Sunday, January 16, 2022

little robot with the Hummingbird bit


Little robot is a steal from Tom Lauwers Birdbrain technologies site.

The key idea is to place 2 position servos to obtain flexible neck movement, both left / right and up / down. Follow the link for detailed instructions on the Birdbrain site.

SOME CODE
Here is some code, using variables, to control the robot's head movement using the arrow keys (I wrote some separate code for the video):
Here are some rough notes about what I did, some mistakes I made and how to do better next time:
  • Use a bigger box to make a 7.5 cm cube box
  • Need to screw into the servos. I forgot and it fell apart.
  • Add duct tape to first servo to stop it moving (photo)
  • Add duct tape to servos and servo horns so they don't become glued up (photo)
  • Mark face position on the bottom cube to avoid confusion
  • A smaller thickness of hot glue might work better than big blobs (I read up on hot glue guns)
  • When attaching the top cube hold bottom firmly on RHS and press the top cube in, not too hard, in the correct position on the LHS (initially my positioning was all wrong)
  • Leave significant gap for head movement b/w top and bottom cubes (otherwise down movement will be restricted)
  • Leave RHS bottom door open until everything else finished. I still haven't closed it.
  • Calibrate optimal rotations when coding (if you rotate too far you might break it). I settled on left-right 10 to 170 and up down 65 to 115
Extra equipment:
  • Small screwdriver
  • ifixit blade for prising off dry hot glue when you have to redo
  • Super scissors
  • ruler 3 inches = 7.5 cm
  • duct tape
  • masking tape
  • googly eyes
Related:
Would you like to see a toilet roll dance?
bee waggle project with the Hummingbird bit

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