Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Lemons v1.1, now with photocells

Erin has named the robot "Lemons". I think it is a fine name for him. For version 1.1, I moved the 4 AA batteries up to the front and placed them horizontally. This looks much nicer and puts some much needed weight on the tires to give them more traction (thanks for the idea Ed!). It was still veering to the right, so the only solution I could come up with for now was to simply give a bit more power to the right motor to compensate. I have also added two photocell antennae to the front. A photocell is a resistor that changes its resistance based on the amount of light it is receiving. So now, Lemons is able to sense light. Using this new found sense, I created an "autonomous mode" for him. If the Wii nunchuck is disconnected for a certain number of seconds, Lemons will switch to autonomous mode and read in the current light levels of his surroundings. He will then move forward until the light levels change. If it gets significantly darker or brighter, he will back up and turn left or right based on which of his antennae sensed the light change.

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