A couple of weeks ago I saw a nice video of kids playing with a tiny biped robot made by Easybotics. I contacted the owner and asked if I could create a similar robot based on an ATmega328 microcontroller that can be programmed in Arduino IDE, either directly in C, or, by using the ArduBlock tool, in a graphical manner, connecting blocks to write the program. He responded quickly saying that he has no problem with that, in fact, we could collaborate to build an Arduino compatible robot. After exchanging design ideas, we decided to go separate ways, as I wanted a simple robot board kit to be assembled by the customer or bought already ready assembled, and he wanted a more sophisticated board with a built in USB port and SMD parts. I started to prototype a robot and design the main board and today I have it ready for demos.
But first, let me introduce the µBipedino(TM) (pronounced micro-Biped-eeno) robot to you:
- micro-biped using 2 servos per leg for walking and dancing
- ATmega328 microcontroller at 3.3V, 8MHz with Arduino bootloader
- runs on a 3.6V LiIon battery
- built in charger with charging status LED (MAX1555)
- high side switch to enable the power to the servos by the microcontroller
- On/Off power switch with power status LED
- dual IR proximity sensor (38kHz) to detect objects on the Left/Right/Center
- trim-pots to adjust the IR LEDs light emitting level
- removable head board with built in Buzzer and dual RGB LEDs
- 4 extra connections for additional servos or sensors
- programmable start/select button
- keyed FTDI cable connector for programming
- board size: 5x5cm (2×2″)
- robot size: 6x6x10.5cm (2.5×2.5×4″)
Want to see it? Here are the pictures:
And the schematic and the PCB design:
I expect to have kits in the store sometime mid-January, perhaps even sooner if all works well.
Oh, yeah, want to see it in action? There you go:
WOW Fantastic !!!!
Michel
Canadian Robot