So You Think You Can Dance?
WIRING UP THE LEDS.
THE COMPLETED LED SUIT.
KumoTek Meets Discothèque
With the LEDs implemented, we were ready to
program in some custom dance moves. The KT-X does
come with some preprogrammed dance moves, complete
with some groovy beats to dance to. We were aiming
to recreate some classic dance moves, and to our
knowledge the KT-X did not come with some
preprogrammed disco funkiness. One of our concerns
while dialing in our custom poses was power
consumption; 17 servos can drain a battery fairly
quickly. From past experience, we know that the
bipedal humanoids tend to become a little erratic
when on low batteries. The folks at Kumo Tek have
once again anticipated such a problem. Firstly, when
connected to the computer, you can choose whether
or not to send power to the servos. When the robot is
communicating with the computer, a window pops up
showing the battery voltage. After a few hours of pose
creation, the voltage was getting a bit low, but after
recharging we were right back on track. To conserve
power while modifying poses, users can also turn off
power to individual servos.
The CPU has a rotary dial with 10 settings,
allowing users to download multiple programs to the
robot. Motions can also be played while the robot is
connected to the computer. Testing your own motions
comes with a sense of accomplishment, especially
when the LEDs trace the movements in the low
lighting appropriate to a dance floor.
developed by the user. It can also detect when the robot
has fallen down, allowing the KT-X to pick itself up
autonomously.
To effectively implement the gyro, the folks at Kumo Tek
have provided a sophisticated programming environment
that goes far beyond creating poses by punching in the
KUMOTEK MEETS DISCOTHEQUE.
Gyromaniac
What may really set the KT-X apart from its
competitors is the ability to add a gyroscope module.
The module can be mounted to a free pin bank on the
CPU board. The gyro allows the KT-X to maintain its
balance — particularly during custom motion routines
SERVO 11.2010 73
