My Robosapien Hacking
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Stage 2: find uses for picmicro's control
Since I had control of Robosapien using the PICmicro I decided to go looking for some way to make use of it. The following was my list of ideas:
PICmicro stores "programs" (even when power is off)
Disconnect toe, heel and finger switches from PCB and route them through PICmicro to give more inputs (as these are simply switches wired in parallel)
Add different sensors, e.g:
IR-proximity detectors, UltraSonic Rangefinders, Light Dependant Resistors (LDRs), voice-activation (well not on a PIC obvoiusly).
Add more outputs, e.g:
LEDs gallore, LCD (so you know what PICmicro/Robosapien is up to), text-to-speech transducer (SP03) (see photos below).
I'm sure I missed a few ideas out.
At this stage I tested a few devices, namely the SP03 (text-to-speech) and an LCD. The LCD was initially used to display the received IR code but it gave me an idea for a project, a Robosapien Alarm Clock. Below are some photos of the various experiments.
Photos
Robosapien with LCD connected to prototype board.
I attached the SP03 Speech synthesizer to the robosapien and was able to control it from my PIC using I2C (2-wire interface). In the photo you can see a 9V (PP3) battery and a connector hanging from the breadboard. Attached to the connector is a piece of stripboard with a 5v regulator, this supplies the power to the SP03.
Robosapien with LCD attached.
Robosapien with prototype board taped to back. Notice that there are now 4 wires to the board. These are VCC, GND, IR-OUT (to PCB) and IRIN (from receiver in head).
Close up of current prototype board. Notice that there are now 4 wires to the board. These are VCC, GND, IR-OUT (to PCB) and IRIN (from receiver in head).
Downloads
- robosap.inc - The include file (txt document)
- rs-3.asm - A very simple example of how it is used (txt document)
Links
Disclaimer
Except where noted otherwise these Photographs are licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
Robosapien, Robosapien V2 & Roboquad are trademarks or registered trademarks of WowWee Group Limited.
I accept no responsibility or liability for anything you do. You may dismantle, alter or modify your Robosapien/RobosapienV2/Roboquad at your own risk.
