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 Last updated on Wed Dec 22 10:24:57 IST 2010. |
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Robotics tutorial
Introduction
This is a robotics tutorial for absolute beginners. There are many robotics tutorials out there in the web, but none seems to cater to the need of an absolute beginner. This is of course well expected, as robotics is a complex thing, and it is rather difficult for a first timer to get the hang of it just by reading a web tutorial. But still a tutorial that indeed lists all the basic steps with full details is a useful reference to have. Such a tutorial will help the aspiring reader to take well-informed decisions as to how much personal help is need and where. And that's just what this tutorial aims to achieve. Since you are reading this tutorial at all, you are interestd in robotics. And this implies that you already have a basic idea about what robotics is. Chances are that your notion of robotics is borrowed more from science fiction than from science, in which case you should prepare yourself for some unpleasant surprises. No, making a robot that flies like an aeroplane without manual control, or walks up a staircase, is not a project for a beginner. The robots that are easiest to make (and those that are most commonly used in industries) are either like wheeled vehicles or like human limbs (e.g., a grasping hand). Roughly speaking robotics has two aspects:- Mechatronics: This is where we take care of the mechanicl and electrical issues. This is usually the most exciting part for a beginner.
- Artificial intelligence: This is the software brain of the robot. By itself, it is not much exciting, though it is a lot easier to play around with, than mechatronics is.
Prerequisites
You should know the basics of electronics. This includes theoretical knowledge like the concept of voltage and current, the working principle of a voltage divider. Also you should have a bread board, a solder board, and soldering equipments. On the software side, you must know C reasonably well. In particular, you should have a good grasp of the for and while loops, as well as the if and switch constructs. You should know about functions and (one-dimensional) arrays. And you must know bitwise operations. Structures, pointers, file handling etc are of little use in this context. Last but not the least, you should have lots of enthusiasm and free time!Layout of this tutorial
The complexity of robotics stems mainly from the fact that it uses expertise from a large number of fields. You have to know bits of electronics, mechanics, hardware, software and discrete mathematics. While all these are needed, one does not have to be an expert in any of these fields. Often a basic acquaintance with the funadamental principles is all that is required.- Actuators (Electronics)
- Sensors (Electronics)
- Hardware concepts (Microcontrollers)
- An important point about output (Microcontrollers)
- 3 software tricks (Microcontrollers)
- Bit banging (Microcontrollers)
- Intro to AI (Artificial intelligence)
- State machines (Artificial intelligence)
