RobotShop Feeds |  |
- Don’t Be a Square! Get a Cube 3D Printer
- 05.24.2013 – Get Ready to Change the World of Robotics
- Get a Massage From WheeMe the Robot
- RobotShop and DSPRobotics to Re-engineer FlowBotics Studio
- RobotShop Forced to Stop Selling and Supporting the Italian Lawnbott Robot Mower from Zuchetti Centro Systemi
- Basics: How Do I Choose a Battery?
| Don’t Be a Square! Get a Cube 3D Printer Posted: 25 Feb 2013 12:33 PM PST  Cube 3D Printer RobotShop now carries the Cube 3D printer from 3D Systems. This is a very friendly 3D printer that allows you to make colourful objects quite easily thanks to several web applications 3D Systems puts at the disposal of the printer owner. See the samples of the things you could do with this printer in the video below.
Of course, you can also create your own 3D models and print them as well in your choice of PLA or ABS plastic. Since this is probably the most user-friendly printer we carry, we are really eager to see what our customers will be printing with this nifty machine and what crazy robots will ensue. What would make first if you had this 3D printer? Tell us in the comments blog and do not forget to pick up yours soon.       |
| 05.24.2013 – Get Ready to Change the World of Robotics Posted: 29 Jan 2013 06:56 AM PST  Servo Erector Set V1.1  FlowBotics Studio V2
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| Get a Massage From WheeMe the Robot Posted: 24 Jan 2013 09:31 AM PST  Wheeme Giving a Massage We tend to associate giving or receiving a massage as a process involving only humans – until now. Of course, robots don’t need massages, so they tend to concentrate on providing them instead. The WheeMe Massage Robot by DreamBots is a palm-size four wheeled robot that gently massages and caresses your body. Embodying unique tilt sensor technology, the WheeMe automatically and silently steers itself over your body without falling off or losing its grip. As it moves, the WheeMe’s patented “fingerettes” gently stroke and caress your skin. It doesn’t require any adjustments nor the assistance of another human. Just lie back and let it pamper you. It is safe and easy to operate, and can save you a lot of money if you use it to replace those expensive, professional human massages.
At RobotShop, we’ve got all you robotic needs covered (even the need to get massaged by a cute robot), this little massage robot is available for purchase immediately. Come get your WheeMe now.     |
| RobotShop and DSPRobotics to Re-engineer FlowBotics Studio Posted: 22 Jan 2013 09:59 AM PST FlowBotics Studio V2 We announced today our strategic partnership with DSPRobotics. We aim to develop a new version of Flowbotics Studio that will no only include several sample programs for driving Lynxmotion kits, but also will allow roboticists to use the full power of the FlowStone visual language to program robotic behaviours.
As always, we invite you to share your thoughts in the comments below.     |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2013 10:31 AM PST For those who remember back to 2004, RobotShop was the first company within North America to offer the Zuchetti Ambrogio Evolution Robot Lawn Mower. Later in 2005, Kyodo America (KA) made an alliance with Zuchetti and became the head of distribution in North America, re-branding the robot as the “LawnBott.”  LawnBott robotic mower Since then, RobotShop has been loyal and has worked closely with KA to create brand awareness on the web and serve prospective as well as existing customers. We have helped increase the product’s visibility online, increase sales, manage recalls, perform repairs under warranty and more. Up until recently, KA’s strategy was to sell the product online as well as via “mom and pop” shops. Very few of these shops offered the quality of service, visibility and technical expertise of RobotShop. Unfortunately, sales of this robotic lawn mower have been relatively low, largely because of the high price point. A product’s popularity will always be relative to its price; Henry Ford taught us this almost a century ago with the Model T. KA thinks the problem of low sales is elsewhere and they have changed their strategy accordingly: they have started working with a network of pet containment companies (virtual dog fence dealers) and restrict Internet sales in those regions. They have asked RobotShop to monitor a growing list of zip codes where we can no longer sell their mower. What is the problem with that approach you ask? On the surface it may not look like a bad idea since those companies also use perimeter wire, transmitters and receivers which are the same as the robot mower uses. These companies likely already have the necessary resources including sales staff, technicians, tools and equipment to sell and support customers locally.  KA has chosen a market geared toward dog owners The problem is that this is a short term vision to try to increase sales. We at RobotShop think that although it may be a good complementary option to selling robots online, it can never be a complete replacement. Trends show that people shop more and more online, and this will just increase in the future. With KA’s new approach, customers will not be able to find the Lawnbott online while their competition will be found on all major eCommerce web sites. Furthermore, dog fence retailers are not roboticists – even if you train them on the setup and installation of a specific robot. Technology is evolving fast and KA seems to think that robot mowers will always use the patented, sinusoidal signal based perimeter wire (a patent which is soon to expire). So it seems that KA is gambling their future in a network of brick and mortar stores and in the hands of dog fence pet retailers – to the blatant disregard of their long term partners. Here are some the questions we raised with KA when learning the news:
Here's the answer we received:
So this is a direct, purely business, zero emotion, “stone-cold” answer, right?
RobotShop is not a company like most others. We think there is a way to respect others even in business. RobotShop is here for the long run and we want to work with manufacturers who want to build lasting and prosperous business relationships in order to offer the best selection of products, service and support to our customers.  Trust is critical for lasting business relationships We hope you will understand that given KA’s current approach of increasingly restricting online sales and disregarding long-term business relationships, we have chosen to no longer represent them and will stop selling and supporting the Lawnbott Brand. This is unfortunately the second time we have had to drop a robot mower manufacturer, the first being Friendly Robotics, largely because of product quality issues and severe lack of support from the manufacturer. But don't worry! We are seeing the emergence of several new manufacturers with new technology. Big names are starting to make their presence known in the robot lawn mower market and include brands like Honda, John Deere and Bosh. Stay tuned to RobotShop to get the best robot mowers and the best service. All LawnBott products are currently on sale and will be removed from RobotShop web sites once inventory is sold. As always, we will support all of our customers who bought (and intend to purchase) from us until the end of the product’s warranty period. We are asking the community what you think about KA's strategy? Is it good, bad or incomplete? What are your thoughts about the way they treat their long-term partners? Mario Tremblay     |
| Basics: How Do I Choose a Battery? Posted: 15 Jan 2013 08:33 AM PST Given the wide range of actuators and electronics which go into a robot, choosing the right battery may not be an easy task. This article guides you through the thought processes involved in choosing one or more batteries for your robot.    Even if you are just starting in robotics, you may have already realized that the components you want to use don’t all operate at the same voltage. If you look at a production robot, you start to wonder “how is everything working off just one battery?”. There are two approaches taken, and we’ll help you determine which is best for you. Multiple BatteriesAdvantages
Disadvantages
How do you know if you need multiple batteries? Check the nominal voltage of each of the products you selected:
Based on the ranges above, it’s easy to see how, wen selecting optimal components for your project, that the voltage range may differ for each type of component. Fortunately most microcontrollers has a built-in voltage regulator which provides 5V to the I/O pins, so you don’t need a dedicated 5V battery. Should you choose a normal microcontroller, it’s likely that the voltage range is 9V to 12V. Operating a normal hobby servo motor (rated at 4.8V to 6V) from a 9V to 12V battery would quickly burn it. What to do? The easiest option would be to use a smaller 12V battery for the microcontroller, and a larger 6V battery for the servos. One BatteryAdvantages
Disadvantages
Continuing the example above, where we chose a 12V microcontroller and 4.8V to 6V hobby servos, we have the option of using one (larger) 6V battery pack and a step-up voltage regulator. A voltage regulator does exactly as the name implies; it regulates the voltage. In our case we would need one which can accept 6V input and step it up to 12V. Choosing a lower motor voltage does not automatically mean the list of motors available to you will be low power. However, a high voltage motor (36V, 48V, 60V) tends to be reserved for large DC motors. The second approach is to first select the ideal motor and design your robot’s electronics system around the indicated nominal voltage. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages and it is up to you to choose which you prefer. Voltage dividers allow you to power electromechanical devices at different voltages. Voltage dividers are purely electrical devices with no programming involved. If you do not want to use voltage dividers, most electronics operate at 5 to 9V, so choosing either 6 or 9V as your robot’s supply voltage is the best choice (never assume an electronic device operates at 6 or 9V: you always need to read the supply voltage specifications for each electronic component). The other option is to use two different power supplies: one for the motors and another (smaller one) for the electronics. Should you wish to operate your robot at 9V, you can often still choose a 12V motor, though you must keep in mind the rpm will be less that that listed (estimated as a fraction of the nominal value) and the motor efficiency will be slightly reduced. Tips / TricksStandard battery voltages are:
Robots using servo motors (legged robots or robotic arms) tend to operate at 4.8V (4x AA NiMh cells) or 6V (5x NiMh AA cells). You can use a fairly inexpensive voltage regulator to power the microcontroller, increasing the voltage from 6V to 9V. Small to medium mobile robots often use a 6V, 9V or 12V NiMh battery pack, the choice of which depends on the nominal voltage of the drive motors. If the robot includes one or more servo motors (for a pan/tilt for example), the microcontroller can usually provide enough current from a 5V digital pin. If your microcontroller operates at 9V and you want to use 6V motors, you might consider a two battery solution. Medium sized mobile robots tend to use one 12V battery; lead acid or single NiMh battery pack (or an 11.1V LiPo battery if weight is an issue). Large robots use 12V or 24V from one or more lead acid battery packs. ChemistryNiMh: This is by far the most common type of battery used in mobile robots. NiMh batteries are rechargeable and their value (price / capacity / weight) is hard to beat. There is almost no memory effect, meaning every charge should bring the battery up to full capacity. NiCd: These batteries are slowly disappearing because of their memory effect: if you don’t discharge the battery properly and then recharge it to full capacity, you lose part of the capacity each time. Alkaline: These are the least expensive batteries in the short term, and provide a higher voltage than NiMh, but are not great for the environment, and you constantly need to buy replacements. Lead Acid: Still the cheapest option for high capacity, lead acid is usually reserved for medium sized robots because of their incredibly high weight. LiPo: These are fast becoming the most popular type of battery because of their light weight, high discharge rates and relatively good capacity, except the voltages increase in increments of 3.7V, so you need to plan to use LiPo before selecting your electronics and actuators. Nominal VoltageA motor’s nominal voltage is the voltage at which the motor provides the best power output to efficiency ratio (rather than highest efficiency or highest power output). Operating a motor at the nominal voltage also helps to guarantee a long useful life. CapacityA battery’s capacity determines roughly how long a battery will last at a specific voltage given a specific discharge rate. For example, if you choose a 12V, 2Ah (2000mAh) battery pack (regardless of chemistry), the battery should be able to run a 12V motor consuming 2A continuously for 1 hour. Alternatively, it can run a 12V motor consuming 1A for 2 hours, or a 12V motor consuming 0.5A for 4 hours. The rule of thumb is to divide the capacity (assuming you are running an actuator at the same voltage) by the actuator’s current under normal load to get the time the motor will last. Example 12x Drive Motors: 6V nominal, 1A each under normal load 1x 6V NiMh Battery Pack, 2200mAh (equivalent to 2.2Ah) Note that the battery was chosen based on the motor’s nominal voltage.Should you instead operate 6V motors from a 7.2V battery, the calculations become more difficult (use the total watt-hours divided by the total watts per hour to get an idea). Therefore the 6V battery pack will last: 2.2Ah battery / (2 motors x 1A per motor) = 1.1 hours Example 218 servos used for a hexapod robot which operate at 6V nominal and consume 250mA under normal load* 1x 6V NiMh battery pack at 5Ah. First, we will assume that all motors are under load at all times (i.e. worst case scenario) and therefore all 18 will be consuming a total of 4.5A 5Ah battery / 4.5A = 1.1 hours Note again that the battery was chosen based on the motor’s nominal voltage. Discharge RateThe continuous discharge rate of a battery is very important because if you choose a battery that cannot discharge at the required current, the robot will either not work properly or not work at all. Example 1You selected four 12V motors for your 4WD outdoor mobile robot. Each motor consumes 1A under normal load, and more in the case of a slope. You decide to choose a 12V, 2Ah NiMh battery pack, not caring about the continuous discharge rate. You discover that your robot stops when it encounters even the slightest obstacle or incline. Why? In this case operating all four motors consumes ~4A while an NiMh pack can only discharge at about 1.2 times the capcity (1.2 x 2Ah = 2.4A). The current draw from the motors is therefore higher than the battery can provide. Example 2You selected two 7.2V DC gear motors which consume 1.5A each under normal load, and up to 2A each under stressful situations. This means that the battery needs to be able to provide at least 3A normally and up to 4A safely. If you choose an NiMh pack it would need to be 4A / 1.2C = 3.3Ah. The alternative would be to choose a LiPo pack because they can often discharge at 5C or higher, meaning you would be able to get away with a 4A / 5C = 0.8Ah pack. Granted the capacity is low, and you may opt for a higher capacity pack. Burst Discharge Rate
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