terrain with its suspension.
To allow the Bogie to tackle some terrain untethered,
we uploaded a simple dead-reckoning program and set up
a simple obstacle course. The bot tackled binders and
ramps with ease, all while keeping the center platform nice
and steady.
To expand the functionality of the Bogie, we added the
Actobotics parallel gripper. With the ample mounting holes
on the Bogie, it was easy to slap it on the front of the bot,
and it only took a few lines of code to bring the claw to
life. We were pleased to see that the claw was able to grip
its precious payload (in this case, a lime) while it drove over
the terrain.
The Power is Yours
The Runt Rovers are meant to be the ideal platform for
novice roboticists to get started with robots. Can a kit with
DC motors and microcontroller boards be accessible to
whippersnappers that are more used to the simple charm
of things like LEGOs? We think it can be. As known
robotics fanatics, we actually get a lot of questions from
friends and coworkers about what might be a good robot
kit to get their kid or niece or nephew. A lot of times the
requestor is someone looking for something cool and fun
that has more substance than just another video game.
We’re usually informed that the kid is precocious but
that they don’t want to hit them with anything too
technical or overwhelming. We really think the Runt Rovers
fit those criteria to a tee (and also the other very important
criteria of not wanting to break the bank on a present).
Something like the Sprout goes together with no tools, and
as long as you have a board (and a motor driver), you’re off
to the races. As long as the new roboticist can copy and
paste code, the robot will be up and running. Then,
curiosity will inevitably strike — what if I change this
character here, or add a line there? All of a sudden, you
have a new roboticist excited because they’ve made a small
electronic device come to life all by themselves. We can’t
think of a better gift than that. SV
SERVO 08.2015 75
DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE SPROUT.
MORE BRAIN THAN IT KNOWS WHAT TO DO WITH.
FAMILY PORTRAIT.
Recommended Websites
www.servocity.com/html/robots___accessories.html
Check out the You Tube Video
https://youtu.be/_DARUlObjLE