Categories: Robot Hacks and Mods Robosapien V1 Robosapien V2
Can anybody suggest any sensible wortwhile mods/hacks to both RS1 &RS2? I'm not looking for mods like flameosapien, although coilosapien looks intriguing. I have a couple of RS1's I can hack but a lot of the mods I can find on the web seem to be a bit pointless. I would also be intiguied by the BX24 hack, but would need more information on programming etc.
Moderator
United StatesOne hacker's "worthwhile" is another modders "pointless".
It might help if you described to us what sorts of things you might consider worthwhile.
Better lights on an RSV2 to assist in color recognition?
Onboard RF receiver that converts incoming radio signals into IR control of the robot?
Volume control for toying in those wee hours when you don't want to disturb the others in the house?
ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)
Member
IE, CA, United States"Worthwhile" varies greatly depending on one's point of view. For example, just today my wife and I had a nice discussion about Roombas (on sale at Big Lots). To sum up, we need two. One would get painted like a bug and be named "Abba", the other would get big googly eyes on springs, a puke green fur coat, a disco ball on a stick, and be named "Abcess". Abba (to fit it's name) would get speakers and an iPod loaded with the "Mama Mia" soundtrack. Set up all four virtual walls for a makeshift dance floor, add some LEDs and lasers, drink some rum, and watch the two roombas dance and twirl to "Dancing Queen".
Indeed, in my family, this would be considered an extremely worthwhile mod.
Watch out, don't step in the anthropomorphization.
Excellent replies.
Rudolph has an excellent example of what modding/hacking can mean, he's talking about taking a very functional but not exactly asthetic robot and turning the tables to use it as an entertainment device. I'd imagine that the robot would still serve its purpose during the day and become a dance floor legend by night. Definitely a mod which would have a split among those who like or dislike it.
When I set about modding my RSv1 the first mod I done was adding a pot to the speaker, this was a purely functional mod to allow me to mess with RS late at night and not disturb anyone. I went on to replace the LEDs in his hands which is purely asthetic. Then I piggy-backed a prototyping-board and tried various programs and inputs/outputs with a PIC processor. This developed into a dual-PIC system and LCD display which was programmed to act as an alarm clock. As I expected RS would need to be powered up 24/7 I added a power jack and switch to his back which proved to be his downfall once when I forgot to switch from 9v to 6v and fried his processor board. Since he's had his board replace I haven't done much more with him and he mostly gathers dust. Functional/asthetic? It might be functional if I ever used it as a clock/alarm, asthetic perhaps as I took my time and painted his bodywork around the LCD to match. Worthwhile? Most definitely, I had a great time working on the programming and electrics. That's what it was all about for me, experimenting and trying out different approaches. The end goal wasn't neccesarily to have the ultimate robot, merely to have fun and possibly learn a few things along the way.
In conclusion, your modification/hack doesn't need to make your dinner, clean the house, overthrow the worlds leaders, destroy mankind. Perhaps all it needs to do is entertain you, be that the process of modding or the outcome.
markcra.com
Member
IE, CA, United Statesmarkcra said: In conclusion, your modification/hack doesn't need to... overthrow the worlds leaders...
Although that could be quite handy... *floats off into dream land*
This just in! President Bush has just been attacked by a mob of angry, picaxe-wielding robosapiens! Sources close to the White House confirm that approximately 12% of the the robots in the group were the newer RS Media, which runs an embedded-style version of the hackers' operating system Linux. Several eyewitnesses have stated that right before his excruciating, 97-minute-long death by plastic gripper Mr. Bush was heard exclaiming "I for one welcome our new hyper-intelligent robot overlords.".
*cut to video clip*
"It was just awful! There was this two foot tall robot with square blue eyes holding off this secret service agent. Then it acted strange, muttered something about a 'bad motivator' and stopped. By the time the agent got to President Bush's side it was just too late..."
*back to anchor desk*
"Wow, that's just horrible, Kathleen."
"indeed, Mark, a quite frightening world event. Now, on a lighter note, clowns!"
</end floaty dream sequence>
Watch out, don't step in the anthropomorphization.
Ok, I admit that the phrase "pointless" wasn't the best choice of words. The thought of Rudolphs Roomba getting jiggy to ABBA had me in hysterics last night. Perhaps you could modify one of the USB powered disco balls and add it to the top of the case!!! Markcra, the type of modifications you made ie the digital clock & 9V power supply are more in line with what i had in mind, Perhaps you could fill me in on the details of how you made the mods. The type of mods i had in mind were to change the led's in the hands, volume control & either a radio or mp3 amp package.
I'd love to be able to figure out the pc based control of a robosapien but i fear the programming side of it would be beyond me. The tought of a palm pilot or pocket pc control appeals to me also.
I'd love to be able to have an evil robot army at my control for world domination purposes, but at the moment I'm setting my sights a little lower, perhaps just taking over the Isle of Wight. What do you guys think?
Member
IE, CA, United StatesJC1138 said: I'd love to be able to figure out the pc based control of a robosapien but i fear the programming side of it would be beyond me.
Check out RoboDance for PC based conrtol. The programming is done, all you need to add is an IR emitter on the PC. Then it appears to be just drag-n-drop graphical commands in a chain* then punch the Go button.
* So it appears to me. I've not yet had the opportunity to use it, just read about it in anticipation of Tuesday's impending fun. I fear it will look like a Wowwee truck barfed in my living room.
Watch out, don't step in the anthropomorphization.
I would say a worthwhile mod would be to add some remote activated headlamps and some palm lights like RSV1 so he can see in the dark.
Robots will rule my house!
I don't think palm lights would be that easy to do, bearing in mind the difference between the v1 & the v2's hans. But headlights would be a good idea especially if they could be linked to phto cells to make them automatic dependant on light levels.
What I meant was to have a battery connected to the back and a small LED in the palm so you can see what is there + a light sensor so that when it becomes dark they turn on.
Robots will rule my house!
Member
Melbourne, AustraliaThe most common mod for the V2 involves adding LED lights to his head, in order to improve his vision.
Member
Nelson, New ZealandI second Nocturnal's comment, this is one of the most interesting mods I've done to RSV2, apart from my laser cannon [ Dangerous mod ] Take care if you do this mod. Video below.
The above comments are also very good especially the roomba abba mod jc1138
People yearn after this robotic dream, but you can't strip your life of all meaning, emotion and feeling and expect to function.
Robotic madness http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/
Member
Nelson, New ZealandShoulder laser and tracking camera [WI FI] will be used in conjunction with RSV2's head movements. [ Not yet done ]. This has been an interesting project, but care must be taken with that laser [35mw green laser] this was used for the strong clear beam, Although this has not showed up in the video.
People yearn after this robotic dream, but you can't strip your life of all meaning, emotion and feeling and expect to function.
Robotic madness http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/
A good mod for the v1 is to put in a vision sensor (as done by my best mate richardv2) and it is soo cool!
Robospear is being made by my friend richardv2
I've just performed the hand swop, so that v1 now has 2 left hands and he looks much better without the "Dr No" right hand. Trouble is I now have a v1 with 2 right hands and he does look a bit sinister. Next job, the LED mod.
Hehe, best of luck with the LED mod and looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
markcra.com
Just ordered some superduper ultrabright blue leds from maplins and a 1k rotary miniature potentiometer for the led and volume mods on my v1. If I can figure out how to post pictures I send one in of v1 & "Dr No" 
Member
Nelson, New ZealandJC1138: If you use something like imageshack, http://imageshack.us/ and register you can upload your photo's there. Then click on the icon above next to the youtube icon and copy and paste the link from imageshack in the image url box above and go insert.
People yearn after this robotic dream, but you can't strip your life of all meaning, emotion and feeling and expect to function.
Robotic madness http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/
Another free host for photos is www.flickr.com which is what I use for all my photo needs (dispite having my own website and loads of space, the easy to use tools make it more attractive than resizeing in photoshop/GIMP and uploading to my own server + some html). If you find yourself using flickr a lot you can upgrade your account to pro for a pretty reasonable price which gives you unlimited uploads, sets, collections etc.
Examples:
markcra.com
Moderator
United StatesI clipped off the discussion about how to upload photos directly into RoboCommunity.
It's now its own thread...
Uploading-Photos-Directly-Into-RoboCommunity
ScottE -- Member (always) & Moderator (when needed)
Fantastic. Just completed my superbright led mod but they won't light up. I'm sure my soldering is ok, but no dice. looks like its another surgery job to troubleshoot. Then again it's on a secondhand RS. Perhaps another donor bot is required. Thanks for the picture posting advice I'll give it a go after the surgery. Is there a robo-doctor in the house?
I hope this isn't a stupid question but did you check which way round you connected the LEDs?
(the correct term is polarity, LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and diodes only allow current to flow in one direction so unlike a bulb you cannot just connect it in any way round. Hope that isn't condecending, I don't know your knowledge level in electronics)
markcra.com
Member
IE, CA, United StatesCheck your power to the LED with a multimeter, make sure the light is getting some juice. Also verify it's enough for the LED you used. A blue one, for example, should take around five volts. If you tapped off a 3.3 volt line it may be dim. If you tapped a 3.3 and put a resistor in too the LED probably won't light at all.
If there isn't correct power at the LED, just go back in your circuit from there with the meter. Check voltage at each previous connection until you find the power you're looking for, then figure out why it's not going past that point (bad solder joint, bad component, reversed component, etc...).
To expand a bit on markcra's post (for anyone who doesn't know, not directed at anyone specific);
An easy way to check the polarity of the installed LEDs is that LEDs usually have a flattened edge corresponding with the negative pole of the diode (known as the cathode). Usually the cathode is the shorter of the two leads as well. This should be accurate on over 99% of LEDs you encounter.
edit = got a part backwards, fixed now. clarification. typo.
Watch out, don't step in the anthropomorphization.
Member
Nelson, New ZealandWell I was going to put a splurge here but the above comments have covered it all. Except if you want to look at my website component tutorial, http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/Components-.htm Scroll down to the LED's JC1138. Good luck.
People yearn after this robotic dream, but you can't strip your life of all meaning, emotion and feeling and expect to function.
Robotic madness http://robosapienv2-4mem8.page.tl/
Here's some ideas for "worthwile" mods:
Everyone uses the same sensor in these things. How about trying some new stuff?
Turn your Robo into Safety Robo by decking him out with a smoke detector, radon dector, or some other unusual sensor gear? I, personally, can't wait til I can get my hands on a "sniffer" sensor, so I can make my robot smell things. Imagine if Robosapien could smell if you were cooking something good and comment on it, or maybe even identify it. That would be a hoot. Or he could reliably tell what something was by it's scent?
Also, what about using RFID on a Robo? With these RFID things getting more popular you could pull off some crazy sh*t if Robo was able to read RFID signals... He could identify people by name when meeting them! This is actually kind of scary, who knows what he could find out. My dog has an RFID chip in him in case he gets lost, Robo could scan that and be like "Hey there Doyler Dog!" and throw a ball for him or something.
There's all kinds of meters and sensors etc. out there that possibly could expand one of your Robo's powers.
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