Working NQC Code...With Caleb Tricycle

So exciting news...okay maybe not so exciting...same robot doing same things...but once again with different code.

To code Caleb Tricycle this time, I used the NQC code that was mentioned in the last post. What I enjoy about this code is that it is taking me back to the good old writing of code, not the "dragging and placing" of code. Being able to comment what I was doing, writing the code in Notepad++ :-D



So believe it or not, he was running just fine before I got my camera out...apparently he is camera shy. What I noticed though, when he couldn't find the line was that he just kept going back and forth, then into doing circles. So if I can come up with some brilliant way to get him to realize that he is in the middle of the circle, when he is...then I might add it to the code. But as I have limited time this J-term and more to do, I will probably go on and continue learning, coming back to it if time/or a brilliant idea jumps into my head.

Time Since Last Post: 1 hour 20 minutes
Time for today: 3 hours 20 minutes
Time overall: 21 hours 40 minutes

Caleb Tricycle...Different Code...Same purpose....That worked....

Note: There is a picture of the code added to this post....
So before we get to the video, I thought that I would share a picture of what I did to help flatten out a crease in the black line track (which had caused me problems)...The books that are shown there are the books that I have been using to learn about the Lego Robot. That was done while I was on a short break from the studies. It did seem to make a difference.



Here is the video of the working code that was suggest by Baum.



Baum's idea of getting the Robot to follow the line was not to directly follow the black line but the edge of the line. This way the if the sensor got values for the black line, the robot could turn accordingly. Or if the sensor sent values for the white part of the track, it would then turn the other way.



Both of the programs, give me the same result but I did notice that with Baum's algorithm that Caleb Tricycle didn't swing as far out as with Knudsen's algorithm.

Another note...one of the things that I found interesting was that the Robot was still able to run its program, when it began to run off of the mat because the carpet was dark enough...This is at the end of the video.

I worked about 30 minutes organizing the Legos, so that I had a good idea of where to find different pieces.

Time worked since last post: 1 hour
Total for today: 4 hours 10 minutes
Overall: 18 hours 20 minutes

Caleb Tricycle...Different Code...Same purpose....Needs adjustment

So only showing the successful programming code, would be unfair to people...since that is not really real world. I have now have downloaded a piece of code into Caleb Tricycle that does not work...Here are the results.....



I believe that the reason for this problem has to do with the numbers that are used by the robot coming from the light sensor are not set right. Basically, I need to go back and work with Caleb Tricycle to try and achieve numbers that allow him to turn according to what the light sensor says.

Why is this being posted after the successful post about Caleb Tricycle? Because I read in the Baum book about a different algorithm to use for a line follower and decided to try it with my modified Knudsen design. So right now...He just likes to run straight a head.

A quick note about the downloading problem....I am wondering if I am having the problem because the computer is some how getting confused, when I am switching back and forth from remote desktop to directly on the desktop. Just a guess....the last two times I downloaded a program, I was able to download it without restarting the Computer.

Back to program to try and figure out the numbers.

Hours worked since last post: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total for today: 3 hours 10 minutes
Overall: 17 hours 20 minutes

Tricycle...Continued

After reading Baum's book on the design of his line follower, I decided to modify the design of the robot to help keep as much outside light from the sensor as possible this is what I came up with....


I lowered the Light sensor by using a flat Lego piece, I then surround the light sensor with other Legos making sure that they didn't have holes that would allow light in. If they did, I used another flat Lego to cover up the hole. The picture on the far left shows what I ended up using to block out the light, I had run out of the wrap around Lego pieces that I used in the right picture, because I had used one to let the light sensor point down. The picture in the middle is what it looked like before.

I followed the program that was set out in Knudsen's book. The numbers in this picture are not the numbers I ended up using with the program, I started out with the numbers that are given in the book. Then adjusted them as I saw when using a guided mode in the Programming environment.


I once again ran into a problem of getting the program to download to the RCX, this time I decided to restart the computer and make sure that the RCX was on near the beginning of bringing up the program on the machine. It then transferred just fine and allowed me to use a mode to test the code to find out numbers that I needed to be able to tell when the sensor was picking up dark verse light. I was also able download the program a couple of times in order make adjustments to the numbers.

After watching the program run on the Robot, I had the thought that his back wheel reminded me of a dog's tail. I decided then that I should adjust his name to Caleb Tricycle...since Caleb means dog. So here is Caleb Tricycle running...including running off of the mat with the black trail that it is following. The mat came with the Lego Set.

Hours worked today: 2 hours
Hours overall: 16 hours 10 minutes

Second Robot: Tricycle built for Line Followin'

So after Success with the Bumper bug...I read some more in the books and saw what they had to say. I like the Knudsen book best, I think, because it does a good job of getting you active and then explaining higher concepts, behind design and mechanics of building good robots. So in reading some more from it in after building bumper bug, I found that it was repeating some of what I had already read in the introduction of the Baum book. I also looked at the Baum book on what they had to say on building a bumper robot (one that knows to back up and try a different direction). The concepts were pretty close to the same although they had taken a slightly different route making the bumper and also had example code in another programming environment, which I am planning on coming back to for my final project.


I then moved on to building a new robot....which meant that there was some slight sadness as bumper bug had to be dismantled, in order to get the RCX and other parts that I had used on it. I am once again in the Knudsen book, following their building and programming guide

Here is the what I am calling the Tricycle at one of his beginning stages:

He has gotten his free movin' leg attached, but no motors. The white wheel object is part of what was left at the time of bumper bug, it is connected to part of the base that I had taken the RCX unit off of and hadn't need to fully get into other of its parts.

What Tricycle looked like most of the time while being built, flat on his back. Or on the face of the RCX unit. I believe that he is in the same state as the above picture, only in a different angle. On a side note: I would like to bring your attention to the grey tool on the bottom right corner of picture, it is a tool that helps you take a part the lego bricks...Saving my fingers from great pain in the taking a part of creations.

He has now been given his "nose", where the light sensor will go and the motors that will provide the energy/turning motion for his wheels. The light sensor part is how Tricycle will be able to tell if he is on a black line or not.

Here is the finished product of building the Robot. The big wheels are in front of the motors (there is one directly across for the one in the picture). The light sensor is the blue brick. The black bricks on the RCX unit that have wires coming out of them is how the RCX communicates with the Light Sensor and the Motors.

I have started the programming processes for Tricycle in the computer and believe that I am almost done. With this program, Knudsen is directing me through using subroute in the programming in the Lego Environment. He also brought up a point in the programming section on this robot that I would like to mention and that was: you need to prepare for the worst. I think that I already knew this, because part of robotics is the need for the robot to be able to communicate with the world and the world is not a science labitory. So in programming this robot to follow a black line, we can't just assume that if he doesn't sense the line that he needs to turn the opsite way that he did before to find it because the line could be curved. Therefore in this program, we will use a timer in order for the robot to know when he needs to turn the other way to try and find the line again.

Time spent after last time logged: 3 hours
Total for Today: 4 hours 40 minutes
Overall: 14 hours 10 minutes