RoboSavvy Forum

My first Bioloid

2008-11-27T20:41:56+01:00

Haven't been on here for quite a while and the Bioloid has remained untouched since then. What with the antweights, minisumo, micromouse and a grandaughter I just don't seem to get the time to work on it. I am now looking at getting a small CNC machine to aid my robot building so I may well end up selling off the Bioloid comprehensive kit to help pay for it.
I will bring it with me to Birmingham on Saturday so if anyone is interested you can see it there otherwise it's probably ebay.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Thu Nov 27, 2008 8:41 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-02-11T09:32:15+01:00

The walking was the standard Humanoid program that comes with the Bioloid where it walks in an almost straight line until it senses somthing in the forward IR sensors then it backs up turns and walks on again. I have the battery packs fitted and all appears to work OK but I haven't tried out the pressure sensors yet. The problem is I have 3 Antweight events in the space of a month and a new micro mouse and mini sumo under construction. I am also trying to set up to program in Visual C++ which I haven't done for a few years. I found you can get Visual C++ express edition free from microsoft and have installed it but when I came to build an old serial comms program I wrote a few years ago to get me started I got errors. It turns that you don't get MFC included so I need to sort that. Still the humanoid is more of a long term project.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:32 am

My first Bioloid

2008-02-11T08:13:48+01:00

Hey Peter, glad you're having fun with the Bioloid. Your video of the humanoid walking on photobucket was exactly what I was looking for. I've searched around youtube and didn't find much in walking of the Bioloid, only straight lines and constant falling... Your video displayed what I wanted to see, walking forward, back, and turning with hip rotation.

How's your humanoid project going?

Statistics: Posted by tom_chang79 — Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:13 am

My first Bioloid

2008-01-25T09:30:53+01:00

The new batteries have arrived and they look good. They are a little longer and due to spacers between cells for cooling thicker and 20gms heavier than the original cells I had but they can deliver 15amps each and only cost £6 per pack. I have diode ORed (8amp diodes) the packs together to stop one pack discharging into the other when at different charge levels. This also gives a 0.8 volt drop ensuring the supply under load never gets above the 12 V limit. I still need to change the connectors over to the Deans Micro Connectors I use on all my batteries and charge them before I can test them but I have checked all the packs and every cell is 3.9v +- 0.05v. The packs are all fitted with a balanced charging socket giving access to each cell.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:30 am

My first Bioloid

2008-01-11T11:25:31+01:00

Thanks Jon I can see I might have to brush up on my C as it has been a few years since I used it. All my microcontroller code for both MiniSumo and MicroMouse have been in assembler.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:25 am

My first Bioloid

2008-01-10T18:13:00+01:00

The code can be found here:

http://svn.hylands.org/avr/bioloid-foot/

Note that it uses a bunch of other files on the repository...

- Jon

Statistics: Posted by JonHylands — Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:13 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-10T15:56:53+01:00

Jon it does look more but I think that is because there is no bracket through the middle of the foot.
I always use the TQFP package as they are not only easy to solder but you can inspect the joints after.
You mentioned that the software for you pressure monitor board was freely available could you point me in the right direction as it might help with my first attempt at serial comms on the Atmega.
Just found some cheap 1000mah 15C 3 cell packs for $12.10(USD) at
http://www.unitedhobbies.com/unitedhobb ... oduct=5470

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Thu Jan 10, 2008 3:56 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-09T18:55:43+01:00

Wow, that's really nice. It looks like a lot more than 8mm...

I'll give you one piece of advice WRT the PCB - don't use MLF package chips, unless you're an absolute expert at surface mount stuff.

- Jon

Statistics: Posted by JonHylands — Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:55 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-09T17:50:55+01:00

Starting to make some mechanical progress.
Bracket design and PCB outline finalised.
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/ ... dFoot3.jpg
Brackets made
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/ ... CF0732.jpg
Brackets fitted
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/ ... CF0738.jpg
Loads of space now for the sensors PCB and batteries and only 8mm increase in height.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:50 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-08T21:32:33+01:00

The FSR400 sensors came today less than 24 hours after ordering. I haven’t tried them yet but I have rethought the new feet brackets. They now not only have space for the batteries and the board but also allow the pcb to extend to the front and back of the foot. Not sure about the back but the front may be going to have IR send receive for obstacle / stair height detection.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Tue Jan 08, 2008 9:32 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-07T13:16:44+01:00

I seem to have solved the problem Steadlands.com in the UK sell them. They are not available to buy directly on line but I emailed them last night got a quote today and have ordered them by phone this morning and they are due tomorrow.
10 FSR400 £30 + P&P £7.50 + vat £6.56 total £44.06. That’s compared to over £60 from the USA plus possible import duty / vat and a much longer delivery. They were extremely helpful and are quite happy to deal with individuals and small quantities.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:16 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-06T18:42:58+01:00

Just been on the trossenrobotics site for the FSR400's and 10 of the sensors are $57 dollars which seem quite good but delivery is nearly $70. Is there an online distributor in this country or an international one with more reasonable postage charge.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:42 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-06T15:29:17+01:00

I wasn't really looking for longer run times as I assumed that the recent doubling of the Bioloid pack from 1000 to 2000mah was probably enough especially as you only have to lift 65gms of battery instead of 250gms. That comes from my antweight robots where I never carry a battery bigger than needed for a couple of fights due to the 150gm weight limit. I just make the batteries quickly exchangeable and have about five sets so they can recharge while the robot is in use. In this case with two packs I might have to cut that down to two spare packs on cost grounds. Any way it is starting to look like this mod is worth a try so I will keep you informed on any progress.

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Sun Jan 06, 2008 3:29 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-06T14:27:28+01:00

Yeah, if all you're looking to use are a couple 1000 mAh batteries, you'll probably be okay. However, you're not going to get much more in the way of run-time out of 2000 mAh, whether it be lithium or NiMh. You'll get some, because (assuming you're using 3s cells) your voltage will be higher for longer. But realistically, you can't let a 3s battery go down to 7.5 volts anyways, so you've still only got about 2 or 3 volts drop, from fully charged to fully-discharged.

- Jon

Statistics: Posted by JonHylands — Sun Jan 06, 2008 2:27 pm

My first Bioloid

2008-01-06T12:26:50+01:00

I have just done a quick test using the standard walking sequence that comes in the standard Humanoid test program. First it walks foward then backs up and turns when you trigger the front sensor. I did this first with the standard robot and then with a 1000mah battery pack blue tacked to each foot. There appears to be very little in it to my untrained eye see below.
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n66/ ... ioloid.flv

Statistics: Posted by PeterW — Sun Jan 06, 2008 12:26 pm