Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Penguin robot

The Penguin robot is a precision-machined 4" tall biped with an embedded BASIC Stamp 2px24 microcontroller. The Penguin walks forward with a tilt-stride action and turns by sweeping both feet on the ground in opposite directions. This basic biped design works best in the Penguin's small scale. The Penguin's parts have a close-tolerance fit and are designed to make use of precise electronic control. Set aside three hours to assemble a Penguin.

Writing code for the Penguin is quite easy. First, the servo center and tilt/stride limits are set and written to EEPROM using the Penguin-ServoCalibration.bpx program. Subsequent programs use the values stored in EEPROM, making it easy to share Penguin code without having to adjust servo PULSOUT constants in each program.

Sensors are added into the subroutines, and a direction of travel is executed by assigning a value to the WALK variable (forward, back, left or right). Sensors are monitored between walking movements, without the headache of linking walking movements being handled by the rest of the PBASIC program.

The Penguin robot performs best on your desk or other hard surfaces. It is not designed for long-distance adventuring across thick carpet, but a tight, low-pile carpet is an acceptable walking surface. The Penguin's electronics are fully assembled and wired to an assortment of sensors and output devices.


Penguin Features:
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