RC Robots Info
Exploding New RC Hobby For You And Your Children
Looking for Robot Kits or a Robot System?
Building RC Robots from scratch can be a complicated task, which is why Trossen Robotics large selection of robot kits and robot systems are the perfect solution for people looking to get a head start into this exciting new field of science. Robot kits bring the constantly growing technology of robotics right into to the hands of teachers, students and hobbyists. For those looking for a robot kit with a specific purpose, we offer a large selection of kits with varying degrees of difficulty.
If you’re looking for a complete robotic assembly system which can be used to develop a variety of different types and configurations of robots, be sure to visit our Trossen Robot Systems category. Whether you’re just starting out, a seasoned experimenter, or a professional in the field we’re confident you’ll find the robotic kit or system to meet your needs.
If your looking to build a Robot on your own.
This page will help you find what you need by giving a quick overview of each RC Robots part category and then giving links to more information and to shopping for RC bots building parts and and kits for building RC Bots and Pre-assembled RC Robots for you or your children.
Its easier to understand the building process of a bot if you take it one step at a time. This page breaks a fairly complex bot into smaller pieces to make the information easier to digest. We think that this is a great way to both learn about RC robots and to plan your actual building process. If you try to do everything at once you are likely to end up with a mess of gears, wires and computer chips. If you plan and build in small steps, you are almost guaranteed to succeed.
Controllers
The controller is the brains of your robot. The controller receives information from sensors and the input part of the human interface. It then decides what to do and sends commands to the motion systems, actuators and and the output part of the human interface. There are many types of controllers with differing amounts of processing power and varying amounts and types of “pins” which connect to sensors, motors and the other parts of the RC robot.
In order for your controller or your RC robot to do anything, you must write a program and load that program into the controller’s memory. Depending on your choice of controller, this can be fairly simple or extremely complicated. We recommend controllers using the Parallax Basic Stamp as the starting point for almost everyone. These controllers are programmed in an easy-to-learn language and have an integrated program loading system that is nearly 100% reliable. The Basic Stamp almost guarantees a fast start in programming whereas most alternatives require overcoming a significant level of difficulty just to get started. Even if you intend to “graduate” to more complex programming systems you will probably find the Basic Stamp a useful tool for investigating new ideas before developing your production code.
Sensors
Sensors provide your bot with information about its environment. Different sensors tell your RC robot about sights, sounds, pressures, temperatures and many other characteristics of the world around it.
In many cases sensor components provide “data” when what you want is “information”. For instance, a sonar component may report that an echo came back in .05ms when what you really want to know is that a robot is charging you from two feet away. In some cases the volume of data from sensor components is more than can be handled by a robot controller — too much data can be as useless as no data at all. Because of this, many of sensor products are actually “smart” sub systems with specialized logic to evaluate the data stream and simplify programming your robot’s main controller.
When considering sensors, your first step is to identify what you want your bot to sense and how quickly and reliably you want want to acquire that information. While “I want to know everything, right now, without error” sounds like a good specification, it probably isn’t achievable and it definitely wouldn’t be affordable. All practical sensors have definite limits of accuracy, range, resolution and repeatability. Each little increase in performance requires a large increase in cost so you will often accept what you can afford rather than insist on what you would like.
Bases
The base is your robots skeleton and it main functions are to hold all the other parts together and to protect delicate parts from harm. A base can be as simple as a scrap piece of wood or as complicated as a space ship.
In many cases the design of the base is completely inter winded with the design of the motion systems. Sometimes the mechanical components for a bot can be “borrowed” from a toy or other hobby. Radio controlled planes, cars and boats (including submarines) have been used to provide the base and motion system of robots.
Human Communications Systems
Your bot can “talk” to you via computer generated voice, blinking lights and text displays. It can “listen” to your instructions sent by keyboard, switches or wireless remote control. Computer people prefer to use the word “output” instead of “talk” and “input” instead of “listen”, but you know what they mean.
Motion Systems
Robots are usually moved by a combination of wheels, gears, motors and associated electronics. Sometimes motor systems are assembled piece-by-piece but the most common form of robot motion these days comes from servos similar to the kind used with radio controlled airplanes. While most bots roll, it is possible to build robots that walk, jump or even swim or fly.
A continuous rotation servo is a modified hobby servo that can rotate 360 degrees in either direction. These servos are economical and provide a neat systems of motors, gears and electronics that can be directly connected to most RC robot controllers. A number of different types of wheels are available which attach directly to the servo axle. Most simple robots use two servos to provide both motion and direction control. Direction is controlled by what is called “differential steering” — steering by varying the speed and direction of each wheel. If your robot needs to turn left, just slow or stop the left wheel servo while maintaining or increasing the speed of the right wheel. The bigger the difference in speed, the sharper the turn.
Motion systems can become as complicated as you choose and often require custom design and building of the mechanical and electronic components. Sometimes the mechanical components can be “borrowed” from a toy or other hobby. Radio controlled planes, cars and boats (including submarines) have been used to provide the base and motion system of robots.
Actuators
An actuator is any device that makes your bot do something. Motion Systems and the output part of the Human Communications Systems are just specialized actuators which are important enough that we though they deserved their own sections.
Actuators can move things or control other devices. Almost any device operated with electricity can become an actuator. Depending on the device it may be connected directly to the controller or indirectly by an H-Bridge or relay. Your RC robot can also control things remotely using radio frequency or infrared transmission or even over the internet. The X-10 home control system allows your robot to control household lights and appliances.Check Out These Robot Pics
Tomy, WowWee, Hasbro, and Lego are some of the larger companies that make RC Robots. The first generation version RC Robots were created in the mid 1980’s, by Tomy. This robotic toy was known as the Tomy Omnibot. Radio Shack also had a private label version known as Robie Sr. While these toys are no longer considered to be leading edge technology, they have developed quite a cult following. These toys even had built in cassette players that could record and playback audio sequences.
With the advancement of semiconductor technology, plummeting ram prices, and increases in CPU power, computerization is becoming increasing common. Even microwave ovens are now created with computers, which help determine optimum cooking temperature.
One of the better-known models is the Tomy I-Sobot. This model has incredibly smooth movement, similar to what you would find from the Honda Asimo. The Asimo was created by Honda as part of a large robotics project, and is the most advanced robot. The Asimo is not a toy, but rather it is a multi million-dollar R&D project from Honda. The key to having realistic RC Robot movement is a combination of sensors, micro step servomotors, and extensive computer programming.
i-Sobot has extremely realistic movement, due to the large number of actuators, motors, and gyroscopic sensor. The TOMY RC Robot has over 17 servo motors, and 19 IC chips which work together to help this machine provide its lifelike movement.
The I-Sobot has the ability to mimic walking, and dancing style movements including the ability to simulate hula dances, karate kicks, and will also respond to commands on the fly using the LCD remote.
As homage to movie lovers, there is even a pre-programmed sequence that allows I-Sobot to perform a re-enactment of the “Go ahead, make my day” sequence from the Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry movie.
In addition to amazingly lifelike movements, the robot also has the ability to speak, and has a built in vocabulary of more than 200 words and phrases. This toy is very unique, and will do a better job of holding a child’s attention compared to simple toys such as Tickle Me Elmo.
If you are purchasing the TOMY I-Sobot as a gift, it is recommended for children ages 10 and older. The robot comes fully assembled, with a set of 3 AAA Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable batteries for the Tomy robot. In addition, the remote control will need 3 additional batteries that are not included. To save the most amount of money when you are purchasing RC Robots, you can also check websites such as Fatwallet.com for coupon codes.
