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Vol. 5 No. 10 SERVO MAGAZINE ROBOTIC ARM • NEEMO 12 • ROOF INSPECTOR • GPS • M-BOT • FASTENERS October 2007 Cover.qxd 9/6/2007 11:31 AM Page 84 Order 24 hours a day, 7 days a week www.Jameco.com Or call 800-831-4242 anytime ©Jameco Electronics. *According to their web sites on August 28, 2007. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. We’re Semi Nuts We’ve got semis on the brain. Jameco offers more major brands of semiconductors than anyone — almost twice as many as these catalog distributors.* It’s another Jameco advantage. 5 10 15 20 25 OTHER JAMECO ADVANTAGES: ■ More major passive, interconnect and electro- mechanical brands than other distributors. ■ 99% of catalog products ship the same day. ■ Lowest prices guaranteed, or we pay 10%. ■ Major brand names and generic equivalents for even greater cost savings. Free shipping on these and 79 other brands. Call for details. Jameco ® Altera Analog Devices Atmel Semiconductor Avago Technologies Cypress Diodes INC. Fairchild Semiconductor Freescale Semiconductor Infineon Technologies Integrated Devices Intel Corporation Intersil Lattice Semiconductor Linear Technologies Lite-On Semiconductor Maxim Micron Technologies Microsemi National Semiconductor NEC NXP (formerly Philips) Renesas Technology Sharp Microelectronics ST Microelectronics Texas Instruments Toshiba Allied ® Analog Devices Atmel Semiconductor Avago Technologies Freescale Semiconductor Infineon Technologies Integrated Devices Intel Corporation Intersil Lattice Semiconductor Maxim National Semiconductor NXP (formerly Philips) ST Microelectronics Texas Instruments Newark ® Altera Analog Devices Avago Technologies Cypress Fairchild Semiconductor Freescale Semiconductor Integrated Devices Intel Corporation Intersil Lattice Semiconductor Maxim National Semiconductor ST Microelectronics Texas Instruments Mouser ® Atmel Semiconductor Avago Technologies Cypress Diodes INC. Fairchild Semiconductor Freescale Semiconductor Intersil Lattice Semiconductor Lite-On Semiconductor NEC Sharp Microelectronics ST Microelectronics Texas Instruments CoverInside.qxd 9/4/2007 3:56 PM Page 2 ;^ghi"XaVhhXjhidbZghZgk^XZ### ¹Ndj ]VkZ egdk^YZY eda^iZ! 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Box 54,Windsor ON N9A 6J5; cpcreturns@servomagazine.com Departments 06 Mind/Iron 20 Events Calendar 21 Robotics Showcase 22 New Products 74 Robo-Links 75 SERVO Webstore 82 Advertiser’s Index PAGE 10 PAGE 39 TOC Oct07.qxd 9/5/2007 4:39 PM Page 4 10.2007 VOL. 5 NO. 10 SERVO 10.2007 5 32 CAN Networking Miniature Style by Fred Eady Learn everything you need to know to code the tricky Firgelli miniature linear actuator into the electromechanical side of your robotic designs. 39 M-BOT by Ron Hackett Part 2: Take a detailed look at M-bot’s circuitry and learn two useful yet simple software routines. 43 Building an Android Arm by Mark Miller Part 1: Complete arm assembly to begin the transformation into a working limb. 46 NEEMO 12 by Doug Porter Telerobotic surgery below the sea is good practice for telerobotic surgery in space. 48 Target Practice for Robotics Class by Michael Chan Turn an old printer into a shooting range and learn basic electronic principles to apply in future robot builds. 52 Build a Vex Wireless Joystick Controller by Daniel Ramirez Utilize this device to bring Hollywood-style special effects to your next build. 61 GPS by Michael Simpson Part 1: A beginning look at incorporating GPS into your robot projects. Features & Projects PAGE 26 PAGE 46 TOC Oct07.qxd 9/5/2007 4:38 PM Page 5 Published Monthly By T & L Publications, Inc. 430 Princeland Court Corona, CA 92879-1300 (951) 371-8497 FAX (951) 371-3052 Product Order Line 1-800-783-4624 www.servomagazine.com Subscriptions Inside US 1-877-525-2539 Outside US 1-818-487-4545 P.O. Box 15277 North Hollywood, CA 91615 PUBLISHER Larry Lemieux publisher@servomagazine.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ VP OF SALES/MARKETING Robin Lemieux display@servomagazine.com EDITOR Bryan Bergeron techedit-servo@yahoo.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Jeff Eckert Tom Carroll Gordon McComb David Geer Pete Miles R. Steven Rainwater Michael Simpson Kevin Berry Fred Eady Doug Porter Mark Miller Ron Hackett Daniel Ramirez Michael Chan Pete Smith Chad New Paul Ventimiglia James Isom CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tracy Kerley subscribe@servomagazine.com MARKETING COORDINATOR WEBSTORE Brian Kirkpatrick sales@servomagazine.com WEB CONTENT Michael Kaudze website@servomagazine.com PRODUCTION/GRAPHICS Shannon Lemieux Michele Durant ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Debbie Stauffacher Copyright 2007 by T & L Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved All advertising is subject to publisher’s approval. We are not responsible for mistakes, misprints, or typographical errors. SERVO Magazine assumes no responsibility for the availability or condition of advertised items or for the honesty of the advertiser.The publisher makes no claims for the legality of any item advertised in SERVO. This is the sole responsibility of the advertiser. Advertisers and their agencies agree to indemnify and protect the publisher from any and all claims, action, or expense arising from advertising placed in SERVO. Please send all editorial correspondence, UPS, overnight mail, and artwork to: 430 Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879. When it comes to robotics, believing is seeing. Unlike scientific areas where researchers and enthusiasts happen upon novel processes or compounds, robots are the product of focused work. As such, it’s possible to approximate the trajectory of robotics with fairly good accuracy. My crystal ball? Military spending. Although there is a substantial commercial footprint in robotics, the US military is the traditional and largest backer of risky, future-oriented developments. The most accessible window into the military’s investment in the future of robotics is the series of DOD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) solicitations that are posted every few months at www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/ sbir/. The SBIR program provides up to $850,000 in early-stage R&D funding directly to small technology companies, including individual entrepreneurs who form a company. The program is competitive, with 10- 300 applicants per topic, and at most a handful of recipients. Obviously, the odds of eventual commercialization are much better for a DOD-backed robotics technology than for a robotics project without the additional, no- strings-attached funding. As an example of what the DOD funds in robotics, consider the SBIR solicitation that closed September of 2007. Using the DOD Topics Search Engine at www.dodsbir.net/Topics/ Default.asp, searching for “robot” retrieved seven solicitations: one from the Air Force, one from the Navy, and five from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The Air Force solicitation was for a human/machine perceptual sensing technology to aid the wearer in detecting an emerging threat, based on multi-source sensor fusion. The effect on the future direction of robotics products is clear in this solicitation. You can probably imagine an urban protective suit that warns pedestrians, cyclists, or police officers of impending danger, whether from motorists, potential muggers, or simply inclement weather. The Navy’s solicitation was for an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) at-sea refueling system. The goal was to develop a refueling system that can provide fuel for USVs with minimal risk to personnel or the environment. Spin-offs could one day autonomously refuel your hybrid car — while you drive. No need to pull over to fill up or plug in to the power grid. The solicitations from the Missile Defense Agency ranged from space component miniaturization, interceptor algorithms, and sensor data fusion to the application of game theory in modeling and simulation. Space component miniaturization, with an emphasis on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and lightweight, high-efficiency motors, has obvious relevance to the future of robotics. Lighter, more efficient motors will allow for more compact robot designs, including more compact batteries and power supplies. Although intended to thwart ballistic missiles, the MDA’s solicitation for new interceptor algorithms will likely result in new algorithms for robot navigation and object avoidance, among others. Sensor fusion has been an important topic in robotics, ever since the introduction of the Kalman filter in the 1960s. The MDA’s call for more advanced, multi- Mind / Iron by Bryan Bergeron, Editor Mind/Iron Continued 6 SERVO 10.2007 Mind-FeedOct07.qxd 9/6/2007 9:33 AM Page 6 sensor data fusion algorithms will likely result in technology that will eventually appear in commercial robots. Furthermore, modeling and simulation are increasingly relied on for testing new algorithms and platform designs before physical robots are constructed. Advanced, innovative models for the evaluation and optimization of sensors have obvious applications in the robotics design process. How long before the innovations requested by the DOD leave the laboratory or workbench to become commercial realities? Probably years. But there is a continuous stream of similar DOD solicitations, dating back decades. Many of the DOD-funded innovations are just coming on line now, in the form of affordable sensors, components, and algorithms. Even if you don’t intend to apply for a grant, it’s fun to read through the dozens of DOD-funded SBIR solicitations that appear every few months, and then try to imagine the likely effect on the evolution of robotics. SV SERVO 10.2007 7 P erform proportional speed, direction, and steering with only two Radio/Control channels for vehicles using two separate brush-type electric motors mounted right and left with our mixing RDFR dual speed control. Used in many successful competitive robots. Single joystick operation: up goes straight ahead, down is reverse. Pure right or left twirls vehicle as motors turn opposite directions. In between stick positions completely proportional. Plugs in like a servo to your Futaba, JR, Hitec, or similar radio. Compatible with gyro steering stabilization. Various volt and amp sizes available. The RDFR47E 55V 75A per motor unit pictured above. www.vantec.com STEER WINNING ROBOTS WITHOUT SERVOS! Order at (888) 929-5055 by J. Shuman Mind-FeedOct07.qxd 9/5/2007 4:21 PM Page 7 8 SERVO 10.2007 Strength Record Set Back in May, Germany’s KUKA Roboter GmbH introduced Titan, which apparently has secured (at least for now) the title of “world’s strongest robot” in the Guiness Book of World Records. The machine is powered by nine motors that give it a 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) payload capacity, and it has a reach of 3.2 m (10.5 ft) and a work envelope of 78 m 3 (2750 ft 3 ). At full stretch, Titan reaches a height of more than 4 m (13 ft). According to the company, this monster is capable of moving entire car bodies all by itself and can withstand a static torque of 60,000 Nm (or 44,000 ft-lb, roughly 100 times the torque generated by your father’s Oldsmobile). Titan is intended for various applications in the building materials, automotive, and foundry industries. Details are available at ww w.kuka.com. Getting Into Your Head At the other end of the spectrum is a small bot invented by Professor Leo Joskowicz, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (www.huji. ac.il/huji/eng/). The apparently unnamed device was developed to improve “keyhole” surgical procedures in which tiny instruments are inserted into your brain through a small hole. Doctors already can make use of CT or MRI images, but there is still a risk of misdirecting the surgical instru- ments and causing hemorrhaging or severe neurological damage. But Joskowicz and some associates have developed an image-guided system that, based on a robot that is pro- grammed using electronic scans of the patient, can provide better precision and dexterity than a surgeon’s hand. During surgery, the robot is clamped onto the patient’s skull, after which it automatically and accurately positions itself with respect to surgical targets. Once positioned, the robot locks itself in place and serves as a guide for insertion of a needle, probe, or catheter to carry out the procedure. The invention won Prof. Joskowicz the Kaye Innovation Award (named after and established by Isaac Kay, a British pharmaceutical mogul). Robot Ankle Developed A less unsettling breakthrough comes from Professor Hugh Herr and his team of researchers at the MIT Media Lab (www.media.mit.edu). They have developed an ankle-foot device that, driven by a small battery- powered motor, allows amputees to walk normally again. In operation, the energy produced from the wearer’s forward motion is stored in a power-assisted spring and then released as the foot pushes off. Additional mechanical energy is provided for momentum. According to Herr, “This design releases three times the power of a conventional prosthesis to propel you forward and, for the first time, provides amputees with a truly humanlike gait.” And he should know, being a double amputee who tested his own invention. Herr created the device under the auspices of the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine (CRRM), a collaborative research initiative that includes the Providence VA Medical Center, Brown University, and MIT. Commercial versions may be available by the summer of next year. Bluegill Inspires UAV Design Also from MIT, over in the Bio- Instrumentation Systems Laboratory (bioinstrumentation.mit.edu), is a robotic fin design that someday could be used to propel UAVs in functions ranging from ocean floor mapping to surveying shipwrecks, as well as mili- tary tasks such as mine sweeping and harbor inspection. An underwater bot KUKA’s Titan is billed as the world’s largest and strongest six-axis industrial robot. Photo courtesy of the KUKA Robot Group. Professor Joskowicz demonstrates equipment for probing your brain. Photo courtesy of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Photo by Sasson Tiram. The MIT Media Lab’s powered ankle-foot prosthesis in action. Photo by Webb Chappell. by Jeff Eckert Robytes Robytes.qxd 9/5/2007 2:42 PM Page 8 driven by fins could prove to be more maneuverable and energy efficient than its propeller-driven counterparts. The researchers picked the bluegill sunfish because of its unusual swim- ming motion, in which it generates a constant forward thrust without creat- ing backward drag. The latest design is based on a flexible polymer that repli- cates two critical motions: the forward sweep and the simultaneous cupping of the upper and lower fin edges. When an electric current is run across the base of the fin, it sweeps forward, just like the fish. When the direction of the current is changed, the fin curls to create the cupping action. Future research will focus on other aspects of the sunfish’s move- ment, including interactions between its fins and body. Robotic Punk Music His real name is Jay Vance, but he goes by the moniker of JBOT when performing with his “band,” Captured! By Robots (C!BR). According to the official story, JBOT spent a few years playing in some awful ska groups but back in the late ‘90s decided to build his own backup band. He collected some scrap metal, pulleys, and pneumatic actuators, and the result was DRM- BOT0110, GTRBOT666, AUTOMATOM, TAWHNN, SOTAWHNN, and the Headless Hornsmen. C!BR’s 10-year anniversary spring tour ended in June, but presumably the act will go on the road again someday. In the meantime, you can hear sam- ples, watch video clips, and even buy CDs at www.capturedbyrobots.com. But be warned that, with tunes like “Torture,” “I Hate Your Techno,” and “I Just Peed Your Waterbed,” this ain’t exactly Peabo Bryson. It’s more like Chuck E. Cheese from Hell. Walking on Water — Almost Apparently, there is this thing called a basilisk lizard, a member of the iguana family, that hangs out in Central and South America eating insects, plants, and small vertebrates. Its main claim to fame is that it can flap its web-like feet up to 10 times per second, which allows it to walk (run, actually) on water for distances of up to 20 m (~66 ft); hence the nickname “Jesus lizard.” Now some students at the Carnegie-Mellon NanoRobotics Lab, working with Professor Metin Sitti, are attempting to build a robotic version on the theory that a bot that can travel across water without being submersed may offer more efficient movement by eliminating viscous drag. It’s still in the prototype stage, but you can monitor the critter’s progress and even see videos at nanolab.me.cmu.edu/projects/wat errunner/. SV Robytes A bluegill sunfish swims in a laboratory tank near a prototype of a robotic fin it inspired. Photo by Donna Coveney. Four-legged prototype of the “Jesus lizard.” Photo courtesy of Carnegie-Mellon NanoRobotics Lab. JBOT and the band: not everyone’s cup of hemlock. SERVO 10.2007 9 Robytes.qxd 9/5/2007 2:42 PM Page 9 10 SERVO 10.2007 N icholas McMahon — a current engineer at iRobot (where he is proudly working on the iRobot Packbot project) — took a few minutes to fill in the details about his roof- inspecting electro-mechanization. Robotic Goals, Rooftop Got-yas Roboticists are problem-solvers. They solve problems of physics, physi- cal mechanics, electronics, and robotics to create moving solutions to seeming- ly immovable problems. A key challenge for Nick and partner Sam Feller was to create a robot that could perform practical, quality roof inspections while maintaining balance and mobility in an environment of steep inclines and treacherous twists and turns. The duo had to design the robot around maintaining stability and traction on steep surfaces (i.e., 45-degree slopes), according to McMahon. The stability problem required a low center of gravity. The roboticists used CAD modeling techniques and live testing scenarios to design and validate the robot’s low center of gravity. In order to be a suit- able replacement for human inspectors, the robot must not tip or get hung up in this most inhibitive of environments. Traction was another matter. The traction problem meant experiment upon experiment with varying materi- als of differing levels of friction to create wheel surfaces that would maintain contact with the roofing. Not just any material would do. “We started with traditional convey- or belt material. Other candidates were Scotch Brite pads and various foams and rubbers. We settled on EPDM (ethylene Contact the author at geercom@alltel.net by David Geer Robot Roof Inspector Holds its Footing Former Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI, Worcester, MA) students Nick McMahon and Sam Feller designed and built a roof inspection robot to help keep flesh and blood roof examiners from precarious and injurious positions. (Both McMahon and Feller graduated from WPI this year with Bachelor of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering.) The roof inspection robot (top-side, on faux roof). At the bottom, see if you can find the pan/tilt X10 camera. Can you find the potentiometer in the center? Can you tell which way it is going? Which way is it looking right now? According to former WPI student and now graduate Nick McMahon, he and former student Sam Feller learned how robotics rely on software engineering, mechanics, and electronics to work properly. They also learned about time management, team work, and working with customers to get their input. Travelers Insurance, their customer for this robot research, sponsored the roof robot project, McMahon explained. LESSONS LEARNED Geerhead.qxd 9/5/2007 2:44 PM Page 10 . publisher@servomagazine.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ VP OF SALES/MARKETING Robin Lemieux display@servomagazine.com EDITOR Bryan Bergeron techedit -servo@ yahoo.com. Kerley subscribe@servomagazine.com MARKETING COORDINATOR WEBSTORE Brian Kirkpatrick sales@servomagazine.com WEB CONTENT Michael Kaudze website@servomagazine.com