News

Robot Overlord: Making it easier to develop your own robot

2017-03-28 Dan

To make RO easier for developers, I have published the API at http://marginallyclever.github.io/Robot-Overlord-App/

Next, the robots currently supported by RO will be moved to separate projects with their own github repositories.

A crucial feature here is keeping it easy for the end user, whom I assume (in a worst case) know nothing about computers. They shouldn’t have to modify the classpath or open a shell. I’d like it to be as easy as Arduino’s board support installer – pick from a list of plugins online, download on demand, and go.

Next, one or more tutorials will be made showing how to fork a repo, modify the robot type to your needs, and then publish your new plugin such that RO can find and install your plugin. Much easier than having to wade through the entire RO project and make a pull request.

After that I run out of ideas. Comment with your suggestions, please.

Here’s the latest robot I’ve added to RO: A new stewart platform.

Tutorials

Build your own falling block game like Tetris

2017-03-10 Dan

I’ve shown you how to use shift registers to drive an LED grid, including how to draw pictures on the screen from memory. Now we’re going to use those tools to make a game similar to the classic Tetris.  I’ll show you the circuit, how to draw pieces, how to create animations, respond to user input, and more.  Learning how to build complex behavior from simple parts is a great start to thinking about how robots behave.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMLTCeAd7y

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Tutorials

Shift registers and seven segment displays in Arduino

2017-02-23 Dan

In previous tutorials I showed how to use seven segment displays, how to use shift registers and how to daisy chain shift registers, and talked a bit about persistence of vision.  In this tutorial we’re going to combine shift registers and seven segment displays to make an Arduino control two four-character seven-segment displays, a task that (at first glance) might not seem possible.

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Tutorials

How to setup NodeMCU drivers and Arduino IDE

2017-02-22 Dan

The first time using a new microcontroller is what I call funstrating, especially if you don’t have clear instructions.  We’ve done the hard work of figuring out the NodeMCU drivers and NodeMCU Arduino IDE setup for you.  Read on for the two steps that have to be done only once.  More helpful info at the end, too.ELEC-0108 nodemcu (more…)