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Autonomous Bastard 4.0 (Autonomous Antweight Combat Robot)
I've started significant work on Auto B 4.0. Whole bunch of new stuff this time around.
Microcontroller: PIC 16F88
I'm programming the PIC using the free version of the CC5x compiler. It's limited to 1000 instructions - but I think that's fine for this project. I'm also using sparkfun's "bloader" bootloader. This lets me upload new code via serial without using a burner.
This chip has about 380 bytes of RAM and 4k of code space.
I've made my own board this time. Size is about 1"x1.5". God I hate soldering. Fortunately - it has an internal 8mhz oscillator - so it doesn't need much in the way of external components.
Using compiled C / PIC will require a little more "low-level" work than using a Basic Atom / Stamp. It doesn't seem to be too much tougher though.
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Sensors: Dual SRF04 Sonar
Positioned front and back. Targeting strategy is similar to Auto B 2.0 - which I thought actually worked pretty well (although you couldn't really tell once the drive train died).
Idea is to get to the center of the box, and then do a "radar" style sweep to find the other bot. This strategy worked really well in tests - and should be much more effective with 2 sensors as opposed to Auto B 2.0's single sensor.
Armor: Garolite G10/FR4
Garolite is a fiberglass composite with properties similar to carbon fiber. It's a little less rigid than CF, but it takes impacts extremely well. It seems a bit softer and is much easier to cut / drill. It's also way cheaper than CF.
K-Mac Plastics sells Garolite.
Drive train: Tamiya "High Power" Gearboxes - RE 140/1 6v Motors
I really like the High Power / High Speed tamiya gearboxes. Main problem is that they're a bit heavy. I tried using the smaller RE 140 motors to save weight - but they tended to blow up at higher voltages.
I did some research and found they make a 6-9v version of the 140 called the RE140/1. You can order them from the UK here.
Weight savings is about .5oz per motor. Geared 48:1 with 3" wheels / 7.4v - it moves pretty quick - but can go slow enough for good control.
Weapon: 3oz blade / Rocket 400 Motor(4.8v) 2:1 gearbox
Finally getting away from direct-drive. Hopefully the gearbox will hold up better than the motors have. The gearbox is metal - but has a nylon "main-gear" - I'm a little concerned about this - but I think it should hold up.
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