At EMFCamp he showed me the kit, and how he’d updated it. Other robot builders had some similar kits. Now I usually bring a small bundle of tools, but this was definitely the way to go.
This is my starting point. I’ll post more videos and pictures as I get it together.
In this video I continue my video series on Spiderbot, an 18 Servo Hexapod built using an Adafruit 16 servo controller and an Esp8266/NodeMCU board. I add turning and going backwards to the walking gaits I already have working. I encounter a few challenges and deal with them.
See the previous part of this series at: https://youtu.be/4Qb_wa9hWxw
The code on github: https://github.com/orionrobots/esp8266_video_series/tree/master/spiderbot
If you'd like to contribute to me and my videos, and for exclusive perks take a look at my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/orionrobots
(If I get enough supporters - Ads are the first thing that will go!)
To help with translations and transcriptions please use: http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?tab=2&c=UCVllQ0CH357h7jTpzLB9hCA
The music used in this video is my own.
There are no paid product placements in this video.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA8QogFv0FU
My sneaky lab helper (daughter) put together an innocent looking Duplo stocking. Childs play? Not quite - she hid a pir/led unit in it - to make it a Santa trap. She explains it to me, along with a Minecraft trap she got the idea from.
She is currently exploring sensors - in little hacks like this, in Lego, Minecraft and in collisions in Scratch - perhaps there will be more (if viewers like this) videos with her demonstrating these things.
Warning - also contains ideas for a really devilish Minecraft exploding tree trap. Thankfully - the Santa trap does not explode....
To help with translating and transcribing my videos: http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?tab=2&c=UCVllQ0CH357h7jTpzLB9hCA
Support me on Patreon - so I can remove ads and make more videos: https://www.patreon.com/orionrobots (ps there are perks for supporters!)
This video does not contain any paid product promotions.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBHEf52IwCk
My new 3.3v serial converter arrived - I show a trick using a small jumper to test the cable, measure the voltage from it with a multimeter and then use it to get the esp8266 to talk. There are more 8266 videos to follow.
USB to Serial converter I used: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AFRXKFU
Rest of the Orionrobots esp8266 series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXxP0FUTG0Fm4TeORqiYne44PhnMHKMDG
Previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiqSaNfcxJo - Making a Simple 3.3v Supply
Next Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQSVA44UN3k - Esp8266 Power Failure
There are no paid product placements in this video.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTrF5spzkZA
Quick teaser on what my esp8266/NodeMCU block programming system - Bounce - can do.
It's based on Block.ly in an electron wrapper. You can try this project via github at https://github.com/orionrobots/Bounce/releases
Created with Movie Studio Platinum
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo_BR3L7HlQ
In this video I answer viewers questions on the esp8266, NodeMcu and Bounce. I demonstrate some parts with code.
Links:
Bounce: https://github.com/orionrobots/bounce
London Arduino Group: http://www.meetup.com/LondonArduino/
Coder Dojo Ham: http://www.coderdojoham.org/
Servo Code: https://github.com/orionrobots/esp8266_video_series/tree/master/may_nodemcu_servo
NodeMcu Flasher: https://github.com/nodemcu/nodemcu-flasher
Solid Podcast: https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/ken-shirriff-on-the-hidden-complexity-of-power-supplies
To help with translating and transcribing my videos: http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_panel?tab=2&c=UCVllQ0CH357h7jTpzLB9hCA
Support me on Patreon - so I can remove ads and make more videos: https://www.patreon.com/orionrobots (ps there are perks for supporters!)
There are no paid product placements in this video
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwHN4MtPek
This is a short video for a beginner showing why you'll need a DC motor controller for robot building, and how to connect motors to an Arduino (or other microcontrollers) using one.
Materials used:
* L298n Motor controller module
* 2 x Plastic Gear Motors
* An Arduino Leonardo
* Four male-to-female and 1 male-to-male jump wires.
* Some black masking tape - just so axle movement is visible.
Tools used:
* A single small flat screwdriver.
* A USB Cable
* A computer running the Arduino IDE
* Fritzing to draw the circuit
Let me know in the comments if you have more questions about robot building.
There are no paid product placements in this video.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CgC_UYO8L8
Bangers and Bash will be the Orionrobots entry for Piwars 2020.
PiWars (at piwars.org) is a robotics competition, for robot builders of all levels, with robots built around Raspberry Pi.
Bangers and Bash is a lunchbox robot, an upgraded version of the robot I wrote about in The Magpi (Low Cost Wheeled Robotics).
In this video, we go over our plans, compare some motor controllers unpackaged straight from a Pimoroni shipment. Helena discusses her art concepts.
We compare the humble l298n with some big guns - the RedRobotics RedBoard (@NeilRedRobotics) and the Adafruit Crickit - hats designed for Raspberry Pi.
You can learn to build robots too with my book Learn Robotics Programming, from Packt Publishing. You will get a step by step walkthrough on making a robot, programming it with automatic sensor-driven behaviours, using a camera to make decisions, a touch screen phone controller and building a voice assistant sidekick.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ff3qWnBnSc
I bought a USB footswitch for my lab. This means that if I am doing a series of photos or video shots, I don't have to keep a hand free, which can make robot builds extra tricky.
The devices cost only a few pounds from amazon, but come with software quirks to set them up.
Handy tool for a maker, or anyone else using a camera connected to a computer to take pictures.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx73jWzRIT4
Today Pheobe and I open and build day 5 of the PiHut Codemas Calendar (16th Dec), adding a speaker to the Pico.
Warning - there are some loud beeps in this. And some beepy music demonstrations. We get creative with a tune too.
You can follow along with the code at https://thepihut.com/blogs/raspberry-pi-tutorials/maker-advent-calendar-day-5-hear-my-code
This is not a paid promotion.
Music: Comical Banjo, by Jason Shaw on https://audionautix.com, released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTCmyxyRyNA