Category: Research

ROBOTICS COMPONENTS!! CHEAP CHEAP! COME COME!

First, you will need an EZbuy account, it will be really worth it. Best part, they have collection point from Canteen 2 in NTU!!

Buying from Taobao /EZbuy won’t guarantee the quality, occasionally  will you receive item that doesn’t work but they are CONFIRM 3X to 10X cheaper than Simlim Tower.

Waiting time is anywhere from 5days to 3 week (5 days only if you are really lucky that the seller send your order out the same day and it finished inspection the next day in EZbuy warehouse PLUS you used Express shipping which is $2.99 per 500 gram) if you are REALLY UNLUCKY that the seller gone MIA after you purchase, good luck, but that shouldn’t happen with the link I gave as I bought from them and all is good.

 

Tutorial here for those who don’t know how EZ buy works,

PCA9685 Motor Driver  <—– CLICK HERE

 

MG945, MG946R, MG995, MG996R(Get the 996R, I think its the best out of the 4 from some forum I read, but not very sure.) waterproof servo and 30kg servo, I dont’t know how well they work. <—– CLICK HERE

SG5010 Servo They are 180 Degree by default & they are similar to the one above, but with plastic gears which made it lighter and cheaper but don’t last long<—– CLICK HERE 

 

SG90S, Much Stronger version of the small servo in the Arduino kit & this 1 have all metal gears, but WAY WEAKER than the 2 above <—– CLICK HERE

Arduino Uno Clone. working good with more pins available for soldering  <—– CLICK HERE

ESP32, runs Arduino code and with built-in WIFI and BLUETOOTH  <—– CLICK HERE

Wemos D1, work exactly like Arduino Uno, but with Built-in WIFI <—– CLICK HERE

Lots of plastic gears, metal rods, rubber band belt drive <—– CLICK HERE

 

Have fun shopping!!

Robotics – Final Project Ideas Generations & Researches 1

For the final project for robotics, I decided that I want to do a solo project as to explore and learn more about the robotic aspect.

Categories that I am interested in:

Animatronics:

The use of Robotic Device to emulate human or animals, or to bring lifelike characteristic  to inanimate object-

It integrates:
Anatomy
Robots
Mechatronics
Puppetry (research to be done: Karakuri Puppets)

Usually powered by:
Pneumatics
Hydralics
Electrical
Mechanical

And controlled by:
Computer
Human (teleoperation like remote)

And further research must be done on:
Structure – Frame/Skeleton(Material, Skin)
Components – Types of motors and usage

Automaton

They are self-operating machine or mechanism that automatically follow a predetermined sequences of operations, for me, they are more like the 3D – Dumb, Dull and Dangerous of robotics that does job that would reduce manpower.

The main aspect I think of Automaton is the ability of repeat-ability as they are supposed to do the same sequence over and over again so the zeroing of every cycle is of an importance here.

Areas to explore here:
3D
Healthcare
Unmanned Vehicles
Architecture
Medical
Entertainments

Stepper motor VS Servo Motor

Stepper Motor:
– Easier to control (1Pulse = 1 step)
– Higher Torque at low speed
– Relatively cheaper
– Accelerate too fast will result in skil step
– Higher vibration

Servo Motor:
– Generally High speed and High torque for given size
– Ability to maintain torque at high speed
– More efficient
– Does not vibrate much in comparison to Stepper Motor
– Generally more expensive
– Only limited types of servos

Overall:
Stepper motor is good for low acceleration and high torque applications  and Servo motor is good for higher speed and higher torque applications.

My thoughts:
I could use 2 smaller servo to move a lever which is not capable by using only 1 servo instead of using a bigger servo (like 2x SG90D at 6V vs 1x HS322HD at 5V, but theres a limit to this)

I am more inclined to Animatronics as it seems much more interesting for me, after some research about Animatronics, Hexapods and Octopods are really common among the field of robotics due to the stability (6/2 = 3, and 3 feet on the ground will be stable) but then I am really interested in Quadruped which has 4 feet and an quadruped animal which I really like was the turtle/tortoise as they are interesting, generally does not move too fast and naturally have a shell, which seems logical to use a turtle as a base as their nature suits what I am looking for and it will be easier to hide all the components. So for now, I really want to give a Robotic Turtle some thoughts.