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Marty the Robot – Programmable walking robot for kids

indiegogo.com

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Re: Marty the Robot – Programmable walking robot for kids

#11

Post by asimuvPR »

angusp wrote: post #10
asimuvPR wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! I read the description (did not watch video) and wanted to know more about the actual hardware (chip used, GPIO, power consumption, etc). Project look great, btw. :)

I wrote a bit more detail here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11903939 but Still very alpha, specs currently are STM32F446RE (ARM M4), ESP8266 (WiFi, for control from a computer, phone...) and an accelerometer on-board. 9 channel servo control with current sensing, JTAG/USB for programming, i2c and serial interface for talking to it from an arduino, raspberry pi or other microcontroller. We're not expecting to…

How much weight does the frame support? Does the weight need to be centrally located? I'm thinking this would be very nice with one of those small touchscreen displays attached to it.

Re: Marty the Robot – Programmable walking robot for kids

#12

Post by angusp »

asimuvPR wrote: post #11
angusp wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wrote a bit more detail here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11903939 but Still very alpha, specs currently are STM32F446RE (ARM M4), ESP8266 (WiFi, for control from a computer, phone...) and an accelerometer on-board. 9 channel servo control with current sensing, JTAG/USB for programming, i2c and serial interface for talking to it from an arduino, raspberry pi or other microcontroller. We're not expecting to…

How much weight does the frame support? Does the weight need to be centrally located? I'm thinking this would be very nice with one of those small touchscreen displays attached to it.

It's fine with a reasonable amount of weight - I'd have to ask Sandy how much weight Marty can take before he physically can't move, but a touchscreen should be fine, and won't disrupt his walking ability much. Of course you could re-plan his walking with the weight taken into account, but that's quite complex. We'll probably have standard mounting holes on top of his head, so should be a nice and easy hack :D

Re: Marty the Robot – Programmable walking robot for kids

#13

Post by asimuvPR »

angusp wrote: post #12
asimuvPR wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much weight does the frame support? Does the weight need to be centrally located? I'm thinking this would be very nice with one of those small touchscreen displays attached to it.

It's fine with a reasonable amount of weight - I'd have to ask Sandy how much weight Marty can take before he physically can't move, but a touchscreen should be fine, and won't disrupt his walking ability much. Of course you could re-plan his walking with the weight taken into account, but that's quite complex. We'll probably have standard mounting holes on top of his head, so should be a nice and easy hack :D

If you keep answering I'll keep asking! :)

How many degrees of side-to-side motion can the frame take before it falls down? I'm thinking of getting two of these, putting a touchscreen on each one, and having them play joust. The objective would be to touch a dot displayed on the other players touchscreen. The things I come up with...

Re: Marty the Robot – Programmable walking robot for kids

#14

Post by angusp »

asimuvPR wrote: post #13
angusp wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine with a reasonable amount of weight - I'd have to ask Sandy how much weight Marty can take before he physically can't move, but a touchscreen should be fine, and won't disrupt his walking ability much. Of course you could re-plan his walking with the weight taken into account, but that's quite complex. We'll probably have standard mounting holes on top of his head, so should be a nice and easy hack :D

If you keep answering I'll keep asking! :) How many degrees of side-to-side motion can the frame take before it falls down? I'm thinking of getting two of these, putting a touchscreen on each one, and having them play joust. The objective would be to touch a dot displayed on the other players touchscreen. The things I come up with...

Well I like the sound of getting another one...

By side-side motion I'm guessing you mean a tipping force - and the the answer would be that he's pretty hard to shove over, at the limit of his lean he's stable, 10 degrees tilt and he'll fall. From fully upright, you need a bit more of a shove - having just pushed one over. Sandy says they can tip themselves if you wobble fast enough.

We're guessing you were thinking of something like this --> http://i.imgur.com/Cmmwu5A.jpg

Re: Marty the Robot – Programmable walking robot for kids

#15

Post by asimuvPR »

angusp wrote: post #14
asimuvPR wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you keep answering I'll keep asking! :) How many degrees of side-to-side motion can the frame take before it falls down? I'm thinking of getting two of these, putting a touchscreen on each one, and having them play joust. The objective would be to touch a dot displayed on the other players touchscreen. The things I come up with...

Well I like the sound of getting another one... By side-side motion I'm guessing you mean a tipping force - and the the answer would be that he's pretty hard to shove over, at the limit of his lean he's stable, 10 degrees tilt and he'll fall. From fully upright, you need a bit more of a shove - having just pushed one over. Sandy says they can tip themselves if you wobble fast enough. We're guessing you were thinking…

Yes, exactly. This platform is very affordable and would make a great introduction to a sumo-type robot competition using bipeds. But not shoving robots around a la RoboOne, but hitting a target drawn on a touchscreen. Its something Ive been tinkering about for a while.

I appreciate the answers. Best of luck with the project!

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