Solarbotics BEAM Robotics Kit 2, Руководство пользователя

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BEAM Robotics Kit #2:
The BEAM Photopopper 4.2 Photovore
Introduction
BEAM Robotics is a relatively new field of robotics where the robot does not have a “traditional” brain (ie: a
microprocessor), does not have a “traditional” power source (ie: a battery), and does not look anything like a
"traditional" robot (ie: no blinking lights). No microprocessor means there isn't any programming to contend with, or
worries about losing all your programming because the battery ran low. Being solar-powered and having no off switch
means that a BEAM creature will do what it's designed to do as long as there is sufficient light, regardless if there's a
person watching it or not. This means you can leave your robot alone for a while, and when you come back, it may be in
a totally new and unexpected position (or for that matter, could be down-right missing)..
The BEAM Photopopper Photovore is a capable little self-contained robot that is powered entirely by solar energy, has
light-sensing directional optics (eyes), and a pair of obstacle-avoidance sensors. It uses the latest in high-activity BEAM
electronics, utilizing new-technology voltage detection devices that use very little power to monitor power levels in the
capacitor. This has been such an improvement over older methods that these new prototypes “popped along” right by
the old style photovores, thus the name “Photopopper”. The pair of infrared detectors on the robot give it a very
directed phototropic (light-seeking) behaviour, making it able to trace outlines around shadows, and be attracted to the
brightest sources of light.
Almost every BEAM creature makes use of a circuit called a Solarengine. This is a circuit that digests the energy from a
solarcell and turns it into bursts of motion. Your Photopopper Photovore uses two Solarengines, one for each motor.
By governing which Solarengine fires, the Photopopper can avoid obstacles and go towards light.
The name BEAM is an acryonym for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics. It breaks down like this:
If you're going to create something from scratch, you model it after successful designs. Soooo, we steal (um, I
mean “borrow”) many good ideas from Mother Nature. There's some techniques that we can use that nature doesn't
have, like using metals, solder, wheels, and some real killer glues. We can't include solarcells in that list because nature
turns light into food all over the place. Have you seen those tree-things lately?!? They've got these green, flappy things
that hang in the breeze and convert light into energy (truly cool). Your BEAM Photovore was originally inspired by the
shape of a small Horse-shoe crab, but it seems to have turned out looking more like a BEAM cockroach...
Obviously, it's a whole lot easier for us to solder a few transistors together than it is to hook up muscle
tissue and nerve bundles. Silicon electronics provides us with a practial method to create our own life-like creatures,
and there's none of that messy blood'n'guts stuff.
This is just a fancy name for “Gee - that looks cool”. If you're going to spend the time to construct an
autonomous (self-running) robot, spend a little more time to finish it properly. Hide the wires, tighten the connections,
and make the solder joints clean. Besides improving it's appearance, these qualities also will make a robot sturdier and
more robust.
Solid, clever mechanics by themselves can replace a microprocessor and many lines of programming.
This makes a robot more damage-resistant, and able to survive the unexpected. Too often a robot is based around the
computer, with wheels and motors literally strapped to a frame with a computer mounted on the top. Designing BEAM
robots means the mechanical layout is just as or more important than the electronics, and usually takes longer to design
than anything else.
Biology:
Electronics:
Aesthetics:
Mechanics:
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