"If you only learn one thing about robotics, this is it!"
Ok, big call I know, so i'll tell you why. Beeen to the shops lately? Seen all thos cool toys and gadgets sitting on the shelves in Electronic stores or retail chains ? Well they are all robot parts waiting to be hacked in to that all terrain programable tele-operated robot with enough features to win a science fair or take on the local Battle bot and win.And all it needs is a bit of skill in Interfacing these systems together. Take for example one of my favourite robot controllers at the moment. The viper from microbric. This Basicmicro PIC based system is easy to program and easy to interface to, with predrilled gold plated though holes and a serial port that opens you up to the world of BASIC programing. But at the moment there isnt alot of sensors for it that allow more advanced envirometal sensing like temprature, sound, compass, or long range control via radio link. So what do you do ? Well first thing is to go to these shops and buy a compass or radio control system and a wireless camera add a remote control car and Then the rest is easy. Its just a matter of soldering a few wires together and building one or two circut boards if you start to get more advanced. And then depending if you you need to program your new robot (yes some dont need programming to work.) it's just a matter of adding some batteries. INTERFACING SUBSECTION OVERVEIW Identifing Systems and techniques to interface various systems is the most important step you need to take in understanding the processes and steps you will need to undertaker. This will greatly reduce your build time and reduce your overheads dramaticlly, increasing the fun factor and giving you more resources to complete those other robots you want to make. So the following list will help to identify these systems and help you get started.
-HARDWARE INTERFACING
-sensor systems
-control systems
-power systems and motor control
-SOFTWARE INTERFACEING
-exsisting software
-write your own
-code-free robots
-MECHANICAL INTERFACING
-drive systems
-effectors and weapons
-gas and fluid systems
-chassis and wheel designing
