This walking robot shifts its center of gravity to walk and turns by sliding its feet in opposite directions.
Hardware:
The Toddler™ Robot is a high quality robot CNC-machined from aluminum and brass. The aluminum parts are brushed, annodized, acid-etched to make the perfect finish (put the legs on a buffing wheel for a silver shine!). The package includes body parts, legs, ankles, control linkages, screws/nuts/standoffs, etc. Requires 2-3 hours to assemble and tune. The aluminum parts have holes, slots and configurable mounting angles for your own customization. A complete parts listing is available in Appendix A of the Advanced Robotics text.
Electronics:
The Toddler Robot is controlled by a surface mounted BASIC Stamp® 2 module. Four infrared sensors and receivers, LEDs, servos for tilt and stride, resistors/capacitors, speaker, photoresistors complete the control system. Here are the specifications of the 4.8V Mini STD Servo:
- Dimensions (inches) 1.38x0.67x1.26
- Weight 26.6g
- Speed (sec/60o) - 0.19
- Torque (oz-in) - 47
Documentation:
Includes the 155-page Advanced Robotics text in the Stamps in Class style.
Education:
Walking robots have mechanical and software interdependencies that require in-depth examples and explanation. The Advanced Robotics text is a 155-page introduction to the Toddler robot's basic movements. Students using the Toddler Robot will learn advanced embedded programming with BASIC, efficient code development, sensor feedback, and general control. Because of the number of possible movements (34) we consider the Toddler to be appropriate for those aged 14 and above.
PC-based Toddler Control using Java Applet
Blue Bell Designs Toddler Co-Processor
Downloads:
Advanced Robotics with the Toddler robot (.pdf)
Advanced Robotics with the Toddler Source Code (.zip)
Toddler Board Schematics (.jpg)