. | 
"Green Machine" crawling from the primordial ooze. Well, I only get a few hours a week to work on this stuff and I'm certainly not going to waste it cleaning. Following is a list of what's left to do: |
| After debugging the reverser and shadow detector I want to start on a synchronized solar engine that will allow operation when not in full sun. At this point I hope to put the whole circuit on a BEP-BC1 and maybe a PM3 or MSE1 circuit board from Solarbotics' BEP kit along with a 1/8 BB1 with SMT comparator for the shadow detector. Oh, and the reverser should be phototropic so that when he reverses he will turn in the direction to help move toward more light. Also maybe I could throw in a random timer that would, say between 1 and 10 minutes, just kick him into reverse. This could help him get out of a tough spot or just make his behavior more complex. | |
This has been fun ... only wish I had more time. Thanks.
e-mail me with questions or comments: jbsandcs@yahoo.com
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