Variobot variAnt Instructions Manual Download Page 10 | Manualshive

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Variobot variAnt Instructions Manual Download Page 10

3) Prepping the Cables

4 cm

4 cm

7 cm

9 cm

1 rainbow flat ribbon cable, 10 cm (10 pin)
2 rainbow flat ribbon cables, 20 cm (10 pin)

Carefully use a utility knife (held almost
horizontally) to split the 10 cm long flat
ribbon cable into 4 two-colored twin
cables.

Keep the leftover cable in case you
decide to do some additional wiring.

From one of the 20 cm long flat ribbon cables, sepa-
rate the outer four pole strands. Now split the three
long cables according to the specified dimensions.

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Summary of Contents for variAnt

Page 1: ...Version 230825...

Page 2: ...circuit Caution Do not touch inside the power unit Caution Due to variAnt s open structure there are sharp edges and corners variAnt may only be used indoors Do not use this robot in traffic areas Do...

Page 3: ...terminals or be placed separately into sealed plastic bags Do not put them in the trash or municipal recycling bins Although the constructions and circuits introduced in this instruction manual were d...

Page 4: ...d extensions possible Once the fun of putting variAnt together is over the pre made and expandable code modules ensure a quick and easy introduction to Arduino programming Your first experiments with...

Page 5: ...s 17 Attaching the Mandibles 18 Attaching the Antennae 19 Installing the Battery 20 Mounting the Electronics B Startup Procedure 1 Charging the Battery 2 Configuring the Arduino IDE 3 Installing variA...

Page 6: ...Ahead MLB Motor Left Back MRA Motor Right Ahead MRB Motor Right Back PWR Power Buttons LEDs LEDs on off PWR Power battery on off Connections on the variAnt board rear AL0 Analog Input Left 0 AL1 Anal...

Page 7: ...acer Overview of the most common combinations of small parts Fragile Handle with care When handling the acrylic parts be careful not to bend them too much until they are connected to their counterpart...

Page 8: ...m and an Allen key at the indicated positions on the top side of the acrylic plate which is smooth Then on the same side of the plate mount 4 of the short brass spacers with 4 of the 4 mm screws Now a...

Page 9: ...they lie flat against the side of the motor housing Now ensuring you use little pressure slant the motors and set them into the corresponding openings The motors cables should run through the small op...

Page 10: ...a utility knife held almost horizontally to split the 10 cm long flat ribbon cable into 4 two colored twin cables Keep the leftover cable in case you decide to do some additional wiring From one of th...

Page 11: ...e control board Then use the 4 short screws to mount the board onto the brass spacers Now place the breadboard into the 2 large openings on variAnt s head just far enough that it sits firmly Push the...

Page 12: ...s from the center through the 5 pin cable strand brown green Insert the 4 connectors directly in front of the cables of the same color into the breadboard Place the brown red cable between the motors...

Page 13: ...me color on the breadboard Then bend them backward and guide them to the front between the breadboard and the spacers Now plug the two black twin cables into the outer contacts RSR and RSL on the fron...

Page 14: ...dy component using short screws Then slide the clip cable for the battery through the small rectangular opening 1 and connect it to the available contacts in the middle of the control board BAT red bl...

Page 15: ...components cables etc protrude through their respective openings For now secure the upper component only to the head and the abdomen using 5 long screws Then attach 2 balls with 6 mm screws to the sh...

Page 16: ...mall shaft collars The bending angles of the shafts determine the range of motion for the legs If a shaft is bent too much the legs may collide with each other while walking 10 9 When variAnt runs int...

Page 17: ...ome of the shafts the corresponding gears need to be adjusted as follows Use pliers to hold the shaft near the bend and a piece of cloth to slide the gear off the shaft Then press the gear back on aga...

Page 18: ...wo shafts whose gears you marked in the opposite direction of their bending through the middle oval holes 3 If the brass bushing gets stuck in the second hole gently push the end of the shaft towards...

Page 19: ...the brass bushings from slipping out of place carefully tighten the acrylic pieces at the remaining positions using 4 long 8 mm screws Then temporarily remove the two short shafts Now attach 6 short b...

Page 20: ...movements and even increase variAnt s speed 4 2 3 1 Attach 4 short spacers using 4 short screws to each of the unengraved sides of the right leg elements Slide one shaft collar up to the middle of ea...

Page 21: ...pacers 2 and 4 Now slide a ball onto the drive shaft and raise the leg until the ball snaps into place between the holes 3 Be careful not to lose the balls in the process 6 Start either at the back ri...

Page 22: ...brass bushings 1 Now reinstall the 35 mm long shafts Make sure that none of the gears touch a red motor cable Lastly check if the magnets are positioned directly under the gears Place the 2 gears for...

Page 23: ...sit more firmly if the notches 1 on the connectors are facing outward Now cut off 12 pieces of heat shrink tubing each 5 mm long Slide 4 pieces over the housing of the sensors on the legs Position the...

Page 24: ...mm screws ensuring that they can still move 2 left mandible elements 2 right mandible elements 6 short screws 4 short spacers 2 medium screws Then insert two of the trimmed sensors correctly polarize...

Page 25: ...correctly polarized sensors onto the cable connectors Slide a piece of heat shrink tubing over each one and slide them between the acrylic plates 3 2 5 1 4 K K Now place the left antenna elements on...

Page 26: ...the front Now place the battery between the holders with the USB port facing upwards and secure it with the two elastic loops Lastly bend the red black clip cable 180 towards the back and connect the...

Page 27: ...e longer one into AL0 Then bend the sensor 90 backwards Place the two red switch caps with their slots facing sideways onto the push buttons LEDs and PWR Lastly insert the Nano board with the USB conn...

Page 28: ...ttery While the battery is charging the LED indicator will be red Once the battery is fully charged the LED indicator will turn blue Key specifications for the VARIOBOT battery Output voltage 9 5 V 5...

Page 29: ...Arduino IDE Go to File Preferences Change the language if necessary In the Additional boards manager URLs field add the complete URL shown in the gray box below and click OK Go to Tools Board Boards...

Page 30: ...you can either go to the menu and use Sketch Include Library VariAnt or write the following at the beginning of the program include VariAnt h The variAnt library manages the movements of your robot a...

Page 31: ...was pushed for a short amount of time 500 ms In this case the speed is reduced by 32 using changeSpeed 32 buttonPressed LEFT LONG If the button is pressed for a long time stepBack 15 3 is used to have...

Page 32: ...alking If this is the case try to correct the position of the legs as follows Loosen the 4 mm screws that attach the ball joints to the body from below Push the affected joints away from each other an...

Page 33: ...every 500 ms By using showShadows 500 you can display on the 8 outer blue LEDs whether the corresponding sensor values exceed the threshold value of for example 500 In this case the maximum value of 1...

Page 34: ...ted using printSensors variAnt s phototransistors are connected in series between GND and 5 V and they provide eight analog voltages or values ranging between 0 and 1023 5 V at the connections AL0 AL3...

Page 35: ...L2 R2 ant stepBack 1 4 if ant senseShadow 900 R0 R2 L2 ant stepBack 4 1 By using getSensor L2 for example the sensor value of the left mandible L2 is retrieved By using senseShadow 820 L1 the sensor v...

Page 36: ...s sensor system works in both very bright and almost dark environments In addition unlike other robots variAnt does not need to emit infrared light to detect lines or objects This simplifies the circu...

Page 37: ...riAnt to rotate in the desired direction either LEFT or RIGHT By using slowDown LEFT the speed of the left motor is reduced until the next left step is taken The function getButton LEFT indicates whet...

Page 38: ...C Appendix 1 Overview of the Components...

Page 39: ...2 Schematic Diagram of the variAnt Board...

Page 40: ......

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