Cutting Corners, Without Compromise!

Compact convenience and economic efciency are the

hallmarks of our new RDX1 charger. Its space-saving,
affordable design ts every workbench and budget. This
potent AC/DC charger features a backlit 3.2-inch LCD screen
and accessible front panel ports for easy charging of all your
batteries. Integrated balancing, microprocessor-control, USB
functionality and a PC interface combine to make the RDX1
the obvious solution to your charging needs.

FEATURES:
Optimized Operating Software
10 Battery Memory
Internal Lithium Battery Balancer
Multiple Lithium Battery Charge Modes
Works with Hitecs Charge Master Software
LiPo Battery Meter

SPECIFICATIONS:
AC Input Voltage: 100-240V
DC Input: 11-18V
Charge Power: 60W
Charge Current Range: 0.1 - 6.0A
Max. Discharge Power: 5W
Discharge Current Range: 0.1 - 2.0A
Balancing Port Current Drain: 200MA/Cell

Hitec RCD USA, Inc. / 12115 Paine St. Poway, CA 92064 / 858.748.6948 / www.hitecrcd.com /

Full Page.indd 2 12/6/2016 2:46:47 AM

Full Page.indd 3 1/2/2017 10:31:07 PM
TOC -SV - Feb 17_TOC SV Mar 15.qxd 12/30/2016 3:45 PM Page 4

02.2017 VOL. 15 NO. 2

Subscription Information
SERVO Magazine PO Box 15277
North Hollywood, CA 91615-9218
Call 877-525-2539 or go to www.servomagazine.com
Subscribe Gift Renewal Change of Info
Columns
08 Robytes 60 Then and Now
by Jeff and Jenn Eckert by Tom Carroll
Stimulating Robot Tidbits Building a Robot? Just Go for It!
Fish-Zapping ROV Constructing your own automaton doesnt require a bunch
Astrobot Comes to Earth of fancy equipment or expensive tools. If you have a basic
Bye-Bye Selfie Sticks mechanical aptitude and the desire to learn, youre already
Geriatric Puppy Bot more than halfway there!

10 Ask Mr. Roboto

with Eric Ostendorff
Topics discussed this time include servo options, dealing
with a sonar range finders erratic responses, an
explanation for jittery servos, and to LEGO or not to LEGO.

54 Twin Tweaks
by Bryce and Evan Woolley
Junkyard Warrior
Building cool stuff out of junk you have laying around has a
proud and colorful history. We will continue that tradition
for our project this month by only scavenging stuff from
our garage and self-imposing a time limit.
PAGE 60

The Combat Zone

18 BUILD REPORT: My First Antweight A Dark
and Dirty Disco
21 An Interview with Ed McCarron
24 EVENT REPORT: Pennsylvania College of
Technology SWORD Fights
26 EVENT REPORT: Robot Battles 61 at the Geek
Media Expo

16 Bots in Brief Departments

Working on the
ChainFORM Gang
06 Mind/Iron 39 RoboLinks
Underwater Remotely
PABI Offers Cost-Effective Operated Vehicles: The Next 47 Showcase
Therapy Solution Big Thing in Robotics? 65 Advertisers Index
Self-Balancing GyroCycle 14 New Products 66 SERVO Webstore
Soon to Hit the Big Slab 15 Events Calendar
SERVO Magazine (ISSN 1546-0592/CDN Pub Agree#40702530) is published monthly for $26.95 per year by T & L Publications, Inc., 430 Princeland Court, Corona, CA 92879.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT CORONA, CA AND AT ADDITIONAL ENTRY MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SERVO Magazine, P.O. Box
15277, North Hollywood, CA 91615 or Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 6J5; cpcreturns@servomagazine.com

4 SERVO 02.2017
TOC -SV - Feb 17_TOC SV Mar 15.qxd 12/30/2016 3:45 PM Page 5

In This Issue ...

30 Animatronics for the
Do-It-Yourselfer
by Steve Koci
Servos: The Basics and Beyond PAGE 36
Becoming comfortable using servos and taking
advantage of all the added features available will
expand your capabilities as a builder. Let's take a
look at why they are so special.

36 Serving Raspberry Pi
Giving Berry a Better Servo
Mount
by William Henning
In the last article, the accuracy of the heading
produced by our Raspberry Pi bot, Berry's compass
was greatly improved by adding magnetic
declination and tilt compensation. However, that by
itself is not enough for indoor navigation. Ill need a
few more upgrades first. However, Berry's head
keeps falling off. Time for a better mount!

40 Building the KReduCNC

by Michael Simpson
Its been a while since we started this project, so
lets go over spindle hookup and get ready to make
something. PAGE 44

44 Get Social with FaceBox:

the Friendly HeadBot
by Dave Prochnow
If you werent lucky enough to score one of
SparkFun Electronics limited edition Cyber Monday
Redbox Robots, then youre in luck! Weve come up
with our own version that is a tracking, flashing,
and speaking robot.

48 The Multi-Rotor
Hobbyist
by John Leeman
Fat Shark Teleporter V5 Review
As multi-rotor pilots, we can now have a first person
view (FPV) experience with inexpensive/all-in-on
equipment that literally puts us in the pilots seat
and immerses us in the experience of flying.

13 MaxRoboTech Comics
Autonomous Robotics and Control

SERVO 02.2017 5
Bergeron - Mind-Iron - Feb 17_Mind-Iron - Feb15.qxd 12/30/2016 3:54 PM Page 6

ERVO
FOR THE

Mind / Iron
by Bryan Bergeron, Editor
ROBOT
INNOVATOR

Published Monthly By
T & L Publications, Inc.
430 Princeland Ct., Corona, CA 92879-1300

Underwater Remotely (951) 371-8497

FAX (951) 371-3052
Webstore Only 1-800-783-4624
Operated Vehicles: The Next www.servomagazine.com
Subscriptions
Big Thing in Robotics? Toll Free 1-877-525-2539
Outside US 1-818-487-4545
P.O. Box 15277, N. Hollywood, CA 91615
ve built and flown several quadcopters, including a fiberglass and carbon fiber
I unit with 4 kg of onboard lithium-ion batteries. However, because the nearest
park is almost always occupied, my go-to quadcopter is a palm-sized unit that I
PUBLISHER
Larry Lemieux
publisher@servomagazine.com
fly indoors. In my controlled environment, I dont have to worry about my 6 oz ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/
drone falling from the sky onto a pedestrian, dog, or automobile. However, it ADVERTISING SALES
just isnt as exciting as flying outside with multiple environmental factors to deal Robin Lemieux
with, from trees and birds to blowing leaves. robin@servomagazine.com
While its a given that flying drones in some form is here to stay, theres EDITOR
clearly an unmet need for robotics enthusiasts who want to break out of their Bryan Bergeron
techedit-servo@yahoo.com
bedrooms. Enter Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (UROVs) the little
VP of OPERATIONS
brothers to the massive commercial underwater vehicles used to inspect hulls, ship Vern Graner
wrecks, and pipe lines. In terms of commercial availability, UROVs sometimes vern@servomagazine.com
referred to as Robosubs are where quadcopters were five years ago. As such,
youre not going to find a UROV hanging in a bubble pack next to the $39 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Tom Carroll Kevin Berry
quadcopters at RadioShack. Parts are relatively expensive, and youll likely have to R. Steven Rainwater Michael Simpson
fabricate a few things from scratch all great challenges for an experimenter. Steve Koci John Leeman
Ive only built one UROV a bare bones model that survived several Eric Ostendorff Dave Prochnow
Jeff Eckert Jenn Eckert
excursions in a nearby pond. Although it might seem counterintuitive, a typical Bryce Woolley Evan Woolley
quadcopter is much simpler to design, build, and operate. Aside from locating William Henning Ricky Matsko
affordable parts, the challenges in building a UROV (in order of importance) are Brandon Davis Nate Franklin
keeping the electronics dry, power, and heat dissipation. Thomas Kenney
Starting with the affordable parts issue, I made my first underwater drone CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
with four used 12V trolling motors that I found on eBay for about $50/motor. A subscribe@servomagazine.com
12 length of 8 diameter PVC pipe with threaded end caps served as the main WEBSTORE MARKETING
chassis. This wasnt the safest design because the props were exposed. COVER GRAPHICS
Another limitation is that all four motors were designed for right handed Brian Kirkpatrick
sales@servomagazine.com
rotation. As with quadcopters, youll want to use both left and right handed
motors. Camera selection was a no-brainer I simply mounted my GoPro on the WEBSTORE MANAGER/
PRODUCTION
PVC pipe using an elastic strap to avoid drilling additional holes in the pipe. Sean Lemieux
For an example of parts designed specifically for UROV use, check out the sean@servomagazine.com
CrustCrawler site (www.crust crawler.com) my go-to source for aluminum ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
robot arms and crawlers. CrustCrawler sells 400W and 600W thrusters, with Re Gandara
fully enclosed props, excellent mounting brackets, and waterproof connectors. Copyright 2017 by
They also sell transparent waterproof enclosures that can hold lights, a T & L Publications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
camera, and an Arduino or other controller. At nearly $1K for a 600W thruster, All advertising is subject to publishers approval.
however, these top-end parts are clearly best suited for a robotics club with We are not responsible for mistakes, misprints,
multiple members sharing the cost. or typographical errors. SERVO Magazine assumes
The challenge of keeping critical components dry is best met by using no responsibility for the availability or condition of
advertised items or for the honesty of the
marine connectors designed for this purpose, as well as using grease on the advertiser. The publisher makes no claims for the
rubber seals leading to and from the main electronics housing. Obviously, youll legality of any item advertised in SERVO. This is the
have to use motors designed for full immersion. sole responsibility of the advertiser. Advertisers and
their agencies agree to indemnify and protect the
Power is in some ways less of an issue than with quadcopters. Instead of publisher from any and all claims, action, or expense
dealing with lithium-ion batteries and chargers, youll likely use one or two car arising from advertising placed in SERVO. Please send
batteries or an AC powered supply connected to the UROV via an umbilical all editorial correspondence, UPS, overnight mail,
cord. The cord is a bother in that it limits both maneuverability and maximum and artwork to: 430 Princeland Court, Corona,
CA 92879.

6 SERVO 02.2017
Bergeron - Mind-Iron - Feb 17_Mind-Iron - Feb15.qxd 12/30/2016 3:56 PM Page 7

range. However, if you have access to a 110 VAC operated power supply,
excursion time is virtually unlimited even with high-drain flood lights.
Heat dissipation and thermal failure can be a problem on extended
The Easiest
The Easiest W
Way
ay
excursions if you stuff all of the control circuitry in a small airtight chamber with to Design
esign Custom
Custom
no thermal sink to the water. One option is to use a metal chassis that is at least
partially exposed to the water. Another is to use an airtight chamber with ample Front Panels
Panels &
free space surrounding the heat-generating components.
Of course, these are just highlights of the current state of UROVs. For more Enclosures
ures
s
information, check out the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE)
website for information on international UROV competitions held every summer
at the NASA Johnston Space Centers Neutral Buoyancy Lab. With time, prices You design it
will drop, parts will become more plentiful, and the Web will be full of videos of to your specications using
underwater sea life and perhaps even battling UROVs. SV our FREE CAD software,
Front Panel Designer

FREE
PCB Layout Software &
PCB Schematic Software

We machine it
and ship to you a
professionally nished product,
no minimum quantity required



C

ost effective prototypes

and production runs with

no setup charges
 P

owder-coated and

anodized finishes in
3 PCBs 3 PCBs 3 PCBs various colors
$
412-layer
+ shipping $
61
2-layer
+ shipping $
81
4-layer
+ shipping

Select

from aluminum,
acrylic or provide your
MiniBoard MiniBoardPro MiniBoardPro own material
(Shipped in 1 business day) (Shipped in 2 business days) (Shipped in 3 business days)

Standard lead time
in 5 days or express
1 DOWNLOAD our free CAD software manufacturing in 3 or
Now Offering 1 days
2 DESIGN your 2 or 4-layer PCB

3 CHECK your design with xCHECK DRC

SMT
4 SEND us your design with just a click
STENCILS
Nano Coating available
5 RECEIVE top quality boards in just days
FrontPanelExpress.com
MADE IN THE USA | www.expresspcb.com

SERVO 02.2017 7
Eckert - Robytes - Feb 17_Robytes - Sep 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:08 PM Page 8

Robytes
by Jeff and Jenn Eckert
Fish-Zapping ROV
In case you havent heard, we have a serious problem
with lionfish. As summarized by the World Lionfish Hunters
Association (lionfish.co), Invasive lionfish are disastrously
out-breeding, out-living, out-eating, and out-competing
every other native fish in the Western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf
of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. If left unchecked,
lionfish will ultimately cause the destruction of the reefs,
native fish stocks, and the livelihoods of everyone that
depends on them.
A suggested solution is that we catch and eat more of
them, and lionfish are said to be tasty. Problem is, they are
equipped with venomous spines that dampen most Prototype of RISEs lionfish hunter robot.
peoples desire to fish for them, and given that a female
can release up to two million eggs per year, it would take a
lot of fishing to make a dent in the population. and underwater Roomba. (There is also a version armed
To combat the problem, more than a dozen partners with a spear.)
including iRobot, electrofisher builder Smith-Root, ocean Zapped fish are to be collected in a central chamber
exploration organization Nekton, and various Bermudan and harvested for food. RISE plans to eventually launch
institutions have joined together to form Robots in thousands of units so with any luck filets will eventually
Service of the Environment (RISE, robotsise.com). Their be showing up on the menu in your local seafood hangout.
solution is the Harvester lionfish hunter which is currently When that happens, we all need to do our ecological duty
just a prototype, and is sort of a combination bug zapper and eat up!

Astrobot Comes to Earth conversation while moving its

head and hands. Conversations
You may recall Kirobo, a robo- can even include information that
astronaut that hung around the the little guy collects via Bluetooth
International Space Station for 18 in your home or car. Presumably,
months starting in August 2013. this will allow it to say things like
Kirobo was created by the be careful when youre about to
University of Tokyo and roboticist drive into a tree or open
Tomotaka Takahashi (with containers are illegal when you
assistance from Toyota and the pop a can of beer.
Japan Aerospace Exploration The built-in camera enables it
Agency), specifically to assist to recognize peoples facial
Commander Koichi Wakata, the expressions, detect their emotional
first Japanese ISS commander. state, and react accordingly.
Using some of the same However, the Mini doesnt include
technology, Toyota has announced face recognition, so it wont know
the upcoming availability of its Aunt Akira from Uncle Takumi.
Kirobo Mini robot. The Mini Theres bad news if you want one,
only 10 cm (4 in) tall when sitting though.
is a miniature communication Toyotas Kirobo Mini companion bot. The initial version will only be
partner developed solely to sold in Japan, and it only speaks
provide companionship and be a cuddly companion. Japanese, so if you currently are in need of a friend, well,
Kirobo Mini doesnt actually do much, but it can turn forget it. One will cost about $400 at current exchange
its head toward the person speaking and engage in casual rates, so its probably just as well.

8 SERVO 02.2017
Eckert - Robytes - Feb 17_Robytes - Sep 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:08 PM Page 9

Go to www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_Robytes to comment on these topics.

Bye-Bye Selfie Sticks

For those who are so deeply into self-documentation
that a simple selfie stick just doesnt do it anymore, Zero
Zero Robotics (gethover.com) has unveiled its first
product: the Hover Camera, launched with $25 million in
funding from various investors. Based on the Qualcomm
Snapdragon Flight drone platform, the camera uses
embedded AI to intelligently navigate and avoid obstacles
while snapping 13 MP photos or capturing 4K video of
whatever events you think will fascinate the rest of the
world.
The camera tracks your face and body to keep you in Zero Zero Robotics Hover Camera.
the picture, and proprietary technology digitally stabilizes
photos and video by eliminating shakes and jitters.
Operation is about as simple as it could be: You just toss
the camera away from you, and it automatically rights itself
and hovers nearby. It also features steady hovering via a 3
MP downward-facing camera and the ability to capture
360 panoramic images. It is notable that, at only 238 g
(8.4 oz), it squeaks in under the FAA 250 g Hobbyist Drone
Registration weight limit, so you can thumb your nose at
the feds.
Although the device operates independently, you can
use its iOS or Android app to position it with taps and which, of course, also makes iPads and iPhones, Kindles,
swipes, even at altitudes of up to 164 ft (50 m). Care is PlayStations, and other well known products. No official
advised, as the batteries become drained after about seven price has been announced as of this writing, but it is
minutes. The Hover Camera is built by Foxconn Technology expected to be in the neighborhood of $600.

Geriatric Puppy Bot Companion Pet Pup is a

lifelike pet alternative. It
In November 2015, looks, sounds, and feels like a
toymaker Hasbro real dog; when the pups
(www.hasbro.com) decided owner speaks, it looks
to expand into the over-the- toward him/her and reacts
hill market with its Joy for with realistic puppy sounds.
All Companion Cat bot. Using its built-in sensors
Apparently, the ersatz kitty and speakers, the bowwow
caught on quickly with both bot will nuzzle its owners
oldsters and caregivers, as it hand, woof when it hears
inspired Todays Caregiver someone talk to it, and move
magazine to award Hasbro its head when petted. If
Hasbros Companion Pet Pup, complete with heartbeat and
its 2016 Caregiver Friendly lifelike fur coat. grandpa happens to nod off,
Award. it will do the same.
Naturally, this generated For some unknown reason, Pet
considerable grousing on the part of Pup costs more than Companion Cat
dog-loving golden agers, so the ($119.99 vs. $99.99) but, on the
company has now responded with its bright side, no one has to walk it,
new Companion Pet Pup. and it will never chew up grandpas
According to Hasbro, With shoes or drink out of the toilet. Its
BarkBack technology and a soft available now at www.qvc.com.
built-in heartbeat, the Joy for All SV

SERVO 02.2017 9
Ostendorff - Mr Roboto - Feb 17_MrRoboto - Sep 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:11 PM Page 10
Ask Mr. Roboto
Tap into the sum of all human knowledge and get your questions
answered here! From software algorithms to material selection,
Mr. Roboto strives to meet you where you are and what more
would you expect from a complex service droid?
Q . I notice that
choices in servo
options seem to
have really grown! They
now tout all kinds of
specifications such as
metal gear, ball
bearing, digital, high
speed, and the like. Do
you have a rule of thumb
for picking the best
suited servo for a given
job? For example, when
it might be best to pick a
servo with metal gears or
when it would be best to
choose a digital servo
over a regular one?
Elias Smith
St. Louis, MO
A
. Great question and such a
HUGE topic. I wrote an article
on analog servos in the July
2015 issue and just scratched the
surface. The vast array of servos and
accessories at a place like ServoCity
alone is crazy. You can pore over spec
sheets to compare servos, but nothing
beats hands-on experience to get a
feel for how much force / torque /
travel / power a servo can deliver.
Standard sized light-duty analog
servos like Hitecs HS-311 or Futabas
S3003 are inexpensive baseline
references. Priced at $10-$15, most
have brushed DC motors, replaceable
plastic/resin gears, and bushings, not
bearings (Figure 1, center).
They are fine for many
lightweight robots. I have used them
for simple walkers and light-duty robot
arms where repeatability is more
important than speed or power. As
your requirement for power/torque
grows, you will need to change to
either bigger or metal gear servos.
Vigors VS-11 (Figure 1, left) is a
10 SERVO 02.2017
Our resident expert on all things robotic
Figure 1.
personal favorite of mine; its a very
inexpensive 1/4 scale servo with
bigger, fatter, and stronger plastic
gears.
If you have room, it is suitable for
some heavy duty applications, as are
most other 1/4 scale servos.
Otherwise, you can use standard size
servos with stronger gears. Metal
gears are much $tronger (!) than
plastic/resin gears for high/shock
loads, but wear faster. Hitecs
Karbonite is a reinforced plastic which
claims both higher strength and less
wear than standard plastic gears. Ball
bearings are useful in high-load
applications to reduce friction and
wear.
Digital servos are faster, more
accurate, more expensive, and more
power-hungry than analog servos.
Futaba has a very helpful PDF at
www.futabarc.com/servos/digitals
ervos.pdf. They respond to the same
50 Hz control signals as analog
servos, but the internal PCB (printed
circuit board) drives the motor at 300
Hz for better control.
Digital servos really shine in RC
aircraft because they are individually
programmable for direction of
with Eric Ostendorff
is merely an email away.
roboto@servomagazine.com
rotation, center and end
points, failsafe option,
speed, and dead
bandwidth adjustment. In
a robot, the
microcontroller does that,
coordinating servos while
monitoring sensors and
control input. So, digital
servos may or may not
be drastically better than
analog for any given
robotics application.
If you have a fast-
running juggling
humanoid robot with
crazy dynamics and
accelerations which require PID loops
and Kalman filters, then by all means
go digital. For a stately hexapod, a
block-stacking arm, and other less-
demanding applications, old-school
analog servos might work just as well.
Q
. Ive been experimenting
with a sonar range finder on
my robot and have noticed a
tendency for the responses to be
erratic depending on the target
surfaces (e.g., painted wall vs.
curtains). In some cases, I dont get
readings at all and it seems to happen
if the target wall is at a 45 degree
angle from the sensor. Given the
apparently unreliable readings Im
getting, I would appreciate some
advice on how to make sure my robot
doesnt run into things!
Emerson Sandoval
Maryland Heights, MO
A
. Therein lies the rub! Ultrasonic
sensors rely on echos
(reflections) of emitted bursts.
Big flat solid perpendicular surfaces
reflect straight back and are easy to
sense. Cloth curtains absorb /
dissipate the signal, and oblique
Ostendorff - Mr Roboto - Feb 17_MrRoboto - Sep 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:11 PM Page 11
angled walls can reflect the
echo away in a useless
direction.
Sensor fusion is the
latest buzzword to network
and monitor multiple
sensors; often different
types of sensors. Each
sensor has its own strengths
and weaknesses. Combining
a Sharp IR distance sensor
(which outputs an analog
signal) with an ultrasonic
sensor is increasingly
popular with the robotics
crowd. Parallax sells a
special aluminum bracket
(Figure 2) to hold a PING)))
ultrasonic sensor and a
Sharp sensor (https://
www.parallax .com/
product/725-28915).
You can make your
own simple IR sensor(s)
with a 38 kHz IR receiver
module and an IR LED,
which rely purely on IR Figure 3.
reflection. These will have
a good response to white
/ shiny / reflective
objects, but little or no
response to dark / black /
matte objects.
The Sharp sensor has
the advantage in that it
uses a Position Sensitive Detector
(PSD) and can detect black objects
nearly as well as white. Additionally,
the Sharp module is calibrated to
measure distances with good
accuracy.
Another technique is to scan the
sensor(s) back and forth as the robot
drives around, giving a more
comprehensive picture of the bots
environment as compared to a
stationary sensor. Parallax has a simple
but ingenious PING)))Dar project,
which servo-scans a PING))) sensor
with a Boe-Bots BASIC Stamp 2 and
draws the detected environment on
the debug screen (Figure 3, courtesy
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_MrRoboto.
Figure 2.
of Parallax). Thats an incredibly
helpful visual aid to understand what
the sensor actually sees. Check out
the video at https://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=t2tzBEOAtjg. If you
only have a fixed sensor, your bot
could stop occasionally and rotate in
place to scan and detect obstacles.
Q
. After reading Steve Kocis
article on animatronics, I
decided to purchase a
PICAXE microcontroller with some
servos. I started by downloading the
example code for the DIY
Animatronics kit (www.nutsvolts
.com/uploads/magazine_down
Your robotic problems solved here.
Post comments on this article at
loads/201409_Goodwin
.zip) and was able to trigger
motion with a pushbutton.
However, in my own code, I
noticed the servos tend to
jitter around after they get
to their intended position
unless I issue this command:
SERVOPOS TestServo1,OFF
Can you explain whats
going on here?
Francis Procter
St. Landry, LA
A
. It could be several
things. SERVO n, off
turns off the PICAXE
clock-generated servo pulses,
so the servo is
disconnected and in a low
power state. It may not hold
position if there is a load on
it. To eliminate or reduce
glitches while SERVOPOS
is actively driving the
servo, you can try adding
two commands at the
start of your program.
DISABLEBOD will disable
the brown out detector,
which may be causing
problems related to
power supply.
DISCONNECT stops the PICAXE from
periodically checking for new
downloads, and has gotten me out of
more than one jam.
I had a problem recently when I
used the serial input pin as an input
on a robot. Its normally pulled low by
the download circuit, and in a pinch
you can gain an input pin just by
switching it to B+.
It worked erratically; there was
interference when the motors
switched on. Turns out the long wires
running out to my limit switch were
acting like an antenna and picking up
EMI, thereby resetting the PICAXE. All
the motor filter caps in the world
SERVO 02.2017 11
Ostendorff - Mr Roboto - Feb 17_MrRoboto - Sep 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:11 PM Page 12
couldnt fix it, but
DISCONNECT worked like
magic.
The only downside is
that after DISCONNECT is
used, you will have to do
a hard reset to
reprogram the PICAXE.
That is, dont turn on
PICAXE power until after
you click Program in
the Program Editor.
Another possibility is
that you may have
conflicts with pins and
timers based on which
PICAXE you are using.
Manual 2 lists conflicting
commands in Appendix
4. So, depending on exactly which
pins and hardware and other
commands you are using (any
hardware serial, hardware I2C,
hardware SPI, or interrupts?), you may
have conflicts.
Of course, make sure that your
power supply or batteries and wiring
are all sufficient for supplying the
required voltage and power. I
generally use a single power supply
for the PICAXE and servos, but if your
problems persist, try two different
supplies linked by a common ground.
Q
. My daughter attended a
FIRST LEGO League event
and showed some
enthusiasm for the whole thing. I am
hoping to encourage her to explore
STEM/STEAM by getting her a
robotics kit to work with. Do you
think I should go with the LEGO
robotics kit they use for the
competitions or is that too complex?
Caitlin Berry
Albuquerque, NM
A
. Good for your daughter! I have
twin homeschooled daughters
myself and am also interested in
furthering their STEM (now its up to
STREAM, sheesh) education. FIRST
and LEGO have four different age
ranges, and teams of girls and boys
enter to compete but more
importantly to have fun and learn.
The LEGO League you mentioned
12 SERVO 02.2017
Figure 4.
is for grades 4-8 and introduces kids
to the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3
system. Im a professional toy designer
and I have the utmost respect for
LEGO and its fabulous products. You
cant go wrong with a MINDSTORMS
kit.
The EV3 system (Figure 4) should
be around until ~2020, and even
when a successor does come along,
parts are typically reverse-compatible.
While not cheap, its one of VERY few
$350 tech toys with a 4.5 star rating
on Amazon for a reason.
Its modular, open-ended,
expandable, well-thought-out, and just
plain fun. LEGO wrote the book on
clear well-illustrated instructions. Your
daughter can probably do it by
herself, but it sounds like you would
be a great helper and mentor for her.
Obviously, LEGO League is about
learning technology, but other
incidental yet important takeaways are
cooperation, partnership, and learning
to be part of a team.
You can certainly help foster the
team and tech aspects at home, and
hopefully find or even start a local
team of similarly-minded students.
What amazing opportunities our kids
have today. Something other than
cable TV and Facebook!
Got a problem you need help
with? Email questions to
roboto@servomagazine.com and lets
see if I can help. SV
Gross - Robot Cartoon - Feb 17_Robot cartoon - Feb15.qxd 12/30/2016 3:59 PM Page 13

SERVO 02.2017 13
New Products - SV - Feb 17_Mar15 - NewProd.qxd 12/30/2016 4:00 PM Page 14

NEW PRODUCTS
Energy Propel Systems Combo
Packs

H itecs Energy Propel motors are now available in

convenient combination packs. With built-in
programmable speed controls and high performance
efficient motors, the Energy Propel line delivers the
functionality and space-saving design multi-rotor projects
require. Each bundle pack comes with two clockwise and
two counter-clockwise motors to fully equip a rotorcraft and BLHeli featuring active braking/damping light.
get it airborne quickly. Pricing begins at $121.88 and the ONE SHOT synchronization protocol for faster
combos are available in six sizes. communication between the flight control and ESC.
Motor features include: Simple wiring eliminates failure points.
Backed by Hitecs one year warranty.
Motor and ESC combination provides a lightweight
and space-saving alternative to separate components. For further information, please contact:
High performance, efficient motor.
Programmable speed control.
Updatable firmware. Hitec RCD www.hitecrcd.com

Current-Sense system voltages as high as 80V.

Amplifier In addition, to address the
needs for a wide range of

T exas Instruments (TI) has

introduced a new current-
sense amplifier for in-line motor
systems, this device supports
the negative voltages (-4V)
induced by the inductive
phase current measurement kickback of the motor.
that improves overall motor Industry-leading
efficiency compared to existing performance and accuracy: The
current-sense amplifiers. The INA240 has one of the
INA240 offers enhanced pulse- industrys best combinations of
width modulation (PWM) low offset voltage (5 V), offset
rejection for systems running at drift (50 nV/C), gain error, and
up to 80V to support a variety drift performance (0.05 percent
of applications such as motor and 0.5 ppm/C, respectively).
control, solenoid control, and The device also provides an
power delivery systems. excellent AC common-mode
Key features and benefits rejection ratio (CMRR) of 93 dB
include: at 50 kHz. The INA240 delivers
Enhanced PWM rejection performance over a wide range
for improved motor efficiency: of operating conditions.
The presence of high speed in- Enhanced performance
line PWM motor control for any motor control solution:
systems requires high AC and The INA240s precision is
DC accuracy. The INA240s enhanced PWM rejection showcased in a 48V 10A in-line three-phase high frequency
improves transient suppression and gives designers the Gallium Nitride (GaN) inverter for brushless motor reference
ability to reduce their blanking time, optimize the motor design. This BoosterPack plug-in module reference design
control algorithm, and ultimately improve motor efficiency. is paired with a C2000 LaunchPad kit, demonstrating
Flexible for a variety of motor applications: The how designers can use the INA240 and LMG5200 GaN half-
INA240 operates at PWM rates in excess of 100 kHz, with bridge power stage to reduce switching losses over an
switching-edge rates as high as 10 V/ns while enabling extended temperature range up to 125C, facilitate the use
14 SERVO 02.2017
New Products - SV - Feb 17_Mar15 - NewProd.qxd 12/30/2016 4:00 PM Page 15

of higher PWM frequencies, and reduce heatsinking

requirements.
Is your product innovative, less
Support is available in the TI E2E Community Current
Sensing forum, where engineers can search for solutions,
expensive, more functional, or just
get help, share knowledge, and solve problems with fellow plain cool? If you have a new
engineers and TI experts.
As with TIs entire current-sensing portfolio, designers product that you would like us to
have access to a full suite of support resources, including a
complete library of TI Designs reference designs, evaluation run in our New Products section,
modules (EVMs), online training series, and SPICE models.
The eight-pin INA240 is available in a 3 mm x 4.4 mm please email a short description
thin-shrink small outline package (TSSOP). An evaluation
module is available for $25. (300-500 words) and a photo of
For further information, please contact:
your product to:
Texas Instruments www.ti.com newproducts@servomagazine.com

EVENTS
FEBRUARY Events include Line Follower, Search & Rescue,
Trash Hunter, Maze Solver, and an autonomous
1-4 Kurukshetra aerial vehicle contest.
Guindy, Chennai, India http://odturobotgunleri.org.tr
See website for details on this year's event.
www.kurukshetra.org.in 10-11 Midwestern Robotics Design Competition
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL
3-5 Quark Roboficial See website for details on this year's event.
BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus, Zuarinagar http://mrdc.ec.illinois.edu
Goa, India
Events include RoboKombat, RoboSumo, Line 18 Manitoba Robot Games
Following, RoboRace, and RoboKick. Tec Voc High School
www.bits-quark.org Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Multiple events including Sumo and Line
4-9 AAAI Mobile Robot Competition Following.
San Francisco, CA www.scmb.mb.ca
See website for details on this year's event.
www.aaai.org/Conferences/conferences.php 23-26 Apogee
BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus
MARCH Zuarinagar Goa, India
See website for details on this year's events.
3-4 FIRST LEGO League of Central Europe www.bits-apogee.org
Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany
Championship event for FIRST LEGO student 23-25 Festival de Robotique
teams. Montreal, Quebec, Canada
www.first-lego-league.org/en/fll/regions.html Events include FIRST LEGO, FRC, FLL, and jrFLL.
www.robotiquefirstquebec.org
4-5 METU Robotics Days
METU Culture & Convention Center, Turkey

SERVO 02.2017 15
Bots in Brief - Feb 17_Bots in Brief Mar15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:05 PM Page 16

bots
IN BRIEF
Working on the ChainFORM Gang
A s sensors, computers, actuators, and batteries
decrease in size and increase in efficiency, it becomes
possible to make robots much smaller without sacrificing
a whole lot of capability. Theres a lower limit on
usefulness, however, if youre making a robot that needs
to interact with humans or human-scale objects. You can
continue to leverage shrinking components if you make
robots that are modular; in other words, big robots that
are made up of lots of little robots.
MITs ChainFORM is an interesting take on this idea.
Its an evolution of the LineFORM multifunctional snake
robot that introduces modularity to the system, letting
you tear off a strip of exactly how much robot you need, and then reconfigure it
to do all kinds of things.
MIT Media Lab calls ChainFORM a shape changing interface because it
comes from their Tangible Media Group. (If it had come from a robotics group, it
would have been called a poke-able modular snake robot with blinky lights.)
Each ChainFORM module includes touch detection on multiple surfaces, angular
detection, blinky lights, and motor actuation via a single servo motor. The trickiest
part is the communication architecture.
MIT had to invent something that can automatically determine how many
modules there are and how the modules are connected to each other, while
preserving the capability for real time input and output. Since the relative position
and orientation of each module is known at all times, you can do cool things like
make a dynamically reconfigurable display that will continue to function (or
adaptively change its function) even as you change the shape of the modules.
ChainFORM is not totally modular in the sense that each module is not
completely self-contained at this point. Its tethered for power, and for overall control theres a master
board that interfaces with a computer over USB. The power tether also imposes a limit on the total
number of modules that you can use at once because of the resistance of the connectors: no more than
32, unless you also connect power from the other end.
The modules are still powerful,
though. Each can exert 0.8 kg/cm of
torque, which is enough to move small
things. It wont move your limbs, but
youll feel it trying, which makes it
effective for haptic feedback applications,
and able to support (and move) much of
its own weight.

The LineFORM as a lamp.

16 SERVO 02.2017
Bots in Brief - Feb 17_Bots in Brief Mar15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:05 PM Page 17

bots
IN BRIEF
PABI Offers Cost-Effective Therapy Solution
T he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about one in
68 American children has autism spectrum disorder. Therapy isnt
cheap at roughly $60,000 a year for the recommended amount of 40
hours per week of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) needed to
effectively treat autism.
The high cost is one of the reasons many autistic children dont
receive proper care. Fortunately, theres growing evidence that robots
can help. Theres a new robot called PABI (Penguin for Autism
Behavioral Intervention) that is looking to make autism therapy more
affordable.
Developed by the husband-wife team of Gregory Fischer, director
of WPIs Automation and Interventional Medicine (AIM) Lab, and Laurie
Dickstein-Fischer, Salem State University School of Education professor,
PABI recently completed a two week pilot study with five autistic
children, and the results were very promising.
PABI, the robot penguin is 20 inches tall and 12 inches wide, with
12 degrees of freedom that autonomously conducts ABA therapy while
logging therapy data that will be reviewed by a human therapist. PABI
can move its beak, two wings, two eyes (independently), and eyelids.
It also uses openCV 2.49 and 720p webcams to track a childs facial expressions that can
then be reviewed by the therapist. Theres a computer in PABIs stomach that pairs wirelessly
with a tablet to run interactive lessons for the children, as well.

Self-Balancing GyroCycle Soon to

Hit the Big Slab
M otorcycles are about to take a big leap into the
future. Thanks to a new prototype from Thrustcycle,
self-stabilizing motorcycles could be cruising the streets in
2017.
The GyroCycle keeps upright by using internal
flywheels to create a gyroscopic effect. While this is
generally felt by every rider at higher speeds, the
stabilization here will occur even while standing still. An
added benefit from the same technology is that the bike
will be less likely to lose traction and slide under itself
during a turn. This grants the rider greater control and Price is going to be a big issue with such high-tech
increased safety. vehicles. This is where the GyroCycle is likely to edge out
Self-balancing motorcycles could open up a new the competition. No official price has been released yet,
market for new and old riders alike. Those who are but Thrustcycle has suggested that the price will be under
hopping on for the first time wont have to learn how to $20,000.
balance such a heavy vehicle. Likewise, older riders often With multiple self-stabilizing motorcycles in
lack the strength to hold a motorcycle up. This has fueled development, it seems like we are getting one step closer
much of the market for three-wheeled trikes. The to owning a Tron lightcycle.
GyroCycle would provide another alternative with a more
traditional two-wheel design.

SERVO 02.2017 17
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:18 PM Page 18

Post comments on this

section and find any
associated files and/or
downloads at the specific
article link for each feature.

BUILD
REPORT:
My First
Antweight
A Dark and
Dirty Disco by Ricky Matsko
Warwick Robotics STL
Featured
This Month: hen it comes to robot spinner, and a lifter, I decided that I
18 BUILD REPORT: My
First Antweight A
Dark and Dirty Disco
W building, it always seems to
come down to the last
minute. As a matter of fact, the first
wanted to build a bot that resembled
the dominant heavyweight combat
bot, Biohazard. My main inspiration
by Ricky Matsko robot I ever built is named 10 Days for the design of A Dark and Dirty
21 An Interview with Ed til Destruction because the first parts Disco wound up coming from Equals
McCarron for the robot arrived 10 days before Zeros Pad Thai Doodle Ninja
by Brandon Davis my first competition. (www.etotheipiplusone
24 EVENT REPORT: Back when there was just a .net/?cat=109).
Pennsylvania College month before Robot Battles 61 in The only bot Ive built before this
of Technology Nashville, TN, I decided that it was one came from a Viper Kit with the
SWORD Fights time to design my first original spinner attachment. Prior to this, I had
by Nate Franklin Antweight robot. I quickly realized its never worked in a CAD program. To
26 EVENT REPORT: incredibly tough to narrow down what make things worse, I wanted this bot
Robot Battles 61 at kind of bot to build. After deliberating to be 3D printed, but the printer I had
the Geek Media Expo between a horizontal spinning blade, access to only printed with PLA. If
by Thomas Kenney a full body spinner, a vertical bar anything, I was preparing myself for

18 SERVO 02.2017
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:18 PM Page 19
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_Antweight-Dark-and-Dirty-Disco.
FIGURE 1.
the possibility that my robot could
explode at any moment.
After two weeks and several
modifications to the robots design, I
started to feel comfortable with the
CAD program. At first, I thought I had
to find CAD files of each part to
import into the program so that
everything was exactly to scale, but
instead, I invested in a digital caliper
to measure each part by hand. I
would then create that part with the
general shape and measurements to
act as a placeholder in the CAD
design (Figure 1). A majority of the
electronics came from an additional
FingerTech Viper kit that I had
purchased, along with a few random
eBay purchases.
With less than a week before I
left for Nashville, I had a four-
wheeled/four-sided wedge with a
rectangle acting as a temporary lifting
arm in the design. Out of curiosity, I
exported the file only to find that just
the body without the lid and lifting
arm mechanism was 20%
overweight! The best thing I could
think to do was cut the bot down
from four wheels to two wheels,
which would save me over two
ounces in motors alone (Figure 2). It
was about this time that a friend of
mine offered to print the bot on his
personal 3D printer using Taulman
910 Nylon, which has proven to be
one of the best choices for 3D printed
robotics.
FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 3.
This was my big
idea for how the lifter
was going to work: a
pin of some sort
locking the lifter to the
servo arm in the back
and a middle support
system in the front,
based off a hinge. Is
that stupid? Is that
going to work? I dont know! This CAD program, guessing how this
whole build, Ive had a Hope this whole system would work out.
works! attitude. I decided if it even Eventually, this is what I came up
remotely does the thing, I would with: it has a support pin in the
consider that a victory! bottom of the front hinge, which
I got to designing the arm in the would be 3D printed out of 910 nylon.
Personal CNC Mills
Shown below is an articulated humanoid
Shown here with
optional stand robot leg, built by researchers at the
and accessories.
Drexel Autonomous System Lab (DASL)
with a Tormach PCNC 1100 milling
machine. DASL researcher Roy Gross
estimates that somewhere between 300
and 400 components for HUBO+ has
been machined on their PCNC 1100.
PCNC 1100 Series 3
starting at:
$8480
(plus shipping)
www.tormach.com/servo
SERVO 02.2017 19
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:19 PM Page 20

FIGURE 5.

actually did the down. I attempted to stack Gorilla

FIGURE 4.
This build has pretty much gotten to
the point of a YOLO (You Only Live
Once) build. The back hinge and
middle hinge would be supported by a
nut and bolt system that is tightened
down enough that the joint can move
freely (Figure 3).
With two days to go before I left
for Nashville, I sent the parts off to be
printed, hoping that everything would
remotely fit. I attempted two test-fit
prints with the PLA printer, but both
failed due to separate issues. To my
absolute surprise, when I got the
nylon print, most of the parts fit fairly
decently. Even better, the lifter
thing! Figures 4
and 5 show what
the bot looked like
in the final stages before printing.
The print wound up being pretty
light at 13.65 oz. You can see I
wound up having to use zip ties to
hold the motors in because when I
attempted to use the motor mount
that was printed with the body, it
snapped off. I wound up doing the
same with the other mount, drilling
holes in the sides of the remaining
part of the motor mount, and zip
tying the motors onto the body. So
far, they have held up pretty well
(Figures 6 and 7).
Figure 7 shows the layout of the
insides before doing some wire
routing cleanup.
As you can see,
theres a lot of
Gorilla tape
holding things
tape high enough to where the lid
would press down and hold the servo
in place even better, but that would
have required a lot more tape than
shown. The receiver, battery, and
tinyESCs in the back are being held
down by Velcro. The power switch
was press-fit into a hole in the base of
the body, and taped just for extra
security and access.
Things that I learned through this
first design:
3D printed motor mounts no
matter the material can break very
easily. (HINT: Make sure that your
orientation is set up in a way to where
the first time you attempt to use
them, they wont snap off.)
Tolerances are extremely
important. I didnt take tolerances into
consideration at all, which led to a lot
of items not really fitting all that
great. I had to eliminate most of the

FIGURE 6.
Parts List:
2x FingerTech TinyESC
2x DC 6V~12V 280 RPM Micro Mini Full Metal Gearbox
Gear Motor
2x BaneBots Wheel, 1-3/8 x 0.4, 1/2 Hex Mount,
40A, Black/Orange
2x Hub, Hex, Series 40, Set Screw, 3 mm shaft, 1 Wide
FingerTech Master Power Switch
HobbyKing 939 MG Servo MG
Turnigy 500 mAh 3S 20C Lipo Pack
FingerTech Power Terminals
2-6S Lipo BEC UBEC 3A 5V Input 5-23V
Hobby King 2.4 GHz 6 CH Tx & Rx V2 (Mode 2)

20 SERVO 02.2017
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:19 PM Page 21
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_NERC-Ed-McCarron.
sidewall by the lifter
which was meant to FIGURE 7.
protect anything from
getting inside the bot.
The lid has to be taped
down because the tabs
in the front barely fit in
the slots of the body;
the screws I bought are
not long enough to
hold the lid down on
the body.
Just go for it.
Before this build, I had
very little knowledge of
Fusion 360, so I just
kind of went with it. Try
not to over-complicate
the build (yeah, right!). I did a lot of
things in this design that are probably
not ideal or correct, but Im actually
really happy with how the bot drives
An Interview with Ed McCarron
by Brandon Davis
wanted to get to know Ed
I McCarron a little. He is one of the
folks helping to run Robot Conflict
events with NERC: the Northeast
Robotic Club. Odds are excellent that
if you live in the Northeast United
States and have fought a robot in the
last 15 years, you have seen Ed
McCarron.
Ed McCarron: I got
started with robots early;
been messing around with
them since I was a kid. My
dad worked with sheet
metal, and made me a
robot body that I never
actually got moving. No
idea whatever happened to
it.
Got into combat
robotics, just like a lot of
the crew here. Saw it on
Comedy Central, Googled
and acts. At least the lifter arm
extends in an up and out motion, just
as I was hoping for.
Gorilla tape is your friend. The
around a bit, and found a group near
me in Philly.
I started competing in CJRC
(Central Jersey Robot Conflict) events
in 2000. Those were NERCs first
events. Got involved with organizing
by default I was the one there with
the laptops when Fuzzy (Michael
First robot. Photo by Al Kindle.
stand that the servo
sits in has pieces of
nylon that are printed
way too thin to really
do much, so I decided
to use the weight I had
remaining to tape
down all I could on the
robot. As you can see
from Figure 7, I taped
down the servo, the lid,
the motors, etc.
Unfortunately, due
to a limited amount of
per team entries, this
bot did not compete at
Robot Battles 61. Oh well. To see a
video showing A Dark and Dirty Disco
driving around, go to www.Warwick
RoboticsSTL.com. SV
Mauldin) ran his first LTRC (Lazy Toad
Robot Conflict) event. Running it kind
of fell to Beth and I.
Brandon Davis: Talk about the
most fun thing you ever built.
EM: Too many to count. The DIY
Arduino Segway my son, Josh and I
built on a whim was pretty cool. The
Rostock 3D printer we built
from scratch was fun.
BD: Other hobbies?
EM: Im heavily
involved in Boy Scouts and
a few other volunteer gigs.
Not much time for
hobbies. I read a lot.
BD: The best bot in
your stable? Why?
EM: Netherbot one
of the first 30 pound
pneumatic flippers. People
said it would be tough to
make it effective in that
weight limit. It took a few
SERVO 02.2017 21
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:19 PM Page 22
EO Row, Motorama 2016.
Photo by Ken Franklin.
first place trophies, even if the name
was odd. The worst was Spazhammer
in 2006. A 24 pound Hobbyweight
hammer robot that hopped. It fired
pneumatic cylinders into the arena
floor. A BASIC Stamp ran the whole
show, reading the radio, sequencing
the valves, firing the hammer. But
even with a 100% weight bonus, I
couldnt squeeze enough valves in
there to allow it to turn
effectively. Lost two fights and
never fought again, but I got
that competitions Coolest
Bot award.
BD: If you could build
anything you wanted, what
would it be?
EM: Im fascinated by
CNC tooling. I have my sights
set on building a CNC gantry
for my plasma cutter.
BD: What was your
favorite toy growing up?
EM: Who says Ive grown
up? Im 45 and still play with
22 SERVO 02.2017
Spazhammer.
Photo by Ed McCarron.
toys. I guess if you mean when I was
a kid, LEGOs and Erector sets. That
silly RadioShack electronics kit with
the springs. Anything that let you
make something else.
BD: In 10 words or less, describe registration which is by far the most
your design philosophy. Make it
different.
EM: Doesnt matter if it wins.
Have fun.
The view from the back at Motorama 2016.
Photo by Ken Franklin.
BD: Favored design aid?
EM: Im a fan of printing things
1:1 on my laser printer and attaching
the print to the material Im cutting to
use as a template. Still havent
mastered working in 3D yet.
BD: Favorite tool?
ED: My bandsaw. Nothing beats
treating aluminum like expensive
hardwood.
BD: What do you feel like the
biggest change in combat robots is
since you started?
EM: Back when I started, we
were still figuring out the difference
between lexan and lucite, and using
screwdrivers for drive motors. Now,
stores have popped up everywhere
online. Custom-made parts are easier
to come by. Ditto for the CNC options
available. The 2.4 GHz radios are
definitely a great advance and have
made running an event much
smoother. No more frequency clips,
no more radio impound, and much
more competitor-friendly to boot.
BD: Talk about what goes into
getting an event like Moto going each
year.
EM: A good bit of legwork. We're
fortunate to have a great venue and a
good event to work with. There are a
half dozen or so of us working on it,
and we all have our little area of
expertise. Jim Iocca handles
thinky part of the whole thing. Jon
Durand orders the tables and chairs
and announces the event; Alan Young
and Al Kindle handle safety concerns;
Joe Provenzano fixes just
about everything there; I mail
the paperwork out and set up
the insurance; Beth (my very
tolerant wife) handles the
brackets and schedules the
fights; and Zach ODonnell
injects common sense when
needed. Then, we all come
together at the event. After
doing this for 10+ years,
weve got it down to a
science, I think. We just
picked up a few new officers
that will have to find their
niche. Welcome aboard,
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:19 PM Page 23
Charles Guan, Kyle Singer, Brian
Benson, Rob Masek, and Josh
Zimmerman! There are a few
other folks that consistently pitch
in where they can.
BD: There is a lot of stuff
that you need to have an event.
Where do you keep it all?
EM: The 16 arena lives on a
trailer, currently in Jims driveway.
The rest of the paraphernalia
(scales, computers, clocks, etc.)
lives in my garage in a few totes.
The 8 arena lives in a trailer in
my driveway. The big arena was
built by Rob Masek around 2005.
It takes a crew of about 10
working on and off for 16 hours
to set the big arena up. The
small arena was built by Rob and
Eric Scott in 2004, and goes up
in a few minutes.
Maintenance is handled as
needed during setup normally,
unless there are major repairs. Ed McCarron and the old NERC arena, May 2012.
Then, well schedule a day to get
a few folks together to work on
it.
The original arena which
was an 8 x 8 box four feet tall
similar to the small arena we still
use today was paid for by
member donations and out of
pocket. NERC has been fortunate
that we are able to run on a very
low budget. We keep a low
overhead. Since then, weve
mostly been able to pay for new
arenas and upgrades with income
from events.
BD: Whats the biggest
challenge?
EM: Getting competitors to return
their paperwork on time. Seriously.
BD: What should folks know
about NERC?
EM: Were always looking for
more folks to get involved in this crazy
hobby. We like teaching people what
we do, telling them how they can get
involved, and hey, if they learn a bit
about something along the way, even
better. Im constantly using robotics to
teach kids about physics, or
electronics, or whatever. As long as
they keep learning.
Photo by Al Kindle.
Minions needed. Photo by Ken Franklin.
BD: Any advice for people
considering getting an event going?
EM: Its a lot of work, but the
payoff is immense. We all do this
because we love it and are passionate
about it. Nothing makes me happier
than seeing an event through to the
end. Its a great feeling to know you
helped pull this crazy thing together
and gave people from all over the
country a place to compete. That
feeling lasts about an hour, then you
realize you have to do it again next
year.
BD: NERC has been one of
the singular successes of the US
robot combat world with well-
attended events (for years!),
even in the dark time of no TV
shows. What are some of the
factors (in your mind) that
explain/account for this success?
EM: Weve tried hard to
keep it simple and accessible.
Participation has grown and
fallen, but weve been lucky to
have a dedicated group of
builders to keep us running.
NERC wouldnt exist without the
folks that engage in this goofy
hobby. Social media has made it
slightly easier to get people
engaged it beats standing
around at a trade show handing
out brochures.
For years. Yeah. Ive been
involved going on 15 years. Beth
laughed when BattleBots was
on TV and they referred to one
of the teams as Those kids
from MIT. She said that only
she was allowed to call them that
since weve known them since
they actually were kids.
Folks like Ed are not only the
reason we are still fighting robots,
but contribute to the quality of
the robots we love to cheer by
hosting and organizing the small
weight class fights that form the
bulk of our calendar.
You can keep up with NERC
online at www.nerc.us.
NERC sponsored events can be
found on the website.
Robot Conflicts extensive
Photobucket (2000 to the present)
can be found at http://s1001.photo
bucket.com/user/RobotConflict/libr
ary/?sort=3&page=0. SV
SERVO 02.2017 23
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:20 PM Page 24

EVENT REPORT: by Nate Franklin

Pennsylvania College of
Technology SWORD Fights
ctober 22, 2016 marked the

O first ever SWORD (Student

Wildcats of Robot Design)
robot combat event at Pennsylvania
College of Technology. The event was
hosted by the clubs presidents, Mike
Zalatan and Alex Horne. Thirty bots
showed up to the event; the majority
of them were first-time builders from
the club.
Robot combat veteran, Kyle The arena and pits.
Singer supplied the arena, which was
his own 8 x 8 box with a push-out. He
also served as the events fight against Discharge, and bullied 1). Both Discharge and Ready or Not
commentator, and helped load and Dont Ask with ease. Meanwhile, were tied for points, and fought a
unload bots during the event. His Ready or Not beat Dont Ask, but lost tiebreaker match to decide second
humorous commentary helped keep to Discharge after self-destructing. and third. Discharge got the win to
the crowd entertained, and he did a In the next round, Discharge beat secure a second place spot
good job explaining the rules to the Dont Ask a second time, but lost to Twenty-six bots were entered in
new builders. Ready or Not after accidentally driving the Beetleweight division. The
Four Antweight bots fought in a into the push-out. Slim Pickens went tournament format was different from
double round-robin tournament. The undefeated, beating Discharge and standard events held in the US. Taking
competitors were wedges Slim Pickens Dont Ask again, and getting an easy
and Discharge, as well as horizontal victory over Ready or Not (this was
spinners Dont Ask and Ready or Not. the first time the two met, since
In round 1, Slim Pickens won a tactical Ready or Not had to forfeit in round Scrambles the Death Dealer.

Dont Ask.

Slim
Pickens.
Ready or Not.

Discharge (left) and Tiny (right).

24 SERVO 02.2017
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:20 PM Page 25
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_PA-SWORD-Robot-Fights.
a page out of events in the United
Kingdom, the event had two stages.
In the first stage, the bots were
randomized and fought in three-way
rumbles. Each bot was guaranteed
three rumbles, and received points
based on their performance.
Winning by KO is four points, and
a judges decision is three. The bot in
second place gets two points, while
the third place bot gets one point.
The eight bots with the most points
would move to the second stage: a
single-elimination knockout
tournament.
The Beetleweights featured bots
from students, faculty, and a few
outsiders. They included some vertical
spinners like Riptoff 3, GOAT, and
Tiny. Best Korea Clone, Shrapnel, and
Scrambles the Death Dealer were a
few of the horizontal spinners that did
some great damage, but ended up
self-destructing one way or another.
One of the more unique bots was
Potbot, a bot made from (you
guessed it) a pot. It used
three brushless Outrunner
motors wrapped in duct tape
to spin around the arena.
In the opening fight,
eggbeater Wildcat proved to
be vicious, but suffered from
weapon belt issues
throughout the event. It took
on abrasive disc spinner Apex
and Killawatt, made from a
computers power supply.
Things started to get
intense when horizontal
spinner Circuit Breaker came
into the arena shortly after,
proving to be the most vicious
spinner in the competition,
taking out No More
Bubblegum and Lethal Lotus
in its opening fight.
Meanwhile, Riptoff 3
took on fellow vertical spinner
GOAT and Potbot, disabling
the formers weapon and
putting the latter on its back.
Unfortunately, Riptoff 3
ended up throwing its own
weapon pulley, but still got
Best Korea
Clone.
the win. The wedge of Thunder Child
proved to be unstoppable in its
qualifying rumbles, bullying all of its
opponents.
When the rumbles were finished,
six bots had enough points to go to
the next round: Thunder Child, Tiny,
Shrapnel, Wildcat, Circuit Breaker, and
Riptoff 3. Because there were two
other places left in the single
elimination bracket, four bots that had
almost enough points to go through
had to fight in a four-way rumble to
Circuit Breaker (left) takes on
No More Bubblegum (right).
Riptoff 3 (left) fights
GOAT after Potbot
(background) is left
upside down.
Shrapnel.
Thunder Child.
decide who continued on. GOAT,
Blender, Dz Wedge, and Mr. Happy
entered the arena, with the latter two
moving through to the next
stage of the competition.
In the single-elimination
stage, it was make or break
time for the remaining bots.
In round 1, Thunder Child
quickly disposed of Mr.
Happy; Wildcat outpushed
Shrapnel after both bots lost
their weapons early on;
Circuit Breaker pummeled
Riptoff 3; and Tiny tore the
wedge off of Dz Wedge.
In the semi-finals,
Thunder Child was able to
disable Wildcats weapon belt
and win a one-sided push
fight. Meanwhile, Circuit
Breaker put on a show in its
semi-final fight as it brutally
disposed of Tiny to reach the
final. Wildcat got third place
by default, as Tiny could not
be repaired in time for the
third place playoff.
While the two remaining
bots prepared for the final,
the Beetleweight rumble was
held. It featured a total of 12
SERVO 02.2017 25
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:20 PM Page 26

Wildcat (center) fights Apex (left) and Killawatt (right). (From left to right) GOAT,
Dz Wedge, Mr. Happy,
and Blender fight for a
place in the single-
elimination bracket.

The Beetleweight
Circuit Breaker final was downright
disposes of Tiny. brutal. Thunder Child
charged headfirst into
Circuit Breaker several
times, sending it
ricocheting around
the arena. Circuit
Breaker got the upper
hand, as it managed
to tear off Thunder
Childs back wheels.
Thunder Child after the final. Thunder Child didnt
give up, and kept
1st 2nd 3rd Rumble fighting on despite being reduced to
Antweight Slim Pickens Discharge Ready or Not N/A limping.
Beetleweight Circuit Breaker Thunder Child Wildcat Shrapnel Circuit Breakers battery began to die,
but was saved by the bell. After the three
bots, in an all-out five minute slugfest. In the end, the minutes were up, the judges gave the win to Circuit
horizontal spinner Shrapnel came out on top. Breaker. SV

EVENT REPORT:
Robot Battles 61 at the
Geek Media Expo by Thomas Kenney

s GMX Robot Battles

2016 were held on the
Sunday of Halloween weekend in
Nashville, TN. This was the fifth
official Robot Battles event in Music
City, featuring the return of Kelly
Lockhart as MC, and a much larger
arena than in previous years. The
turnout was high, with seven 3 lb
Beetleweights and 14 1 lb
Antweights competing, aided by a
record number of out-of-state Volunteers assemble the arena.
teams.

26 SERVO 02.2017
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:21 PM Page 27

www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_Robot-Battles-Geek-Media-Expo.

Antweight Miscleant
and Beetleweight
Mechanical
Resonance.

Builder Glen Gibbs

repairs his Antweight
A Worker.

The event got off to a hectic
start, with the arena arriving almost
an hour later than anticipated. Over a
dozen volunteers from the pits
grouped together to assemble it as
quickly as possible, allowing the fights
to begin soon after the planned time.
The Antweight brackets single
elimination due to time constraints
were swept by three lifters and a
quick aggressive wedge.
The two wheeled wedge-lifter
Proteus (with its large wheels and
polycarbonate construction) outdrove
the competition in its first two rounds,
beating drum spinner IDK and the
undercutting bar spinner A Worker;
named such for the meaning of a
Mandarin character the frames body
resembled.
Veteran wedge Gilbert pitted the
Antweight
rumble.
vertical saw of Green Reaper 6.0 in
only four seconds, then bullied
Miscleant around the box before the
latter encountered radio issues and
tapped out.
The newly built forward lifter
Misdirected Pedestrian managed two
near identical victories in its first
matches against a pair of horizontal
undercutters (both modified
FingerTech Viper kits) by disabling
their weapons and
stacking them immobile
against the arena wall.
Finally, Vee Parr (a
FingerTech Viper kit with
the lifter attachment)
defeated the drum
spinner IDK with help
from the latters weapon
malfunctioning, and
Builder Azeem Hussain
with Antweight IDK and
Beetleweight Revenge of at the risk of
the Klukz.
then outdrove the wedge George
Reloaded.
Vee Paar and Misdirected
Pedestrian met in the first Antweight
semi-final. Though evenly matched at
first, the battle turned towards Vee
Parrs favor as Pedestrian began to
experience issues with its drive
transmission, allowing the Viper kit to
throw its opponent into the push-out
in dramatic fashion.
Gilbert and Proteus
semi-final match went
the distance. Proteus
polycarbonate wedge
was no match for
Gilberts razor-sharp
hardened steel.
However, to
maintain its inevitability
in the face of Proteus
lifter, Gilbert fought
without its usual horned
appendages, and was
unable to control the
opponent well enough
to end the fight with a
push-out victory.
The results went to
the judges, who
declared in favor of
Gilbert. To avoid the
indecisiveness of the
previous match,
Gilberts horned
appendages were
reattached in the final,
noninvertibility in the

SERVO 02.2017 27
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:21 PM Page 28

Antweight fight.
Who Cares? is Builder Patrick
upended by Becker with
Misdirected Antweight Green
Pedestrian. Reaper.

temporarily retired in 2012.

face of its lifter-armed opponent.
The bet paid off, and before 20
seconds had passed, Gilbert had
Beetleweight fight. Ghost
is shoved by Wedgee.
swept under Vee Parr and driven its
opponent into the pit, securing its first
Antweight championship since being
As with last years GMX Robot
Battles, the Beetles were dominated
by Ben and Mark Hansons two
robots: Wedgee, a two-wheeled
wedge driven by antique Handiworks
gearmotors, and Flippy, a KitBots
drum spinner.
Most of the other competitors
were new or recently built spinners.
These included STEVE, a full body
spinner from a University of

Development Tools and Learning Systems for

PIC Microcontrollers PBP3
PICBASIC PRO Compiler

Check out our popular products for PIC developers including:

U2 Programmer
PICBASIC PRO 3.0 Compiler
Prototyping Boards
Experimenter Boards
ME Labs Trainer Board and Programming Tutorial

ME Labs has been been a global leader in the creation of

development tools for PIC microcontrollers for 20 years.

www.melabs.com Contact us at info@melabs.com or go to melabs.com

PICBASIC PRO is a trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries.
PIC is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries.

28 SERVO 02.2017
Combat Zone - Feb 17_Combat Zone - Aug 15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:22 PM Page 29

Minnesota team; Mechanical

Resonance, a horizontal midcutter
built in a week by veteran
competitor, Will Evans; and Revenge
of the Klukz, a sleek welded steel
tank fitted with a KitBots
eggbeater.
The opening match of the
Beetleweight double-elimination
brackets featured Mechanical
Resonance winning a judges
decision over STEVE, whose weapon
was nonfunctional but managed to
survive thanks to its opponents 15
year old BattleBots toy gearmotors
failing.
In the following matches, Flippy
and Wedgee won decisive push-out
victories over the horizontal spinner
ZOU Keeper and Revenge of the
Klukz, respectively.
Mechanical Resonance was pitted
against fellow midcutter Ghost in the
next round, but quickly tapped out
after one of its wheels rolled off just
Beetleweight rumble.
one second into the match.
Wedgee beat teammate Flippy in
the following match, and then won an
easy push-out victory against Ghost in
the winners bracket finals.
With only one Team Wedgee
robot, the Beetle losers brackets were
more contested. ZOU Keeper fought
its way past both Revenge of the
Klukz and Mechanical Resonance
before meeting defeat by the
eggbeater of Flippy, who then went
on to defeat Ghost in the losers
bracket finals.
For the second time, builder Tom
Spaulding guest drove Flippy while
Team Wedgees usual driver, Ben
Hanson piloted Wedgee.
Ben handily won via push-out,
giving Wedgee another in its long line
of first place finishes, and further
validating the decade-old design.
Two action-packed rumbles
capped off the event, serving the final
round of damage that local builders
hoped to have repaired in time for
Robot Battles 62 at Chattacon in
January 2017. SV

Extreme Robot
Motor Control
www.robotpower.com
MEGAMOTO GT Shield
Software and
plug compatible
New with our
MegaMoto
shield

Our Highest Current motor control for Arduino

6 35A Continuous - 50A peak MADE IN
6 6.5V - 40V
6 Built in Voltage Reg can power the Arduino
6 Current sensor outputs can be sent to any analog pin THE USA
6 Over temp and over current protection

The Hydra
6 7V - 28V
6 Triple 6.5A / 8.0A Peak H-Bridges
6 Current/Temp limiting
6 R/C inputs w/mixing
6 Limit switches on one channel
6 2.0" x 2.1" x .5"

The Vyper
6 120A+ H-Bridge - 200A Peak!
6 8V - 42V
6 Overload protected
Big Bots! 6 RC and Analog Pot input
Big Power! 6 Supports 8 AWG wires!
Big Motors! 6 2.85 x 2.25 x 1.75

Phone: 360-515-0691 s sales@robotpower.com

SERVO 02.2017 29
Koci - Animatronics - Feb 17_Steve Koci Animatronics #1 Parrot.qxd 1/2/2017 9:15 PM Page 30

DIY Animatronics
Servos: The Basics and
Beyond By Steve Koci

What can servos do for you? Well, they will not give you relationship advice or make
you coffee, but they can help you create some extremely lifelike characters. I think they
could actually make you coffee, but that is a topic for another time.

T
aking the step into using servos
can be intimidating. Most of us
are used to moving a mechanism
by simply providing power to a
motor. In reality, servos are
simply motorized gearboxes which have the
ability to move to a specified location using
a control signal. You do need to add
something to provide that input whether
it is an RC transmitter or a microcontroller
but that does not have to be a difficult
process. There is a wide selection of
different controllers now available that take
much of the complication out of that part
of the equation.
In addition to looking into the workings
of servos, I would like to discuss the use of
digital servos and the added benefits they
can provide. The trend seems to be moving
away from analog servos to the digital
models, so we will examine a few of the
contributing factors for this shift. I am a big
fan of the digital models although I still
utilize a few analog servos (primarily the
Hitec 485HB) in my three-axis skulls.
This will not simply be a review of the Figure 1. Actobotics to the
workings of these extremely useful and
versatile devices. We will take a look at a
few alternative servos that you may not have previously
considered. I will also demonstrate how a stand-alone
servos durability and power can be further increased by
including them in a system such as the Actobotics
products from ServoCity (see Resources). My characters
rely heavily on these and quite frankly, I could not achieve
the same results without a tremendous amount of
additional effort (Figure 1).
I am aware that the basic concepts and explanations
30 SERVO 02.2017
regarding the operation of servos have
been well documented in other articles
here, but I will cover the basics for any
newcomers to the hobby. It is necessary to
be familiar with the basic concept before
delving into the more advanced. This
explanation will help you choose models
that best fit your needs.
Becoming comfortable using servos and
taking advantage of all the added features
available will expand your capabilities as a
builder. So, lets take a look at why they are
so special.
What Makes Them Tick?
Servos are made up of four basic
components. These are a motor, gear set,
potentiometer, and control board. You will
find that the first three of these are the
same when comparing an analog servo to a
digital model. The difference comes when
looking at how the signal is processed and
used to send power to the servo motor.
The gear set slows the motor speed
and increases the torque delivered to the
rescue! servo shaft, while the potentiometer
which is connected to the output shaft
provides location feedback of the horn position to the
controller.
There are many different brands of servos available
with Hitec, Futaba, and JR being the big names, but there
are plenty of more budget-friendly brands available
(Figure 2). If these fit the bill for you, check them out
thoroughly before investing heavily in them. I personally
have not been very satisfied with the performance and
durability of the budget-friendly brands I have tried, but
Koci - Animatronics - Feb 17_Steve Koci Animatronics #1 Parrot.qxd 1/2/2017 9:15 PM Page 31
Post comments on this section and find any associated files and/or downloads at
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_Animatronics_Servo-Basics.
your mileage may vary. I use
models from Hitec as they
are the ones I am familiar
with. A highly useful chart
for comparing the features
of many of the Hitec servos
can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/
zf54oy4.
There is not a
proprietary system in place
for servo design. As an
example, the neutral position
for a Hitec servo is set for a
1,500 s pulse width while it
is 1,520 s on a Futaba
Figure 2. There are options besides the big name brands.
servo. Again, comparing just
the Hitec and Futaba brands,
they have different spline sizes,
connectors, and primary
rotation direction settings.
So, do a little research
when selecting your servos to
be sure of their features. I
suggest finding a brand you
like and sticking with it. It will
be much simpler to standardize
your designs and to stock
replacements and spare parts.
Granted, it is possible to work
with these differences, but why
complicate the process
unnecessarily?
Size
Servos come in a variety of
sizes from the micro all the way up
to quarter scale. The most popular
size is the standard dimension
servos which provide the greatest
selection.
Oftentimes, the choice is made
for us by the space constraints of
our projects. Besides the standard
size models most of us begin with,
there are other options available
including the following:
Mini Servos There are many
design applications where we do
not require a tremendous amount
of torque or where space is limited.
DIY Animatronics
Figure 3. Good things do come in small packages.
of experience and having a few
Figure 4. Go big or go home!
This is a situation where one
of the smaller servo models
may fit the bill. You can
select from nano, sub-micro,
micro, and mini sizes in both
analog and digital versions
(Figure 3).
Giant There are times
where you must move from
the traditional and go BIG
(Figure 4). This is the
category where the big
brothers of standard servos
can be found. Their larger
size provides the space for a
heavier duty motor and
larger gear to provide the
strength to satisfy greater
performance requirements.
Torque
When choosing a model
to use, it seems that the
primary consideration is how
much torque a particular servo
will provide. Determining how
much torque your mechanism
requires can be a bit tricky.
The proper explanation is how
many ounce/inches (oz-in) or
kilogram centimeters (kg-cm) it
can hold one inch from the
shaft at a certain voltage.
For example, one of my
favorite servos the Hitec
5685MH can produce 194
oz-in (14 kg-cm) when powered at
6V. If I were to increase the servo
arm length from one inch to two
inches, it would now only manage
97 oz-in. However, if I were to
reduce the length by half, it would
now provide 388 oz-in.
While that information is
useful in comparing servos, most
of us use a more seat-of-the-pants
method to choose the correct
model for our projects. A little bit
different models on hand when
prototyping a design will go a long
way in ensuring your mechanism
SERVO 02.2017 31
Koci - Animatronics - Feb 17_Steve Koci Animatronics #1 Parrot.qxd 1/2/2017 9:16 PM Page 32
DIY Animatronics
Figure 5. Servos can be installed in
tight spots. Figure 6. Whos afraid of a little rain?
has all the power it needs. If you are unsure of how much
power your mechanism will require, I suggest that more is
better! I have not ever had this philosophy fail me.
Speed
Servo speed is defined as how long it takes to move
the servo horn 60 degrees, again at a certain voltage.
While not usually as critical of a design factor as the
torque, it still needs to considered. I have found that faster
is not always better.
When assembling Jarvis (see the September 2016
issue of SERVO Magazine), I found that I was able to get
smoother body movements when using a slower servo.
We will discuss how you can program your digital
servos speed in a bit. Sometimes it takes some
experimenting to achieve the exact motion you are looking
for. There is a trade-off between speed and torque, so you
need to consider where you are willing to compromise.
Voltage
Servos can usually be powered by a range of voltages;
often between 4.5 all the way up to 7.4 volts. By using a
higher voltage, your servo is able to deliver more torque.
Improvements in battery performance have allowed us to
use higher voltages and remain within our build
parameters.
Construction
The internal components used in the construction of a
servo vary as well. Motors can be coreless or brushless,
32 SERVO 02.2017
with the brushless models getting
the nod for increased performance.
The material used for the gears
can be plastic, Karbonite, metal, or
titanium. The performance
differences can include wear
resistance, strength, and how
quietly they operate. Titanium gears
offer the best performance but you
will, of course, have to pay a
premium for them.
The number and type of
bearings will contribute to the
smoothness of operation as well.
You can choose from plastic, metal,
or ball bearings. It is hard to beat
the smoothness of dual ball
bearings!
Cost
As with most things, if you
want more features, you are going
to pay a bit more. Digital servos are more expensive than
their analog cousins, but in my opinion are worth the
extra expense.
Selecting a servo that is within your budget is an
important consideration. Take into account such things as
the difficulty in replacing a faulty servo. Is this a temporary
project or something that is expected to last long term? Is
the continual operation of a particular servo of high
importance?
Sometimes it is advantageous to pay a higher upfront
cost than to make repairs later.
Have You Considered These?
I would like to take this opportunity to point out
several specialized servos that you may not have
considered before. These fulfill some unique requirements
and you should at least be aware that they are available if
you need them.
Flat When your only available space is a narrow
slot, the HS-7115H servo may fit the bill (Figure 5). It is
super slim and still provides 50 oz-in at 7.4V. It includes a
titanium gear train and dual ball bearings, giving it plenty
of strength.
Continuous Rotation Have you ever wanted to be
able to create a winch for a project? Maybe a continuous
rotation servo such as the HSR-2645CR will solve your
problem. While it has no potentiometer to provide
feedback, it can still be a useful device to add to your
toolbox.
Waterproof Some applications may require you to
have a waterproof servo. The D845WP model delivers
Koci - Animatronics - Feb 17_Steve Koci Animatronics #1 Parrot.qxd 1/2/2017 9:16 PM Page 33
DIY Animatronics
Figure 7. A portable programmer that goes where
Figure 8. Programming from your
computer.
incredible torque of 694 oz/in at
7.4V, and is one of the new D
series servos (Figure 6). This servo
offers some significant
improvements, including the ability
to accept a wide voltage range of
between 4.8V and 8.4V. It Figure 9. Servo blocks provide a strong skeleton.
incorporates steel gears and dual
ball bearings to go along with its high resolution.
Quality servos are available from a number of different
sellers including ServoCity, Pololu, SparkFun, RobotShop,
Parallax, and Adafruit. I have provided links to their sites in
the resources section.
Digital Servos
Now, it is time to examine the benefits that moving
from analog to digital servos can provide you. Be warned
that once you try them, you may never go back!
The primary components of a digital servo are the
same as those in analog servos. Their magic comes from
how the signals are processed when providing power to
the servo. The advantages of choosing a digital servo over
an analog model include the fact that digital servos have
increased holding power, decreased deadband (neutral
zone), and are quicker to respond to input.
This is a result of the higher rate of command pulses it
receives, allowing it to update its position more frequently.
The flip side to this choice is that digital servos are
more expensive and consume more power than an analog
servo.
By adding a programmer to your toolbox, you can
unlock many of the user controlled options available when
using digital servos.
you go.
Figure 10. Channel
mount gearboxes for
more power.
Servo
Programmer
In order to fully utilize all the features of digital servos,
you will want to have a programmer. I just picked up the
new Hitec HFP-30 which is compatible with all of their
digital servos including the new D series (Figure 7). It also
doubles as a universal tester (see Resources).
In addition to being a servo tester, the HFP-30
programmer allows you to access and adjust a slew of
features. The ones I find most useful are the ability to
adjust the speed and the direction of the shafts rotation,
as well as the capability to select your end points.
You also can adjust the deadband width, the neutral
points, fail safes, and the resolution, as well as select
whether you want the overload protection enabled. The
large screen makes for ease of reading. The battery is
external, so make sure you have one with the necessary
connector available.
Another option that may work for you is the DPC-11
dongle PC programmer. This computer interface is
compatible with some of their servos, so check the specs
to see if it will work for you (Figure 8).
Actobotics
The ability to increase your servos performance is
possible by including them in a system that has the ability
to augment the available torque and increase the load
bearing capabilities. These objectives can be met by
SERVO 02.2017 33
Koci - Animatronics - Feb 17_Steve Koci Animatronics #1 Parrot.qxd 1/2/2017 9:16 PM Page 34

DIY Animatronics
utilizing the be considerably
Actobotics system more stable. The
from ServoCity (see model I am starting
Resources). with is extremely
Servo blocks powerful and is
significantly increase admittedly overkill,
the mechanical load but I will never
a servo can handle need to worry
(Figure 9). The about it failing. It
standardized layout incorporates a giant
allows a multitude HS-805MG servo,
of configuration delivering 1,715 oz-
options when in of torque (Figure
combined with other 12).
Actobotics
components. Servo
If it is more
torque you need, Tester
servo gearboxes add You
an external gear set occasionally need
to boost the to test to see if a
available power. In Figure 11. Original shoulder twist Figure 12. Improving upper body servo is functioning
design. rotation.
addition, the properly. This is
gearboxes provide a tremendous where a reliable tester comes in
amount of support to the handy. There are plenty of
external shaft, allowing it to hold inexpensive testers available, but
up to the added forces being my favorite is a Do-It-Yourself
applied to the servo. The two-channel model put together
gearboxes come in several by a fellow builder (Figure 13).
different mounting options. I use Tylers original post and a link to
the channel gearboxes extensively a follow-up post with a link to the
in my characters when needed files can be found at
constructing the body www.haunt forum.com/show
mechanisms (Figure 10). They fit thread.php? t=3507. This unit
inside the channel which has the added ability to output
produces a remarkably clean the actual endpoints if you need
design. to add the numerical settings into
I am currently in the process your microcontroller program.
of changing the way I rotate the
upper body of my characters. In Mounting Brackets
the past, I had a rigid spine to
which the shoulders were Figure 13. A DIY servo tester comes in handy. For a quick and easy
attached. A servo and gear set mounting solution, check out the
was added to the top of the spine brackets from RobotShop (see
and would turn the head and Resources). They fit a standard
shoulders (Figure 11). This size servo and provide a
system has worked well, but it convenient and secure
will occasionally skip a gear under attachment (Figure 14).
heavy load or if it needs to move
quickly back and forth. Other Accessories:
In order to solidify this
portion of my design, I am going Wiring Extenders,
with a bottom flange gearbox to Cable Locks, and
which the spine will be mounted
atop. This will allow the entire
Splitters
upper body to rotate and should Figure 14. Mounting servos made easy. In order to take full
34 SERVO 02.2017
Koci - Animatronics - Feb 17_Steve Koci Animatronics #1 Parrot.qxd 1/2/2017 9:16 PM Page 35

DIY Animatronics
advantage of your servos, you will want to pick up a
few accessories.
You can never have too many servo extensions
for when you want to place your controller away
from your servos. When placing your order, be sure
to get extensions which have a male and a female
connector, not servo cables. I am always in need of
more extensions, but now have more servo cables
than I will use in a long time.
When running your wiring, it is recommended
that you err on the side of them being too long.
You want to be sure you have enough slack through
the entire range of motion of your mechanism. A
bit of extra security can be had by adding cable
locks to keep any extensions from coming detached
(Figure 15). Figure 15. Secure your wiring connections.
There are times when you want a single
controller channel to send signals to two servos.
This is a case where a splitter comes in handy. Both
servos receive the same commands, but it is one
option for increasing the number of servos a single
controller can handle.

Servo Arms
You have your choice of a variety of servo arms
that come with your servo. There are other options
available for purchase separately if the stock ones
do not fit your needs (Figure 16). Check out some
of the alternatives at http://tinyurl.com/hdrzb4d.
You do need to pay extra attention to the spline size
to make sure you get the proper one. Figure 16. Pick a horn, but not just any horn.

Cable Extensions
You can place your servos a distance away from the
point where they are creating movements by using cables
running inside of a housing such as those available from
Sullivan Products (see Resources). Watch for an upcoming
article showing exactly how to incorporate these into your
builds.
RESOURCES
ServoCity/Actobotics http://tinyurl.com/zzy2ugu
Hitec RCD Programmer http://tinyurl.com/j2rv38d
Adafruit http://tinyurl.com/hadoqb2
RobotShop http://tinyurl.com/gnkb47m
SparkFun http://tinyurl.com/lpgxyfu
Parallax http://tinyurl.com/om7pqoy
Pololu www.pololu.com
RobotShop Servo Brackets http://tinyurl.com/zpczhhs
Sullivan Products http://tinyurl.com/hoqh982
My YouTube channel http://tinyurl.com/nma2doj
My Website www.halstaff.com
DIY Animatronics Forum http://tinyurl.com/qjeehjs
Now You Can Servo Yourself
If you have yet to take the plunge and include servos
in your projects, now may be the time. I especially
encourage you to check out how digital servos can help
you become a more successful builder.
Eventually, we may have no choice but to use digital
servos as this seems to be the direction the industry is
trending. So, why not take advantage of all they have to
offer now?
Have you incorporated servos in a unique way into
one of your projects? Do you have questions or comments
you would like to add to the discussion? Then, visit the
DIY Animatronics Forum at http://tinyurl.com/qjeehjs
and join the conversation. We can all contribute our ideas
in order to benefit the community!
Until next month, MAY THE PASSION TO BUILD BE
WITH YOU! SV

SERVO 02.2017 35
Henning - RaspPi Bot - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 12/30/2016 4:31 PM Page 36

Serving Raspberry Pi
By William Henning
#9

In the last article, the accuracy of the

heading produced by our Raspberry Pi bot,
Berry's compass was greatly improved by
adding magnetic declination and tilt
compensation. However, that by itself is not
enough for indoor navigation. At the very
least, I need to add odometry so that I tell
Berry to go forward 0.5 m.
ll need a few more upgrades first, however. Berrys head
Ikept falling off. (Okay, you can stop laughing now.)
FIGURE 2.

Berry will no longer lose his head.

The Sharp 10 cm-80 cm IR sensor made Berry short
sighted, so instead of trying glasses, I added a generic HC-
SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor since an HC-SR04 ultrasonic
ranger has a four meter range greatly improving Berrys
detection area.

Re-Mounting the Sharp IR

Sensor
The problem with the panning ultrasonic head is that it
would not prevent Berry from falling down stairs or running
off a table.
FIGURE 1.
I mounted the Sharp IR sensor on Berrys lower deck,
pointing down slightly (Figure 3).
As a temporary measure, I mounted a 9g micro servo This way, Berry can use it to watch for:
on top of the chassis by simply using double-sided foam Objects that are close by, while the HC-SR04 can pan
tape to hold the servo, and more double-sided tape to hold for farther objects
the Sharp IR sensor on the servo horn (Figure 1).
It worked.
Nonetheless, the servo kept tilting, and Berry kept
losing his head.
I had some inexpensive acrylic servo mounts, so I used
one to mount the servo on Berry. I kept the double-sided
tape on as well, so the servo is mounted real good now.

Adding a Better Servo

Unfortunately, the servo mount did not fit my blue 9g
servo perfectly. Fortunately, I had slightly bigger ones, with
better servo horns to boot! As I did not want Berry to
constantly lose his head, I also mounted one of my sensor
FIGURE 3.
holders on the servo horn (Figure 2).
36 SERVO 02.2017
Henning - RaspPi Bot - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 12/30/2016 4:31 PM Page 37
Giving Berry a Better Servo Mount
Post comments on this section and find any associated files and/or downloads at
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_RaspPi-Robots-Better-Servo-Mount.
Sudden drop-offs (stairs,
table/platform edge, etc.)
After I find the perfect angle,
Ill make a better holder for the IR
sensor. For now, I used (wait for it)
double-sided foam tape again (Figure
4).
Odometry
Simplified
Odometry is simply measuring
how far your robot has travelled. Go
to https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Odometry to get more details.
The odometer in your car keeps
track of how far you have travelled,
based on how many times your drive
wheel has rotated and the diameter of
the tire. We can pretty much do the
same thing for Berry by using sensors
to figure out how many times one of
Berrys tires has turned.
Looking at a photo of Berry, you
can see that his tires have five thin spokes separated by five
empty spaces (Figure 5). By using a simple reflective light
sensor mounted in such a way that it can see the spokes,
we will be able to count the spokes as the wheel turns.
Every five spokes, the wheel has turned a full 360 degrees.
The circumference of the tire is pi times the diameter
(i.e., pi times twice the radius), so once we know how
many revolutions Berry has travelled, we can multiply it by
the wheels circumference, giving us the total distance
travelled.
FIGURE 5.
As the wheels diameter is 64
FIGURE 4. mm, one revolution of the wheel
travels pi*64 mm, which is 201.06 mm
(or 7.91 inches).
Of course, this measure will be a
little misleading, as it does not
account for going backwards or
spinning in place. Not to mention a
wheel travelling on the outside of a
turn will travel farther than the wheel
on the inside of the turn. Fortunately,
we can account for these issues!
The easiest way to NOT count the
distance the robot spins in place is to
simply stop accumulating the distance
travelled until the robot stops spinning.
To account for the different turn
radius per wheel, we have to
accumulate the distance for a wheel
on each side of Berry, then correct for
bends.
Adding Wheel
Encoders
I tried to use two of my SirMorph reflective sensors. I
attempted to attach them to Berry in such a way that they
would get a good reading of the wheel spokes.
Unfortunately, there was not enough room to mount them
successfully on this chassis.
Since I did not want to mount the sensors on the
outside of the wheels (thus increasing Berrys girth), I
decided to make two smaller sensors that I could attach to
the bottom of the motors and push into the empty space
in the wheel (Figure 6).
FIGURE 6.
SERVO 02.2017 37
Henning - RaspPi Bot - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 12/30/2016 4:32 PM Page 38

I needed to get the sensor closer to the wheel spokes It worked!

in order to get more light reflected onto the sensor, We can clearly see that the spokes reflect light, and
allowing me to better discriminate between the spokes and are a lot narrower than the space between the spokes
the spaces between the spokes. I keep a stock of (Figure 9).
TCRT5000L reflective sensors, so I just needed a way of
wiring them up and attaching them appropriately.
To keep the sensors small, I used male-female DuPont
jumpers over the legs of the TCRT5000L sensors (Figure 7).
I then used one of my prototyping boards to add the
resistors, and more DuPont male-female jumpers to run 5V,
GND to the board, as well as run the two analog signals
back to RoboPi.
There is plenty of space left on the prototyping board if
I decide to add an op-amp to increase signal gain, or any
other circuit to improve the encoders performance.

FIGURE 9.

Calibrating the Encoder

Its time to write a calibration utility to find the
minimum, maximum, and average light level reflected by
the spokes:
FIGURE 7.
pi@Berry:~/robopi/Python_Demos $ python berry.py

Berry Encoder Calibration Test

RoboPi http://Mikronauts.com API v0.97x

Testing the New Encoders Capture of 500 samples took 11.1943240166

I hooked everything up, and started with a small test seconds
program that ran both of the motors that I attached
sensors to at full speed, printing out the analog reading Analyzing Motor A data...
shown in the figure from the phototransistor in the Motor A min 87 avg 152 max 301
TCRT5000L (Figure 8).
Analyzing Motor B data...
Motor B min 94 avg 153 max 327
FIGURE 8.
Motor A calibration value is 152
Motor A calibration value is 153

If you change motors or the position of the encoder

sensor, you need to recalibrate.
Okay, now that we have the calibration values, we can
decide if a spoke is close by.

Finding Spokes
Lets add code to count the number of high and
low periods for the length of the test run.
High and low periods are counted as follows:
- If we are X% above the average, we are in a HIGH
38 SERVO 02.2017
Henning - RaspPi Bot - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 12/30/2016 4:32 PM Page 39

(spoke) state. I attached a piece of red electrical tape to the wheel,

- If we are X% below the average, we are in a LOW and counted the number of revolutions made during the
(space) state. calibration run.
Good news: It matched the calibrated RPM value that
X% is currently set at 20% of the full range (max-min) Berry calculated.
and needs to be tuned for different wheels. This leaves a Bad news: There was a ~25% difference in RPMs
40% dead band around the average, allowing us to ignore between the front right and left motors.
minor fluctuations in light level.
Guess what? I will be upgrading Berrys motors in one of the
We know how long the test ran. following ways:
Now we have the number of high (spoke) and low Matched motors (within 5% or less of each other)
(space) periods. Four independent motor drivers so I can tune the
We know there are five spokes on these wheels. PWM speed per motor
That means there are also five spaces.
I will let you know how it turns out! SV
So, we know there are 10 pulses (five low, five high)
per revolution of the wheel. Hmmm ...
If we ran the test for 60 seconds, counted the number
of (high+low) pulses, and divided by 10, we have the
average RPM for the length of the test!
Actually, as long as we run for more than two
revolutions and know how long it took to compute the
The upgraded
scan, we can calculate the RPM: Berry Bot.

Computing Motor A RPM:

238 pulses, so 23.8 revolutions in 11.1943240166
seconds means Motor A ran at 127.564647752 RPM

Computing Motor B RPM:

190 pulses, so 19.0 revolutions in 11.1943240166
seconds means Motor B ran at 101.837323836 RPM

Motor to Motor Variations in

Cheap Motors
I knew that the rock-bottom cheap motors I was using
were not very accurate. After all, I could see Hobbit, Elf,
and Berry would not go straight when driving the motors at
the same voltage. However, I was still surprised at the
~25% variation in unloaded maximum RPM so much so
that I had to verify my findings.

For the finest in robots, COMPONENT

COMPONENT LEDs
LED BULBS
parts, and services, go to ACCENT
LED ACCENT LIGHTS
www.servomagazine.



com and click on


U E CODE
USE C ODE SBLSERV1
O DE SBLSE
LSE FO 10%
E R V1 FOR 10 OFF
OF
F

 

Robo-Links.








)

Limited time offer.

tim offer
fer. Discount applicable
plicable to previously
nt not app p viously placed
ed orders.
ced orders
o
or

Wanna read about electronics?

Check out our book selection at
store.nutsvolts.com
SERVO 02.2017 39
Simpson - CNC Build - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:25 PM Page 40

Building the By Michael Simpson

KReduCNC
Spindle Hookup
It has been a while since we started
this project, and its time to make
some chips. In this installment, well
go over spindle hookup.
Post comments on this section and find any associated files and/or downloads at
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/February2017_Build-CNC.

What is a CNC Spindle?
A spindle is the rotation portion of a CNC machine on
to which a cutting tool is attached. While technically the
spindle is the shaft itself, it has become common place to
refer to the motor and shaft assembly as the spindle.
There are many shapes and sizes of spindles. First, lets
look at low speed and high speed versions.
Low Speed Spindles
Low speed spindles are used
primarily in machines that need to do
milling operations on metal. They are
needed when drilling larger holes
may be required or for turning very
Figure Figure
2 3
Figure
1 to medium CNC machines. Most can handle
40 SERVO 02.2017
large tools. Milling machines like the one shown in Figure 1
use a low speed spindle. This spindle will run at a range of
500-2,500 RPM. Since most motors dont run slowly
enough, a belt or gear reduction is used to slow down the
spindle shaft in most cases. Needless to say, we wont be
using a low speed spindle on the KReduCNC.
High Speed Spindles
Most CNC machines designed to mill wood, plastic, and
some non-ferrous metals use a high speed spindle. While
there are several varieties, I will be talking about two types:
routers and rotary tools.
Routers
Router spindles can be broken down into full size and
trim routers. The routers shown in Figures 2
and 3 are full size routers. Due to their weight
and size, they are used on larger CNC
machines. These are both 2-1/4 HP routers.
They have plenty of power for most
operations, and work well for cutting wood,
plastics, and aluminum.
Full size routers can handle tool shanks
from 1/4 to 1/2 and with adapters or
special collets, down to 1/8.
The routers shown in Figures 4 and 5 are
trim routers. Most trim routers work just like
their larger counterparts, but are smaller and
produce less horse power. These routers are
just under 1 HP.
Trim routers are common on many small
Simpson - CNC Build - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:25 PM Page 41

tool shanks of 1/4 or 1/8 with an Figure

adapter. 4 Figure
5
Rotary Tools
There are dozens of rotary tools of
all shapes and sizes. Most are meant
to be held in your hand and are used
to engrave, cut, grind, and drill various
materials. Unlike routers, they are not
meant for the larger tasks that routers
can handle. Two rotary tools that
represent most variations you will find
at home centers or hobby shops can
be seen in Figure 6. While they are
well suited for handheld use, they are
not suited for CNC use. They have slop
in the bearings and tend to have too Figure 6
much runout to get an accurate cut.
There are tools that fall into the rotary tool category but are Figure 7
better suited to CNC use. Lets talk about three of them.
The first is the Wecheer WE248 shown in Figure 7.
This is the first rotary tool I attached to the KReduCNC that
produced results that were accurate and repeatable. The
tool has no slop and very little runout. Its powered with an
included AC adapter, and proved to be very easy to make a Figure 9
spindle mount as shown in Figure 8.
I used this rotary tool, and while I was able to cut Figure
softer materials, I found it to be under-powered. It also has 10
an auto shutoff if it senses too much load. I did find it
worked very well for PCB (printed circuit board) work.
After playing with the WE248 for about a week, I
realized I was not pushing the KReduCNC as much as I
could. It was time to look for a better suited spindle. I could
Figure 8
probably get a trim router to work, but I would have to
slow down the Z axis due to the weight.
Having good luck with Proxxon products, I selected the
rotary tool shown in Figure 9. Its the Proxxon Micromot
50/E. It has much more power than the Wecheer, and I
was able to cut deeper and faster. Its size also made it very
easy to mount on the KReduCNC as shown in Figure 10.
The 50/E worked much better than the WE248, but I
still had the following issues: Figure 11
1. It requires a special 12V power source. While I was
able to make one, it does add some complexity to the build.
2. The speed control can bog down, as it has no
feedback control. It can also shut down if pushed too hard.
3. I still wasnt pushing the KReduCNC hard enough.
remarkable tool. It boasts a 1/8 HP motor, which is plenty
While doing my research, I came across the Proxxon for the KReduCNC. It is designed for continuous use and
Micromot IBS/E shown in Figure 11. This is a rotary tool that has a full electronic speed control with feedback. Its speed
costs almost as much as a full-sized router, so I was reluctant range is 5,000-20,000 RPM. I can honestly say its the
to take the plunge. Then, while cutting some softer material, smoothest rotary tool I have ever used.
the 50/E stalled out when it cut through the stock and hit The motor in the IBS/E is the same used on the
the waste board. I ordered the Micromot IBS/E. Proxxon MF70 (Figure 12) that I incorporated in a CNC
Despite the $130 price tag, the IBS/E (Figure 11) is a conversion I did a while back.
SERVO 02.2017 41
Simpson - CNC Build - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:25 PM Page 42

Figure 13
Figure
12
Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 14

Please note that I am using hex nuts with

integrated washers. I find that these work better for
me than separate hex nuts and lock washers. In
addition to the hardware above, you will need the
following components (also shown in Figure 13) to
make the IBS/E mount:
IBS/E back plate
IBS/E upper mount clamp
IBS/E lower mount clamp
Figure 15 Figure 16
Step 1
Insert a washer onto each of the #6-32
x 1 machine screws, and slip it into each
of the mount clamps as shown in Figure
14. Secure both screws with a #6-32 hex
nut and lock washer as shown in Figure
15. Do not tighten the nuts, as you wont
be able to install the spindle later if you do.
Step 2
Attach the lower mount clamp to the
back plate using two #6-32 x 1-1/2
Figure 20 machine screws. Add a washer to the
screw, then insert it into the front of the
Figure 19 lower mount and through the holes in the
back plate as in Figure 16. Secure with a
#6 lock washer and #6-32 hex nut (Figure
17). Finger tighten only, as you will need to
adjust the mount after the ISB/E is
installed.
Step 3
Mounting the IBS/E Using two #6-32 x 1-1/2 machines screws with #6
washers, attach the back plate to the Z plate as shown in
To attach the IBS/E, you will need the following items Figure 18. Secure with two #6-32 hex nuts and lock
that are shown in Figure 13: washers. Finger tighten only.
Two #6-32 x 1 machine screws Step 4
Four #6-32 x 1-1/2 machine screws Place a #6 washer on each of two #6-32 x 2 machine
Two #6-32 x 2 machine screws screws. Insert it into the front of the upper mount clamp
Eight #6 washers and through the top holes on the back plate as in Figure
Eight #6-32 hex nuts 19. Secure with two #6-32 hex nuts and lock washers.
Eight #6 lock washers Again, finger tighten only.
42 SERVO 02.2017
Simpson - CNC Build - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:25 PM Page 43

Figure 22

Figure 24

Figure 23

Figure
21

support page for the KReduCNC. I will

Step 5
Insert a 1/8 calibration blank into the IBS/E (Figure
20). You may also use one of the small bits included with
the IBS/E kit. Insert the ISB/E into the mounts (Figure 21).
The mount was designed to hold the ISB/E with the front
(knob) of the tool facing right or left as shown. This will
allow you to access both the spindle lock and the speed
knob. Tighten the spindle clamping nuts (1 machine
screws in front) on both mount clamps. Tighten the nuts
holding the lower mount clamp in place.
Step 6
Place a small square on the table and move the spindle
until the bit is up against the square as shown in Figure 22.
If the bit is not fully against the edge of the square, twist
the whole spindle mount assembly clockwise or counter-
clockwise until it is. Tighten the upper mount clamp nuts
(Step 4) and the lower back plate nuts (Step 3).
Step 7
Move the X axis to the left and place the square
against the bit as in Figure 23. Check to see if the square is
flat against the bit. Move the X axis to the right and
place the square against the bit as shown in Figure 24.
If the square does not mate with the length of the
bit, you may need to adjust the upper shaft (Figure 25)
forward or backward to
correct this issue. Adjust
one side, then the other as
needed. Once adjusted,
repeat this step until the Figure 25
square is flush with the bit
on both sides of the CNC.
Conclusion
This completes the
spindle hookup. I will post
the drawing files for the
IBS/E spindle mount on my
also post the drawing files for the
Wecheer WE248.
There are other spindle options
that I have used with success on the KReduCNC. Figure 26
shows the spindle from a Foredom flex shaft. Since the
heavy motor is mounted at the other end of a flex shaft,
you can pack a great deal of cutting power at your
disposal. It will accept 1/8 and 1/4 bits. While it uses the
same mounts as the Wecheer WE248, the one shown in
Figure 26 is a version that has a dust shoe that connects to
a vacuum.
Cable Management
I wrapped all my wires, cables, and cords with some
split loom tubing (Figure 27). This protects the wires and
cables, and gives your machine a better look.
Next month, I will conclude this series by testing the
spindle and milling a couple parts. Check out the video here
showing when I made the first cuts of the IBS/E spindle:
https://youtu.be/mMECVXXJcA8. SV
For any questions or comments, please visit the SERVO Magazine forums
at http://forum.nutsvolts.com /viewtopic.php?f=49&t=17408.
Figure
26
Figure
27
SERVO 02.2017 43
Prochnow - FaceBox - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:29 PM Page 44

Get Social
with FaceBox:
the Friendly
HeadBot
By Dave Prochnow
Post comments on this section and find any associated files and/or
downloads at www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/
article/February2017_Red-Box-Robot-FaceBox.

If you were lucky enough to score one of SparkFun Electronics (sparkfun.com)

limited edition Cyber Monday Redbox Robots (KIT-14062), then you found one of
the best deals from the 2016 holiday season. On the other hand, if you were just
a tad bit apprehensive about pushing the Buy button, youre still in luck.
Included within this article is a complete parts list for making your own Cyber
Monday Redbox Robot, as well as instructions and code for building a sociable
headbot. If its a social headbot, it just has to be named FaceBox.

N
ick Poole at SparkFun has done
a great job documenting the
construction and programming
of a tail-dragging variant for the
Redbox Robot kit. Inside his Red Box
Robot Hookup Guide, youll find
everything you would need to build a
fairly sophisticated obstacle-avoiding
Arduino-powered robot.
We want to raise the bar just a
teensy bit higher, however, and build
a bot that rises head-and-shoulders
above the rest. We want to build a
tracking, flashing, and speaking robot.
Yes, well keep the same red-box
ethos espoused by Nick, but rather
44 SERVO 02.2017
than a robot crawling around the
floor, ours will sit on a countertop.
Parts is Parts
Like we mentioned in the
opening, you can make your own kit
with the following Parts List:
SparkFun RedStick
SparkFun Motor Driver Dual
TB6612FNG (1A)
Hook-up Wire White (22 AWG)
Breadboard Self-Adhesive (white)
2x Break-away Headers Straight
3x 1,500 mAh Alkaline Battery
AA
Battery Holder 3xAA with Cover
and Switch
Mini Speaker PC Mount 12 mm
2.048 kHz
Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04
Hobby Gearmotor 200 RPM (one)
Wheel 65 mm (rubber tire, one)
Really Bright LED Red 10 mm
Double-sided Tape (to attach motors
to the box)
All of these items (except the
tape) can be ordered from the
SparkFun online catalog. Additionally,
Prochnow - FaceBox - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:29 PM Page 45

if you wish to build your FaceBox

exactly like ours, you will need to
order a mini breadboard for
holding the 10 mm LED.
While Nick instructs you to
use adhesive tape for attaching
the breadboard and motor to the
red box, we opted for metal
screw and nut fasteners. Size #2-
56 hardware should work for
holding everything in place
(Figure 1).
Granted, you could just
mount the various parts on the
red box and call your project
done, but wheres the fun in
that? When decorating your
FaceBox, try to add a little flair to
the facial features.
Give it a personality that will
match the little beeps and tones
that will ultimately be spoken Figure 2. Use screw and nut fasteners for
attaching everything to the red box.
from the attached mini speaker
(Figure 2). We also used this Figure 1. A pretty face begins with a large breadboard.
decorating step for adding a
couple of slots that act as hidden
wire channels keeping all of
the wiring inside the box instead
of cluttering up the exterior
(Figures 3 and 4).
Once youve laid out the
face for your FaceBox, the final
challenge is installing the motor
inside. Unlike the stock Redbox
Robot, only one motor and one
wheel are used for FaceBox. This
motor is mounted inside one of
the end flaps of the red box
(Figure 5). Two screws will hold
it in place, but its shaft must
extend beyond the boxs outside.
This mounting requirement
means that some cardboard
must be removed from inside the
box. Figure 4. Hidden slots and channels help to keep the Figure 3. The wiring rats nest is kept to
Furthermore, you must wiring manageable. the inside of the box.

ensure that the motors shaft to hold the wheel securely in

shaft rotates freely and place. You dont want a tipsy social
easily outside of the box. HeadBot.
Likewise, you must have
ample clearance for the Wires and Wires and
Wires
Figure 5. Preparing the boxs end
flap for installing the motor. When all of the hardware has
SERVO 02.2017 45
Prochnow - FaceBox - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:29 PM Page 46

Figure 7. The speaker is held in place

by a couple of solder dots on its pins
inside the box.

Depending on how you

Figure 6. The RedStick and motor driver are plugged into the
larger breadboard. RedStick, SparkFun
TB6612FNG motor
been fixed into place, its time to add driver, HC-SR04 range finder (Note:
the major components: the SparkFun While this printed circuit board [PCB]
is red, it isnt a SparkFun product),
mini speaker, and 10 mm LED
(Figure 6). Two of these items
the RedStick and the motor driver
require header pins to be soldered
into place.
Pro Tip: Snap off the required
number of header pins and push
them into your breadboard. Set the
RedStick and/or motor driver PCB
over the pins and solder them into
place. The result is a perfectly
aligned pin set that is guaranteed
to be breadboard friendly.
designed your face, you can
mount the components either
on the breadboards (remember,
we elected to use an optional
mini breadboard, plus the larger
breadboard included in the
Parts List) or directly onto the
cardboard box. Components
mounted on the cardboard box
tend to loosen and fall out. You
can prevent this mishap by
adding a couple of dots of
solder to the parts pins that
are inside the box.
In our configuration, we
mounted the RedStick and
motor driver on the larger
breadboard, the 10 mm LED on
the mini breadboard, and both
the range finder and speaker
on the cardboard box. A couple of
tiny mounting holes on the ears of
the HC-SR04 PCB enabled us to use
screws and nuts to mount the range
finder, whereas the speaker was
mounted directly on the cardboard
box with the aforementioned solder
dots holding it in place (Figure 7).
Wiring everything together is as
simple as following Nick Pooles
SparkFun Hookup Guide. That is, up
to a point. Naturally, our FaceBox only
uses one motor, so our wiring
connections are a little bit simpler.
Additionally, we elected to pair both
the LED and the speakers output
control to the same pin. This enables
FaceBox to blink and speak at the
same time with a single pin write

RedStick Pin -> Connection

Battery + VM Motor Driver & Battery Pack
Battery - GND Motor Driver & Battery Pack
Vcc Vcc Motor Driver
2 AIN1 Motor Driver
4 AIN2 Motor Driver
10 PWMA Motor Driver Table 1.
11 Trig Range Finder
Figure 8. All wiring is plugged into the RedStick
and motor driver. Excess wire length is stuffed 12 Echo Range Finder
into a channel below the larger breadboard. A4 LED Anode & Speaker +
46 SERVO 02.2017
Prochnow - FaceBox - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:29 PM Page 47

control output signal.

Our FaceBox wiring connections
are shown in Table 1.
Remember, youll also have to
make various Vcc and GND
connections for the HC-SR04 range
finder, LED, and speaker. Furthermore,
the STBY pin on the motor driver PCB
must be connected to Vcc. Figure 8
shows the FaceBox RedStick and
motor driver all wired up and ready
for action.

Coded for Socializing

After youve triple-checked your
wiring, its time to upload the Arduino
program to your FaceBox. You can
download the code from the article
link. During execution, this code
causes the motor to rotate back and
forth while scanning for objects with
the range finder (Figure 9). If an
object is detected closer than 80 cm,
a sequence of conversations is
triggered. This is a visual and audio
greeting. Once the conversation is
complete, FaceBox returns to scanning
for objects.
You can easily modify this Arduino
program for meeting your social needs
and requirements. For example, the
range finder has a resolution between
2 cm to 4 m. Therefore, a hallway can
easily be scanned. Likewise, the
conversing abilities of FaceBox can be
altered via Arduino Tone commands
inside the codes Whistle function.
Eager roboticists can separate the
LED flashing from the speaker output
for producing a more varied human
interaction. Just assign (and wire) the
LED to pin A4 on the RedStick and
connect the speaker to pin A2. Adjust
your programming for handling both
output pins (e.g., use a PinWrite
command for flashing the LED).
There is one caveat for FaceBox
that might restrict your social
interactions. The motor is a high
current drain feature on this robot. As
such, batteries can get used beyond
their ability to move the motor the
range finder, LED, and speaker will
continue to operate just fine, however.
Figure 9. FaceBox has a limited lifespan
when running on batteries. Use a 5V USB
power supply for extended socializing.
For example, the batteries included
with the kit are woefully inadequate
for powering the motor in the FaceBox
configuration. Substituting high-
capacity alkaline batteries will help
prolong FaceBoxs motor operation.
A better solution is a USB power
supply. Just slip a USB female-male
converter plug over the RedSticks USB
connector and add a 5V power supply
to the converter plug.
This modification will easily run
the motor, but it does restrict your
placement options for FaceBox. In
other words, your social HeadBot will
be tethered to a household power
outlet.
Regardless of how you power
FaceBox, this is one social butterfly
that you must set free ... free to meet
and greet.
Granted, this bots mingling
manners leaves a lot to be desired,
but it is a real conversationalist. Its gift
of gab will quickly grab an audience.
SV
SERVO 02.2017 47
Leeman - Drones_FPV_Kit - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:35 PM Page 48
The
Multi-Rotor
Hobbyist
Introduction
FPV systems have existed for model aircraft for a while,
but they have never experienced the popularity they have in
the last few years. With the explosion of the multi-rotor
hobby, a number of inexpensive products have come on the
market that let you see and record the view from high in
the sky. Drone race pilots have come to rely on FPV for
flying long, winding, and tight tracks that are hidden from
view. Watching some of the videos of these races
(https://youtu.be/heBTmPy9IVY) can be disorienting,
and even causes some people to feel nauseous until they
become used to it.
Your eyes are seeing a rapidly moving and accelerating
environment, but your body (namely the fluid in your ears)
is not sensing that acceleration. This disconnect confuses
the brain and causes disorientation. This has been the
plague of many video gamers over the years, but can be
combatted by providing an outside frame of reference,
increasing the field of view, or by using traditional motion
sickness treatments.
The two biggest advantages that come to mind when
thinking about why you should spend money on a FPV
system both involve vehicle orientation. Weve all
experienced the terror of not knowing which direction is
forward on our drone when it was at the other end of the
field. The different colored motor arms or lights can
become hard to distinguish. After a little nudging of the
controls, a calm and experienced pilot will quickly regain an
understanding of the vehicles attitude and all is well again.
With a FPV system, you are viewing the world from
(generally) the forward direction of the vehicle, so that
hazard is effectively eliminated. There is a risk that you
could become lost if you dont know your flying area well,
but thats where spotters and the FAA rules stating that
you must stay within visual range of the craft become
important.
The second orientation problem is the loss of depth
perception. Were used to seeing with two eyes spaced a
few inches apart. This stereo vision lets us park our cars,
generally without going through the wall of the garage.
With your quad so far away, it is possible to lose that good
48 SERVO 02.2017
Fat Shark Teleporter
V5 Review
By John Leeman
Post comments on this section and find any
associated files and/or downloads at
www.servomagazine.com/index.php/
magazine/article/February2017_MultiRotor
Hobbyist_Fat-Shark-Teleporter-Review.
Several years ago, I rode in the copilots seat
of a small Cessna circling over northwest
Arkansas. The view was great and the
experience of sitting right behind the propeller
with a view of where we were headed was
fantastic. It made riding in economy
commercial airliners seem even more boring
and cramped than it already did. As multi-
rotor pilots, we can now have that experience
with first person view (FPV) equipment that
literally puts us in the pilots seat and
immerses us in the experience of flying.
sense of depth perception. Fixed wing model flyers may
think they are well inside an obstacle such as a telephone
pole, only to be surprised and saddened when their plane
hits the pole and falls to the ground in multiple pieces. A
FPV system doesnt really eliminate this problem, but it
could aid you somewhat.
Most FPV systems have one camera and transmit that
single image feed down to your monitor or goggles. That
single view means that by definition we cannot have true
depth perception as it is not true stereo vision. It is useful
for seeing if you are flying directly at that telephone pole,
but the distance information will be fuzzy as it is just
encoded in the size that the pole appears. Again, being a
responsible pilot and having an observant spotter are keys
to avoiding obstacles.
This month, well try out an inexpensive all-in-one FPV
kit: the Fat Shark Teleporter V5 from getfpv.com. Jeff from
getfpv.com was very helpful, and I ended up with the kit
as well as an external monitor to attach to my remote, but
more on that later.
FPV System Components
Any FPV system has the same six basic components,
with a few optional extras: the camera, transmitter,
receiver, display, antenna, battery, and maybe an onscreen
overlay. For a fully customized system, folks can mix and
match components to get their ideal FPV rig. As a newbie
to FPV, I decided to go with a kit that had all the
components together and that would work out of the box.
Theres plenty of time to learn and customize, but for
Leeman - Drones_FPV_Kit - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:35 PM Page 49
getting started I wanted to give myself
the best possible chance of having a
good experience. I did some research
into the components on the market
and was amazed by how many
options there are in price ranges to fit
just about every budget.
Camera
There are two routes you can go
for your camera: dedicated or feed
through. Dedicated cameras are used
only for piloting the vehicle, not for
high quality video recording. After all,
we really dont need full 1080p on a
4 or smaller screen when flying, do
we? Sure, itd be nice, but it comes at
a significant cost and I wasnt ready to
dive in at that level especially since I Figure 1: The camera that comes with the kit
didnt feel like it was a necessity.
Dedicated cameras are generally very
simple with a fixed focal length with a
rather wide angle lens for a good view
of the surroundings. They are also much lighter and less
power-hungry than high-resolution cameras.
Many pilots have another high-resolution camera
recording the flight but storing the data locally, not
transmitting it to the ground. Some bypass
the second camera and take a video feed
from their higher resolution camera (often a
GoPro or similar) and send it to a stand-
alone transmitter. A setup such as this is
indeed more expensive than the dedicated
solution especially the camera.
The other tricky part is that many
people wanting to get amazing aerial videos
have their cameras mounted on a gimbal. If
the camera is not pointing in the same
direction all of the time, piloting can be
tricky. Think about driving your car in
reverse. The controls behave in a way you
are not used to since the forward view
direction of the vehicle has changed. After
looking around the Internet, it seems that
most people either use feed through with
the camera fixed, or have the high-quality
camera on a gimbal and fly with a standard
definition video feed from a dedicated
camera. The camera included with our kit
(Figure 1) is incredibly compact and looks
rugged enough to withstand some hard
landings.
Transmitter
Transmitters are commonly available in
the 2.4 and 5.8 GHz bands with varying
levels of transmission power. Most of
us use 2.4 GHz for the radio control
system, so 5.8 GHz is the logical
choice to avoid any interference. There
are many systems on the market that
will require an amateur radio license
as they are operating at power levels
or bands that the FCC (Federal
Communications Commission) more
heavily regulates.
Getting an amateur radio license
is not difficult these days and probably
something on your hobby to-do list
anyway. I recommend picking up the
book The ARRL Ham Radio License
Manual (http://amzn.to/ 2frdBNl)
and studying up for the multiple-
choice test. You can also check out
Command Productions at
is very small and seems pretty well built. It www.licensetraining.com for a
would have been nice if threaded inserts
were in the case as it would have simplified guaranteed study course. Our system
the mounting procedure significantly. (Figure 2) is certified to be FCC
compliant, so a license is not needed,
but I think youll find that having a license opens up doors
to new aspects of the electronics and RC hobbies.
Receiver
The receiver can be a stand-alone unit
or built into your choice of display. In our
case, the goggles included with the kit and
the separate screen have receivers built in.
Built-in receivers are certainly convenient in
terms of not having another bit of gear to
keep track of, worry about the connectors
on, etc., but they are not as flexible. An
external receiver may allow you to record
the video and/or have several output types
for connection to the display of your choice.
Some are even easily hooked into your
ground station laptop so all of your piloting
controls (telemetry, video, etc.) are on one
screen. For simple flying and even basic
recording, the built-in receivers are just fine.
Display
Displays are personal preference mostly,
and I think I need to spend more time with
goggle and TV-style displays before I decide
which I like best. The monitor style displays
are easily mounted to the top of your radio
Figure 2: The transmitter and controller and often have a built-in receiver
power regulator provide an easy and battery. It is incredibly convenient to
way to send the video back
without requiring us to tie into just attach this to your remote, turn it on,
the main power distribution bus and start flying. I also like the fact that you
of the vehicle. Notice the small can look up from the screen and see the
enclosed helical antenna
attached to the transmitter. aircraft. The experience is not as immersive
SERVO 02.2017 49
Leeman - Drones_FPV_Kit - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:35 PM Page 50

The classic whip or

Figure 3: The TV type display
screen has a collapsible sun
shield. When folded flat, it is
easy to stick a couple of these
into your flight bag for onlookers
or other crew members to use.
The integrated battery, charger,
and radio receiver make it very
convenient.
Figure 4: The Fat Shark goggles are compact and easy to use. The volume
and channel selection buttons are raised and easy to find with the headset
on. The center button can be used to activate the head tracker mode.
as goggles and sometimes the glare on the screen can be a
real problem. The displays also are small enough that you
can pack a couple of extras to give to observers if they want
to watch you fly (Figure 3).
The alterative display type is a pair of FPV goggles. This
is really like playing a virtual reality video game, except that
it isnt virtual. You really feel like you are riding along on
the quad. There are goggles with advanced features that
help move your camera gimbal by simply tilting your head.
Some even have fans to keep the air inside cool and fresh.
The goggles in our starter kit (Figure 4) are standard
definition with a few bells and whistles, but plenty to
decide if the goggle experience is the way you want to fly.
Antenna
Antennas are an often overlooked part of many
systems. While RF engineering seems like (and mostly is
some would argue) a form of magic, it is important. A
good camera, transmitter, receiver, and monitor can be
rendered useless by a poor choice of antenna.
50 SERVO 02.2017
rubber ducky antenna is
what we are used to
seeing on our handheld
radios, walkie-talkies, and
many remote control
transmitters. Sadly, these
inexpensive antennas are
Figure 5: Having a small
battery for the FPV system not the best for FPV work.
seemed to make sense, as I
would prefer to keep the These simple designs are
safety-critical flight systems sensitive to the orientation
isolated from the toys like
cameras and other of the transmitter and
transmitters. receiver; they work best
when the transmitting and
receiving antenna are in
the same orientation.
Given that our quads
orientation is changing and
the mounting constraints
may be difficult, this is
generally not the ideal
setup.
The patch or helical
antenna is a very long
range design, but also very directional. Given the
requirements that your aircraft remain in line-of-sight,
these designs are unnecessary and impose the extra
complication of needing the receiving antenna to
track the vehicle either manually or automatically.
A circularly polarized antenna such as a clover
leaf design is the most popular choice. Such
antennas can be easily built or purchased, are
compact, and are relatively insensitive to the
orientation of the transmitter and receiver.
Battery
You can run your FPV camera and transmitter
from the main flight battery. In fact, many setups are
capable of running off the balanced charge lead of your
battery, including our kit. For the first several flights, I did
this with no problems. Sure, there is some extra drain from
the load of the transmitter, but I generally fly with giant
batteries anyway, so it wasnt a concern. I did notice some
noise on the video signal though.
After some research, I found out that it could be from
the large and rapidly changing current demands on the
main battery. I could put some kind of power filter in, but
instead decided that it really wasnt worth the trouble. I
added a second and much smaller battery to power just the
FPV gear. I chose a Turnigy 1,000 mAh 2S 20C LiPo Pack,
but any 500-1,000 mAh battery should do (Figure 5).
On-screen Display
Another possible addition to your FPV system is an on-
screen display or overlay. This is similar to the heads-up
displays in commercial and military aircraft. At a glance and
through your line-of-sight, critical information such as
Leeman - Drones_FPV_Kit - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:35 PM Page 51

altitude, heading, speed, etc., is

displayed. There are several
units available; some contain
their own independent sensors;
others interface with specific
flight controllers. I would really
like to add this functionality to
my setup, but thats an entirely
separate article or maybe even
a full-on build.

Installation
Installing the Teleporter kit
is a relatively simple process.
We need to mount the camera
on the airframe, attach it to the
power system, and install or Figure 6: While special tools are available to
install melt-in bushings, the chisel tipped
configure the display or soldering iron does a good job. Just get
goggles we will be using to everything in line and gently press the bushing
into the plastic parts. Figure 8: I used zip ties to secure the transmitter
view the feed.
as Ill probably be moving it between different
Mounting the camera vehicles, and wanted an inexpensive and easy
could be done in a variety of solution.
ways, depending on your particular airframe. The easiest
mounting method is to use a strip of double-stick tape on
two clean and slightly roughened surfaces. I used this
mounting method for my first tests of the system and it
worked pretty well. After a couple of flights, the camera
was dangling when I landed, however. Luckily, the wires
stayed clear of the propellers, but I knew I wanted a
more permanent solution anyway. There are a few
approaches one could take here. Go to the hardware
store and find some small preformed L brackets to use;
buy a strip of metal flat stock and bend your own custom
bracket in a vice; or 3D print a custom mount. Given that
I just got my 3D printer back up and running after some
upgrades, I decided to take that route. Figure 7: Installing the camera mount is pretty straightforward
I whipped up a little bracket in OnShape that assuming there is a good place on your airframe. The ELEV-8 and H-
quad we built both have several mounting options.
consisted of a U shaped bracket and a camera
mounting bracket that fit snugly inside it. The camera is a
snap fit into the bracket. The brackets rotation is locked by to adjust the pan and tilt before tightening the hardware
two 4-40 clamping screws. The STL files are available on (Figure 7).
Thingiverse (www.thingiverse.com/thing:1903250) and After mounting the camera bracket on the airframe
in the supplementary material at the article link. (again with 4-40 hardware), I routed the cable and zip tied
I printed with a rather coarse (0.27 mm) layer height the transmitter into place (Figure 8). The transmitter and
and about 30% infill using PLA. Instead of depending on camera are then simply powered by plugging the balanced
the screw threads in a plastic part holding up, I decided charge lead of the flight battery or dedicated FPV battery
that a threaded bushing would be more effective. There are into the power regulator (Figure 9).
some wonderful heat-set bushings available from McMaster- For testing, I used both the 4.3 LM403 LCD FPV
Carr in many sizes. monitor (getfpv.com; item #4195) attached to my remote
I used my soldering iron to melt in a pair of the 4-40 transmitter and the Fat Shark Teleporter V5 goggles from
sized bushings (Figure 6; P/N 93365A120), making sure the kit (getfpv.com; item #4484). The screen came with a
they did not protrude too far into the camera pocket and little bracket that mounts to the back of it and clamps onto
prevent the camera from fitting inside the bracket. the handle of the RC transmitter (Figure 10).
After the bushings were in, I snapped the camera into The bracket is surprisingly solid, but Im worried about
place and assembled the bracket. This bracket should be the screens mounting point (Figure 11). One small screw
relatively easy to mount on most airframes and allows you seems like asking for something to shear off, but it hasnt
SERVO 02.2017 51
Leeman - Drones_FPV_Kit - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:35 PM Page 52

happened yet. The clamp part of the mount is fairly robust, 12). After plugging in
but I would suggest replacing the screw with a thumbscrew the battery and turning
to make tightening or removing the mount a tool-less on the goggles, a quick
operation (always nice when in the field). channel search found
After leaving the screen plugged into a USB charger the signal. The screens
through its micro USB port, I was ready for a test. Opening inside the headset are
the sun shade proved to be a challenge, and eventually tiny, but they do provide
required me to use a small common blade jewelers enough resolution for
screwdriver. A bit of sanding on the catch will take care of you to fly the aircraft.
the excessively strong positive lock if yours suffers the same No glasses can fit under
issue. I turned the these goggles, but there
screen on and are insert lenses
scanned through available for those that
the channels until I need some optical
found the camera. compensation.
The picture looked A few notes of
pretty nice and the caution accompany the
contrast on the goggles. First off, never
screen was enough expose the part where
to be seen when your eyes go to direct
outside. Next, it sunlight (Figure 13). The
was time to try the lenses in the goggles will
goggles. concentrate the light Figure 10: Mounting the screen to
The goggles onto the small screen the transmitter was pretty easy, but
Id prefer a thumbscrew to adjust
have a small and quite literally burn a the clamping force on the
external battery hole in it, rendering the transmitter bar. The sun shade is a
nice addition and really made a
pack that fits into a goggles useless. Also, difference when flying outdoors.
pocket on the pay attention to the
headband (Figure battery charging instructions that come with the unit.
Remember how much
Figure 9: The power regulator for the energy is stored in these
transmitter runs off the balanced charge lithium-ion batteries and
lead on your flight or accessory battery.
It has ports for 2S, 3S, or 4S batteries. treat them with care.

Use
Flying FPV takes
some getting used to. I
knew it would be a
strange experience, but I
dont think I realized
how strange. I spent
Figure 12: The goggle battery pack fits into a pocket in the time flying from the
headband. It was sometimes a bit tricky to keep it in there,
but a set of Velcro cable ties can solve that problem easily. screen attached to the
remote and with the
goggles. I have to say that
the screen is better for being
able to quickly switch to
looking at the aircraft, but
the googles blew me away
(Figure 14). It was a very
immersive flight experience
Figure 13: The eye cups do a great job of
sealing you into the goggles and preventing that didnt leave me
Figure 11: The bracket mounts to the any outside light from interfering. Do not let wondering about my
screen with a single small screw. While I sunlight shine in these lenses or damage to
the screens may result! orientation or how much I
havent had problems, I am a little
nervous about what will happen in an was really drifting. It was a
accidental tumble off the workbench. bit unnerving to not be able
52 SERVO 02.2017
Leeman - Drones_FPV_Kit - Feb 17_Blank Rough SV.qxd 1/2/2017 9:35 PM Page 53

to see if there was something above, the aircraft such as shallow banks and
below, or beside me (see the Rules wind drift that were not nearly as
section), but with careful flying and obvious from the ground.
knowing the layout of my field I did get
used to it.
One feature of the goggles that I
Rules
discovered by accident is the simulated The FAA guidance on FPV flying
gimbal mode. The camera has a was fuzzy at best for quite some time,
relatively wide field of view. By but the rules are very clear now. As
depressing the top button on the with unaided flight, the aircraft must be
goggles for a few seconds, they will visible to the operator at all times. Let
display a zoomed-in section of the me emphasize that again, line-of-sight
entire camera image. The section you operation is a requirement even
are looking at depends on the when flying FPV. If the battery on your
orientation of your head. Turn left, system fails, the feed goes out of
right, etc., to change the view. It is sort range, or some other problem occurs,
of like having the camera on a small you need to be able to pilot the aircraft
virtual gimbal. Remember though, that back safely.
if you are looking to your left, you are Figure 14: Using the goggles is an If you are flying with goggles or
really just looking at the left side of the immersive experience even if you do other viewing equipment that prevent
wide-angle image, not necessarily to look a little strange! you from physically seeing the aircraft
the real left of the quad. with your own eyes, you are required to
Without proper gimbal mounting have a full-time spotter. The spotter
or the camera having a spherical lens, must remain in visual contact with the
its just not possible. This feature did aircraft and should be in constant
make flying a little easier as I had a communication with the pilot about any
more zoomed view of whats ahead, hazards.
but again required some adjustment. As we talked about above, you only
For advanced setups with a gimballed get one vantage point with an FPV
camera, these goggles can be set to system and can be unaware of hazards
control the gimbal based on your head approaching from above, below,
position. That sounds like a future behind, or to the sides of the vehicle.
project to me! Remember, the FAA governs
Flying from the screen attached to outdoor flight only; indoor flights are
the remote was a much easier currently a free-for-all according to my
transition (Figure 15), but I really found understanding, but remember, I am a
myself mostly flying visually and looking geophysicist, not a lawyer. With all of
at the screen occasionally. The sun your flights, remember to be a
Figure 15: The screen was a nice way to
shield worked very well to help keep combine visual and FPV flying, but was not responsible pilot and keep the hobby
things visible when in the field, but in nearly as immersive as the goggles. When safe, protect people on the ground, and
at higher altitudes, it was an easy way to
some situations, it was still difficult to verify my orientation and get some constantly be on the lookout for
see. It was useful to be able to look spectacular views. problems.
down and get an idea of what was
ahead in my given orientation, but the experience felt much
less like being in the seat of that Cessna and much more
Closing Thoughts
like playing a video game. Its amazing really. When I was a kid, none of this was
The video quality was rough at times, but thats what possible. Multi-rotor flying vehicles were only found in
we expect from these lower resolution cameras. It was research labs. Now, anyone can own and fly one. With a
certainly plenty to fly with, but not what Id use as my few hundred dollars, we can add a FPV system and
recording camera. There were occasional glitches or noise, experience life in the pilots seat. I can already imagine the
but not enough to be a problem. Looking around on next iterations of this technology.
YouTube, this seems to be perfectly normal for a flying feed. Will something like the now-defunct Google glass come
I did notice that my normal flying space was very small along that allows us to watch the aircraft, view a video
when I was getting started with FPV. I recommend finding feed, and see our critical parameters all in one go? Can we
a very big open area with no obstructions while you are adapt to that much information and still make clear
acclimating to first person flying. judgments quickly? I certainly think its possible and am
It was also interesting to see the small movements of excited to see what happens next! SV
SERVO 02.2017 53
Woolleys - Twin Tweaks - Feb 17_TwinTweaks - Aug 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:39 PM Page 54

Twin Tweaks
by Bryce Woolley and Evan Woolley
Go to www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/
February2017_TwinTweaks_Junkyard-Robot-Warrior to comment on this article.

Junkyard Warrior
S ERVO Magazine proudly proclaims that it is for
the robotics innovator, and we think thats quite
apt. We love reading about all of the cool projects
every month, covering everything from drones to
animatronics to combat robots. More than just
intellectually appreciating the cool stuff that other people
are doing, we think SERVO inspires readers to go out and
build something themselves. Thats certainly the case with
us. Were very fortunate to have access to a lot of the latestapplying engineering principles to their junk. The show was
and greatest kits as SERVOs resident Twin Tweakers, but
every so often well be left to our own devices. Thats when of high-end brand new equipment to make cool stuff. Plus,
we can engage in hacking at its most elemental.
Some of the most fun weve had is scavenging stuff
from the garage to make something cool. Thats how we
came up with our fighting printers from the August 2013
issue, and thats pretty much how we ended up building
our favorite prototyping platform, Protobot. What could we
come up with this time, limited to scavenging from the
garage and compressed to the timeframe of a weekend?
We would have to find our inner
junkyard warrior, roll up our sleeves,
crank up the music, and find out.
Junk History
Building cool stuff out of the
junk you have laying around has a
proud and colorful history. One of
our favorite shows from back in the
heyday when you could actually
learn something on The Learning
Channel was Junkyard Wars (the
American title of the fantastic
British series, Scrapheap Challenge).
Our love of Junkyard Wars ran so
deep that we actually auditioned
for them and appeared on the kids
version of Junkyard Wars in 2002
Operation Junkyard (or OP/JY to
those hip to the lingo).
In Junkyard Wars, two teams
had 10 hours in a junkyard to build
something awesome, and the next
day they would see whose creation PROTOBOT HANGING OUT UNTIL ITS NEXT
was, in fact, the awesome-ist. The PROJECT.
54 SERVO 02.2017
challenges ran the gamut, and the intrepid builders (many
of them hobbyists and not professional engineers) would
build everything from giant trebuchets capable of launching
Mini Coopers to amphibious vehicles equipped with
Archimedes screws to portable bridges.
Sometimes the machines werent super effective, but
the vast majority of the time they were. Throughout the
builds, quirky animations showed how the teams were
a weekly reminder that you dont necessarily need a lab full
adding in a time constraint really put on the pressure for
finding creative solutions that could be executed in a day.
We credit Junkyard Wars (along with the original run of
BattleBots) as a major inspiration that got us to start
building stuff too.
Cathy Rogers, the creator of Scrapheap Challenge and
Junkyard Wars, was herself inspired to make the show by a
real life (and extremely high stakes) example of building
something out of the spare parts
laying around. On April 14, 1970,
an oxygen tank exploded on the
Apollo 13 lunar mission. The
incident generated one of the most
quotable (and misquoted) lines in all
of space travel when astronaut Jack
Swigert reported that Houston,
weve had a problem here. They
had a problem indeed.
The exploded oxygen tank was
essential to powering the command
module, so the astronauts retreated
to the lunar module as a kind of
lifeboat. The junkyard wars moment
arose because the lunar module
was not equipped with enough
lithium hydroxide (LiOH) canisters
for removing carbon dioxide. The
command module had its own LiOH
canisters, but they were square
shaped and the lunar module
canister sockets were circular.
Confronted with the problem of
literally putting a square peg into a
round hole, the astronauts
Woolleys - Twin Tweaks - Feb 17_TwinTweaks - Aug 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:39 PM Page 55

Twin brothers hack whatevers put in front of them, then tell you about it.

improvised a device with

the materials they had on
board. The result was what
they termed the Mailbox.
Using materials from a
space suit and various other
fittings, they crafted a way
to mate the square canisters
to the round sockets. The
junkyard wars moment was
re-created in the 1995 film,
Apollo 13 (which also
contains the now
ubiquitous misquote
Houston, we have a
problem).
The teams in Junkyard
Wars competed for SCAVENGED MOTORS IN ROBOT CENTRAL.
bragging rights and a
trophy made of junk not quite the prize of not Protobot is our
suffocating/freezing to death in space, but still plenty cool favorite prototyping
to inspire a generation of builders ourselves included. platform, and we
have it hanging up in
Nuts and Volts and Bolts Robot Central,
suspended from A HISTORIC PIECE OF SPRING STEEL.
We admit that Robot Central isnt just your everyday hooks in the ceiling
garage. Its seen over 15 years of competitive robot like how many normal folks would store a bike. We pulled
building and many more years than that of car building. down the bot and determined that whatever mechanism
Weve got an unusual assortment of parts, but not we came up with could easily find a home on Protobots
necessarily that unusual an assortment of tools. We have a spacious frame.
drill press that came to us during our FIRST days as a We began scrounging around for parts to see what
donation from an awesome team member (thanks Evan inspiration would strike. We first unearthed an old
Heid!), a hydraulic press, and a chop saw, but other than Magmotor from our solar boat days. Our local water district
that its pretty much hand tools. So, dont worry if you sponsored a competition for high school students where we
dont have your own CNC machine capable of turning a built solar powered boats to run in sprints and endurance
billet into a shiny smooth unibody frame. We dont either, style races, and the Magmotor was used to power the
and we get by just fine. propeller one year. Unfortunately, when we popped off the
The first step in a weekend warrior scrapheap challenge gearbox, we were greeted with a kind of wet time capsule,
type build is to find your inspiration. Unfortunately, we as lake water picked up from the competition over a decade
didnt have Robert Llewellyn and Cathy Rogers to announce ago came pouring out. Perhaps the motor could be revived,
a challenge for us, or an exploded oxygen tank and the but that would be a project in and of itself that our self-
necessity of not suffocating on carbon dioxide to direct us. imposed time limit of a weekend would not allow.
We had to come up with something on our own. We also had a fan motor from Bryces BMW 540i. The

PREPARING THE PROD. EYEBALLING THE MOUNT.

SERVO 02.2017 55
Woolleys - Twin Tweaks - Feb 17_TwinTweaks - Aug 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:39 PM Page 56
FEELING THE
POTENTIAL.
fan exploded one day on the freeway in Los Angeles, CA
prompting a tense stay on the off ramp while waiting for
the tow truck to arrive, lest the engine overheat like the
creation of many a losing team on Junkyard Wars. We
ended up replacing the fan and motor assembly in toto
because you dont just throw something away with an
origin story as death defying as that.
The fan motor itself is a little unusual in that it doesnt
have a traditional shaft. It has a flat flange type thing that
would lock into the fan, and a large part of the fan casing
actually spun around with the flange. We still had
projectiles on the brain, and given our penchant for
medieval weaponry (our 30 pound combat robot is called
Twibill Trouble), our brains immediately focused on a more
old-school way to throw stuff around than an air cannon: a
catapult. Specifically, we were thinking of a mangonel.
A mangonel is a catapult that works through torsion.
Unlike a trebuchet which depends on a falling
counterweight the mangonel relies on twisted ropes or
springs. We thought that the fan motor could be used to
twist a torsion spring.
Another unusual aspect of the fan motor was that it
had a three-wire lead with some funky connectors. It would
BATTERY DONOR.
56 SERVO 02.2017
TEST FIRING.
take a little thinking to determine how best to get it to
work with the Victor speed controllers on Protobot, and as
we were scratching our heads over this very problem we
finally found our perfect inspiration staring us in the face.
The walls of Robot Central serve as a sort of shrine to
builds past, with various souvenirs weve collected watching
over our new endeavors. Weve got side panels from old
FIRST robots (one signed by Dean Kamen), castoffs from
our own combat robots, and a few parts from other
combat robots friend and foe. One of the more unique
entries in the menagerie is a panel of thin spring steel from
Agamemnon: one of the first bots built by combat robot
greats, Team Delta and a competitor in Robot Wars 1996.
Dan Danknick from Team Delta was one of the awesome
mentors for our FIRST Team, and the panel from a classic
combat bot has been one of the prized possessions of
Robot Central for years.
As we were thinking about medieval weaponry, the
idea of a crossbow (or perhaps ballista, given the scale we
were going for) did zip across our gray matter. Our concern
was that we didnt have the proper material for the bow of
the crossbow something flexible that could store and
effectively release enough energy to fire a bolt with enough
power to fight off hordes of sieging Vikings (or
shambling zombies, to borrow from more
current pop culture). However, a panel of thin
spring steel would be just about perfect.
Siege the Day
As with many engineering advances, the
crossbow replaced human skill with mechanical
reliability. Bows were essential to warfare in
medieval times and even earlier during classical
antiquity, but their effective use required years
often lifetimes of training. The crossbow
invented in China around the 6th Century B.C.
Woolleys - Twin Tweaks - Feb 17_TwinTweaks - Aug 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:39 PM Page 57
allowed even the relatively untrained to
achieve decent accuracy and power with a
bow.
Overall, the design of a crossbow is
fairly straightforward. The bow (a lath or
prod in crossbow parlance) is mounted
perpendicularly on the stock. A bow string
is used to pull back on the lath to store
energy, and is held by a trigger until the
user wants to fire the bolt. By freeing up
both hands for aiming and without the
strain of having to hold the bow string
manually, the trigger mechanism turned
even the unskilled into deadly archers.
Back in the day, the prod of the
crossbow was a single piece of wood,
often yew or ash. Thinner prods more
efficiently released energy than thicker
ones, so we thought the spring steel panel
from Agamemnon would be a perfect
update for our robotic crossbow.
Our weekend warfare tends to follow
the same pattern that you would see in
top-notch building shows like Mythbusters
and Junkyard Wars. We develop the design
HARVESTING THE BATTERY
through some initial drawings, focusing on CONNECTOR.
how were hoping to harness the powers
of physics. Our initial sketches helped us
pinpoint the crux of this design: the trigger. We needed a
way to remotely actuate our trigger, and it needed to be
strong enough to overcome the sheer force of the drawn
bow string.
We tossed around ideas about making a nut, which is a
specially designed cylindrical device that both holds the
drawn bow string and allows for a quick release. Eventually,
we decided against re-inventing the wheel (or, in this case,
the nut) and thought to repurpose the pin pulling
mechanism from our last foray into trigger
design. The pin pulling design is a bit more
similar to some of the earliest crossbows, which
used a pin to push up the drawn bow string over
the lip holding it in place.
After some initial sketching and blocking out
how we wanted the assembly to fit on Protobot,
we started building. One of our favorite parts
about a quick turnaround/fly by the seat of your
pants/lets make something cool just for fun
builds is that they offer unique opportunities to
practice certain skills. As any FIRST alum or large
weight class RoboGames competitor can tell you,
a lot of planning and measuring and double-
checking happens for expensive projects (even
those on a compressed timetable).
The adage might counsel you to measure
twice and cut once, but by the time youve
gotten through your initial sketches,
meticulously edited your CAD drawing,
mocked things up in cardboard or wood,
and then finally marked your metal parts,
youve probably measured many more
times than that. That kind of patience and
attention to detail is a great skill, but so is
being able to estimate and eyeball things
and rapidly prototype on-the-fly.
We totally understand that robotics
experimenters might be hesitant to train
their eyeballs on their new robotics kit or
RoboGames entry, so thats why doing
your own personal scrapheap challenge is
such a great idea. The only way to hone
your estimating and eyeballing skills is to
just do it, and youll definitely mess up
along the way. Its an inevitable part of the
process, so its ideal to do it on the
random robotic crossbow youre making
out of scrap wood and aluminum instead
of your new heavyweight.
After all of our scavenging and
sketching, we were approaching the end
of our first build day without having built
much of anything. Since the core of the
robotic crossbow was our prod from the
Agamemnon panel, we decided to start
with that. The panel was choc full of various holes where
bot guts had been mounted to the panel. There were
enough holes already there so that we wouldnt have to
drill any new ones, which we liked for a few reasons. First,
we really werent looking forward to drilling a bunch of
holes in spring steel anyway because its a huge pain.
Second, we didnt want to modify our prized piece of
combat robotics history.
We chopped up some pieces of diamond plate to make
PROTOBOT GETS AN UPGRADE.
SERVO 02.2017 57
Woolleys - Twin Tweaks - Feb 17_TwinTweaks - Aug 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:39 PM Page 58
WIRING UP THE NEW BATTERY.
some brackets for our bow string. For the bow string, we
pulled out some of our trusty bungees a garage staple
that we think most folks would have laying around. We
picked up some of the holes already drilled in the spring
steel (even thick diamond plate is a lot easier to drill than
spring steel). We attached the spring steel prod to
Protobots wooden upright by picking up a few more
existing holes in the spring steel plate. Hat tip to Dan or
whomever drilled all of those holes over 20 years ago.
With the prod in place (using screws instead of the
authentic medieval method of a whipcord bridle), we were
ready to give the bow a test pull. We attached a bungee
cord and tried to put ourselves in a medieval mindset.
Releasing the bungee bow string appeared to release
enough energy so that one might even hope to fend off a
LOCKED, BUT
NOT LOADED
58 SERVO 02.2017
sieging Viking or two. Eager to get a sense of
how much power our bow would have, we
notched the end of a PVC pipe to make a quick
and dirty crossbow bolt.
We took the bot out to the shooting range
(the backyard), pulled back, and released. The
PVC bolt jumped upwards and fell right back
down; sort of like a breaching whale, but much
less graceful than that analogy would ever
suggest. We were a bit discouraged, but we
hadnt put in a track or trigger yet. So, perhaps
there was hope after all.
Cross My Bot, Hope to Fly
We entered the garage on the second build
day confident that we could get our robotic
crossbow into good shape. We cranked up the music
(because every build has to have a rocking soundtrack) and
set about our work to the sounds of a mix ranging from
the Gin Blossoms to Lacuna Coil.
One of our first tasks was something that had come up
in our testing from the day before. Protobots electronics
havent changed much from the way they were when we
first built it over a decade ago, and that included the
original sealed lead acid batteries. Lo and behold, those
batteries finally decided to conk out on us after years of
faithful service.
A good robotics prototyping platform needs a reliable
power system, and we decided it was finally time to outfit
Protobot with lithium polymer batteries. We ended up
filching the battery from one of our more recent projects
the Agent 390 mini tank from the April 2016 Issue. The
14.8V battery pack used a Dean connector, and we didnt
happen to have any extras hiding in Robot Central. We
were committed to finishing this project using only
scavenged materials, so a trip to the hobby store was out of
the question. We Frankensteined some of our other
connectors together, figuring that copious amounts of
electrical tape could cover our sins (especially since Protobot
wouldnt actually have to stand up to raiding Vikings).
The new battery made Protobot as peppy as a young
bot again, and by the time the new battery was in place we
had devised most of our crossbow track and trigger. We
crafted the track from spare wood, making a channel for
our bolt to travel through. To tension the bow string and to
mate with the trigger, we created a block that would help
guide the bolt through the track and give our trigger pin a
place to slide into. We ran a rope from our Fisher-Price
motor powered winch mechanism through a pulley so that
it aligned with our block when the bow string was
tensioned. The tension held the pin in while it was loaded,
and we just hoped the motor would be able to overcome
the sheer force to pull it out.
For our crossbow bolt, we scrounged up a few options
Woolleys - Twin Tweaks - Feb 17_TwinTweaks - Aug 15.qxd 1/2/2017 9:39 PM Page 59

including some wooden dowel rods and an actual bolt

(well, a long piece of half inch thick all thread).
We drove Protobot into place (this was a robotic
crossbow after all), took aim, and fired. The motor
pulled the trigger pin with ease. The bolt sailed down
our track straight and true; the spring steel prod
released its stored potential energy with ease and
efficiency; and our makeshift bolt shot straight into
our target with an audible thump. It was so cool we
did it again and again, discovering that the long
wooden dowel made the best bolt for accuracy and
ALMOST A BULLSEYE!
distance. All those Vikings and walkers better watch
out.
We think that scrounging up something cool from
the garage is fun not only because it brings out our
inner MacGyver, but also because it shows that you
dont necessarily need tons of fancy parts to turn that
inspiration from SERVO into something tangible and something as frivolous as a robotic crossbow your first
awesome. However, theres something even more thought after how awesome was that will most likely be
important and intangible than that. When your project but if I do this and that, it will be even more awesome.
no matter how silly or off-the-wall actually works, youre Nothing beats the inspiration and excitement of actually
filled with such a satisfying sense of accomplishment that is creating something. So, get out there and build! SV
really hard to replicate.
Once you make something that works even Special Thanks to Dan Danknick

SERVO 02.2017 59
Carroll - Then & Now - Feb 17_Then & Now - Sep15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:27 PM Page 60
g{x Now
a n d
Building a Robot? Just Go for It!
I have had several people talk to me at meetings or at the SRS Robothon about building a robot.
Several had read some of my articles about how to design and plan a project, and were worried
that they might need CAD software and a lot of computer programming and electronics
knowledge. I always want to convince people who have the slightest inclination about building a
robot to "just go for it."
am convinced that most people who
I even think about building a robot
probably already have the hardest skill
needed: a basic mechanical aptitude.
Usually, a mechanical background is
followed by fundamental electrical
knowledge. Toss in a basic
understanding of microcontrollers and
coding them, and youre on your way.
If a person is missing one or two of
these skills, perhaps a friend or
neighbor can provide some help until
that person can build on their own.
Just a small amount of these skills
and the desire to learn more about
robotics can turn into a build of a nice
robot. The actual process of beginning
the robot project and making mistakes
along the way are by far the best way
to learn how to build a robot. Reading
robot books will help, but actual
hands-on experience is the best
teacher.
As a kid, after seeing the movie,
Tobor the Great shown in Figure 1,
I decided that I wanted to build a
robot. Deep inside, I knew it was just
a tall man in a robot suit, but I really
Figure 1. Tobor the Great from the 1954
movie of the same name.
60 SERVO 02.2017
by Tom Carroll
TWCarroll@aol.com
wanted to believe that Tobor was real.
The young boy in the figure was the
hero of the movies story.
I had no goal for my robot-to-be
and it wasnt for educational
purposes. There were no how to
books on robots and only a few
articles about robots built by others. I
just wanted a robot. No, I did not
have any aspirations that it would
clean my room or help me with my
household chores. I just wanted a
robot to sit in the corner of my room
and look cool. Before discussing my
robot project, I would like to talk
about a unique robot built from
scratch that inspired me as a kid
before talking about my first robot.
Gismo the Great by
Sherwood Fuehrer
I had also seen an article in the
Boy Scout Boys Life magazine back in Figure 2. Gismo built by Sherwood Fuehrer
in 1954.
1956 called, Gismo the Great
shown in Figure 2. It was built by 13 he used a transmission housing for
year old Sherwood Fuehrer from the hips. He soon had the arms
Rhode Island. Sherwood (Woody) got moving and a claw opened to grasp
the idea from his older brother when objects. The flashlight bulb eyes
he said, Oh, Woody, why dont you flashed and the head buzzed. A pilot
build a robot. Woody found some light and a flashing heartbeat adorned
2x4s for the legs, an oil can for the the body. After many hours building
head with flashlight bulbs for the the robot, Woody named him Gismo
eyes, and other parts shown in which was the name of his science
Figure 3. He used an old motor that teachers dog.
he got from his dad to raise and As Woody later wrote in Boys
lower the arms that were made from Life, So that was that. Gismo was
Erector set bars. now ready to meet the public, but at
He had collected many electronic that time, I had no idea how much of
parts, wire, and switches since his the public he was going to meet. I
hobby was ham radio. The body was entered him in the Rhode Island State
an empty five pound pretzel can and Science Fair, where he won a first
Carroll - Then & Now - Feb 17_Then & Now - Sep15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:27 PM Page 61
Post comments on this article at www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/article/
grant. He made quite a hit. I
rigged up an Out to Lunch
sign that I pushed in his hand
when I wanted a rest from
operating him.
The Providence Journal
featured a story on his creation.
Then, the Associated Press and
the United Press ran a picture.
Soon Gismo was plastered all
over the United States. Before
the week was over, he had
made a debut on two TV
shows. According to Woody, I
became deluged with mail.
Letters came from all over the
United States boys wanting
plans and girls just wanting to
be friendly.
Woody later wrote, Soon his
picture caught the attention of the
Pretzel Institute. They offered me an
expense-paid trip to New York City if
Gismo would show an interest in
pretzels. This came natural to Gismo
since his body was once full of
pretzels.
Woody and his mother traveled to
New York and stayed at the Hotel
Roosevelt. Word soon got around the
hotel that there was a robot in room
1820, and curious visitors started
crowding the hall, Woody
commented. They appeared on the
Today Show with Dave Garroway, and
Gismo went around handing out
pretzels. He later appeared on a
childrens show on the top floor of the
Empire State Building.
There was a contest sponsored by
Ford that Woody wanted to enter
Gismo into and he realized that he
needed a complete overhaul with
improvements. My first try at making
Gismo walk ended in sad failure. I put
rollers on his feet and was pushing
him along when he suddenly tripped
over a crack in the floor. He sure
needed first aid! One arm and two
wrists were broken, and his pretzel-
can body was mashed beyond repair.
Gismo and Woody kept being
invited to television shows and other
Advances in robots and robotics over the years.
February2017_ThenandNow_Build-Robots.
Figure 3. Woody working on his Gismo robot.
exhibitions. He continued to evolve
the robots complexity with motor-
driven feet, better sound from the
external wire recorder, lights, and all
the bells and whistles that he could
think of for his famous creation.
One of Woodys final comments
in the Boys Life article was about his
aspirations for the future. If you
hadnt guessed, Ive got my career
ideas set on being an electronics
engineer, he said. I havent seen any
recent articles about him but all the
TV and news coverage that he
received really describes just how
much interest the general public had
in robots in the 1950s.
Cosmo: My
Overweight Plywood
Monster Robot
As a kid after reading about
Gismo, I said to myself, Hey, if
Woody could build a large robot, so
could I. The first one was too heavy
to walk as it was made of 3/4
plywood. As much as I enjoyed
photography as a kid, I cannot locate
any photos of my robot and I cant
recall any that I took of the robot I
named Cosmo.
My dad had a nice woodworking
shop, so I used a table saw to cut the
large pieces of plywood. Most of my
metal work was done with
hand tools such as a hacksaw
or with a Craftsman drill press.
Cosmo stood about my height
and had a head composed of a
section of rectangular heating
duct. A coffee can served as his
neck but it was his huge chest
that made him so heavy. It was
about 18 inches wide by 12
inches deep and 22 inches tall.
Two five inch round metal ducts
served as his legs.
His feet were rectangular
pieces of plywood with Tonka
toy rubber tires mounted onto
roller skate bases with the metal
wheels replaced by the rubber
tires. Two AC gearmotors were each
connected to one back wheel on each
foot. The red light bulb eyes, the two
wheel motors, and the loudspeaker
mouth were connected to my remote
control panel via several old TV
antenna rotator four-conductor wires.
The first time I tried running the
single speed wheel motors, Cosmo
took a dive to the floor of my second
floor shop and scared my mom to
death. Needless to say, I had to
enlarge the wheel spacing foot size to
keep him upright.
My dad passed away just before I
was to show him off, so his only
demonstration was on Halloween
night to hand out candy to the kids,
though his hands and arms were yet
to move. He was so heavy, and it was
hard to separate him into two parts so
I was never able to get him to my
school to show other students. I
started to change his chest into a
metal can that I found and my brother
gave me some DC motors to use for
his arms, but I never got to finish him
the way that I wanted.
I learned some valuable pieces of
advice from my early robot-building
experiences. Start small and learn
about robot building before you build
larger ones. Dont use thick plywood
as a body material. Keep the center of
gravity / body mass as low as
SERVO 02.2017 61
Carroll - Then & Now - Feb 17_Then & Now - Sep15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:27 PM Page 62
Figure 4. Tommy and Jimmy Carroll build Gismo 2BL's arms.
possible. Never use 115 VAC power
for a robots motors, electronics, and
lights. Use DC motors with variable
speed control. I ended up building
smaller robots that were cheaper to
construct, and used relay logic and
photo-resistive cells for autonomy.
Gismo2BL for Boys
Life Magazine
Thirty years later in 1987, my own
three sons were in Boy Scouts and I
was their scoutmaster. So, I asked
them if they would like to build a
robot. My twin sons (shown in Figure
4) liked the idea, so I asked them to
figure out what they wanted and to
Figure 6. Gismo 2BL could be built for less
than $50.
62 SERVO 02.2017
Figure 5. A Big Trak dual motor assembly in the base of the Gismo 2BL.
look around for robot parts to build
with. I wanted them to look around
for items that they felt were suitable
for a robot, not my ideas.
They selected a small wastebasket
as the robots body and asked me if
they could have two of my surplus
dual motors (shown in Figure 5) that
came from a Milton Bradley Big Trak
toy futuristic military vehicle. One set
of motors was for the wheels and
another for the arms. They had a Big
Trak that my wife and I had given one
of them for Christmas, but I also had
several of the motors that I had
purchased at a nearby surplus store.
Figure 7. Gismo 3 is built on an RC truck
chassis.
The robot was wire controlled and
used four D cells for the six volt
power.
I decided that the project would
make a great article for Boys Life, so I
contacted the magazine and they
loved the idea. I wanted to call the
robot Cosmo, but the magazine
wanted the article to be a follow-up
for their original piece. I took some
photos of my sons as they built the
robot and I helped them by cutting
pipe arms and bending some metal
brackets. On a business trip to the
Dallas area, I dropped off the
completed robot at the Boys Life
offices and they dolled the robot up
for the cover photo shown in Figure
6. We named the new robot Gismo
2BL as the second in the series on
How to Build a Robot for Under $50.
The article became the cover story for
the February 1987 issue.
Boys Life came up with a Gismo
3 shown in Figure 7 that was
remotely controlled by fitting a robot
body trashcan on top of an RC toy
truck chassis. Im hoping a reader will
design and build a Gismo 4 that is
microcontroller controlled by a BASIC
Stamp or Arduino and featured in
Boys Life too (or here in the pages of
SERVO).
Starting a Robot
Building Project
I started this article by using three
different early home-built from scratch
Carroll - Then & Now - Feb 17_Then & Now - Sep15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:27 PM Page 63
robots as examples that almost
anyone can build. As many of you
may have discovered, building your
ideal robot is not always an easy task.
With determination, the process can
evolve into a labor of love, but the
beginnings can be a bit frustrating. I
have stressed planning and the design
process for building a robot in several
previous articles. I still feel that
process can work for most projects,
but it is sometimes just fun to start
collecting things that look like robot
parts until you have enough items to
envision a completed machine.
To eliminate the frustration factor,
it is wise to sit down in front of your
pile of parts and just sketch out your
initial ideas of what functions that you
want the completed robot to perform.
Overall appearance and size of the
robot is a secondary design criterion.
You also need to realistically look at
what resources that you might already
have and what additional items you
will need to buy. If you are lucky, your
pile of parts may be all that you
actually need to complete the robot.
You also might want to examine
the complexity of your initial design,
what capabilities that you have, and
what tasks you might want to have
someone else do for you. Lets say
that you saw a great looking and
performing robot in a demonstration
and have decided to build something
similar. You contacted the builder and
went to his house and were amazed
at his shop. He had a large drill press,
a milling machine, a 12 x 36 metal
lathe, a sheet metal shear and brake,
and a MIG welder. You have a small
table-top drill press, a cordless drill,
and a nice assortment of hand tools.
Hmmm. Should I look around for a
contract machine shop or pay the guy
who has the nice shop to build a few
things for me? you ask yourself. Or,
can I just do the project with the tools
I already have?
On the electrical and computer
side of your prospective robot project,
you look around and see that you
have an Arduino that youve
experimented with and a few shields
that act as motor controllers and
Figure 8. Charlie the Robot by Jim Hill.
sensor input devices. You also have
an inexpensive digital multimeter,
soldering equipment, and some
electronic-type hand tools. You have
basic computer, electronic, electrical,
and mechanical skills. Can you build a
nice robot with your basic skills and
resources? Yes!
Jim Hill and Charlie
I have written about Jim Hill
before. Hes a friend of mine from the
past and his amazing robot, Charlie is
shown in Figure 8. Jim worked at a
car dealership as a parts manager and
had access to larger tools, but he built
his robot entirely with hand tools such
as an electric hand drill and hacksaws.
Of course, it is certainly easier to
make large holes in sheet metal stock
with a fly-cutter or hole saw than to
drill a bunch of small holes with a
hand drill, and then saw and file the
holes into a large hole, but the final
result is the same. Dont say, If I only
had ... Instead, say I have this and
that, and I can build a robot!
Linear Actuators on
Charlie Act Like a
Humans Muscles
Jims robot in 1983 was as
complex as any experimenters robot
Figure 9. Jim Hill's Charlie graces the cover of
the April 1984 issue of Popular Mechanics.
of today. Carefully crafted aluminum
panels and internal structural
aluminum beams made for a robust
machine. When he began the project,
the resulting design was driven by
what parts he could find. He lived
near the great surplus store in
Pasadena that most of us robot
builders called home base: C&H
Sales.
Jim used aircraft linear flap
actuators that he found at C&H Sales
for Charlies arm joints. These moved
the arms in much the same manner as
our muscles, since gearmotors with a
rotary output with sufficient torque
and light weight are very hard to find
in surplus markets. Instead of having
heavy motors at the site of each joint,
Jim used rotating flexible cables
connected to car seat motors inside
the robots chest to transfer the
motors power to the arm joints.
All of this was accomplished with
basic hand tools and a hand drill. This
is an excellent configuration for any
potential builder of a large robot with
arms to consider. I featured Jim and
his robot in a cover story that I wrote
for Popular Mechanics in April 1984
(Figure 9). I had some far greater
reader feedback on Jims robot than
the one I had built. It was Charlies
SERVO 02.2017 63
Carroll - Then & Now - Feb 17_Then & Now - Sep15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:27 PM Page 64
Figure 10. Dave Shinsel and Loki.
Figure 12. Loki and Alice.
personality that drew people to him.
Dave Shinsels Loki
Built from Parts from
Everywhere
I first met Dave Shinsel in 2009 at
a Portland Area Robotics Society
(PARTS) meeting when he brought in
his homemade robot, Loki (shown in
Figure 10) to demonstrate to the
gathered members. The robots name,
Loki is from the Norse God of
Mischief, and quite frankly, it does
look a bit mischievous to me.
The robots head, body, and arms
are made completely from items that
he found in all sorts of places, such as
cheap flashlights and soup cans for
the eyes. Dave told me, I am always
on the lookout for useful and
interesting things that I can use in my
robots. The shoulders of Loki are
made from carpet protectors that go
under a couchs legs.
64 SERVO 02.2017
Figure 11. Sensors and control block diagram.
Figure 13. Dave Shinsel and his daughter, Amber
control Crash to a $100K win.
Lokis drive wheels are
lawnmower wheels I picked up at
the hardware store. His tail-wheel is
made from two inline skate wheels I
caught on sale from a sporting goods
store. Trim around the robot is mostly
door-edge molding from an auto parts
store, as well as the decorative
lighting on the sides of the robot.
There are lots of interesting decorative
lights at auto parts stores, Dave had
commented.
Being a software engineer for
Intel certainly was a plus when it
came to integrating all the mechanical
appendages and wheel motors, and
an array of sensors to a
microcontroller. The chart in Figure
11 is a simple block diagram of Lokis
sensors and controls. Dave now leads
the robotics technology division in the
New Technology Group at Intel.
Combing through the Portlands
area surplus stores helped him locate
high quality bearings for a dollar each
to use for the elbow joints, as well as
the blue shoulder brackets seen in
the figure.
As time
progressed, I saw Dave
add another arm and
change the robots
grippers. The original
left hand gripper had
come from a drug
store. Lokis voice was
from an iPod dock
speaker in his neck.
Dave found his robots
side and front louvered
grills on a trip to Home
Depot. He very cleverly
used a laptop as a
display in the robots chest as
well as the keyboard to
program him in Visual C++,
with a PIC based
microcontroller using a CCS C
compiler. Two simple Logitech
clip-on computer cameras
served as stereo eyes.
Daves Alice
Robot
Dave built the robot he
called Alice after Loki as a software
test platform. Next to Loki in Figure
12, you can see the Microsoft Kinect
sensors on Alice to the right, and
added to Loki on the left. Alice has an
LCD display on the mast below the
Kinect and the base is the newer
Kobuki platform used on the latest
TurtleBot 2 the original of which
was developed by Melonee Wise at
Willow Garage.
A software engineer, Dave rapidly
turned into a robot hardware engineer
through his series of robots. Besides
the Kinect that is used as a 3D
camera sensor, Alice uses an Intel
NUC computer and an Arduino Mega
2560. The robot and its computers
talk with the sensors and motor
controls through a USB hub.
Dad/Daughter Team
Win Robot Combat
League Championship
As an interesting bit of Daves
exploits, he was invited to participate
Carroll - Then & Now - Feb 17_Then & Now - Sep15.qxd 12/30/2016 4:27 PM Page 65

in the Robot Combat League. The required to repair their robots,

SyFy Channel developed a unique so extensive mechanical and
robot contest called the Robot robotics knowledge was
Combat League in early 2013, and required for each teams repair
constructed 12 eight foot battle people. The scene in Figure 15
robots for the 12 competing teams. shows their surprise as they
With Daves popularity from news on were named winners of the
his many robots, he and his daughter $100K and the trophy in the
were selected as one of the teams center.
with Dave as the robo-tec and
Amber as the robo-jockey (Figure Final Thoughts
13). Dave is seated at a computer
control system and Amber is standing I selected several different
with an exo-skeleton motion control robots built from scrounged
system strapped to her body. items by amateurs as examples
Figure 14. Crash (in orange) meets Steel Cyclone in a
They were furnished with a robot of what anyone can build. Robot Combat League bout.
named Crash shown in an orange These machines can be
protective skeleton in Figure 14. designed and
Notice the metal pipes in the back of constructed by high
the two robots that contain power, school kids or even
hydraulic, and control lines, as well as elementary school
provide stability for the robots from a students. They dont
fall. have to be fancy
Dave and Amber did not start out motorized automatons
as favorites with some failed bouts in with advanced
the beginning, but rose to the microcontrollers and
challenge and in the end won the multi-axis arms. They
series and a $100,000 prize. (Not too can be a non-functional
bad for driving a robot built by but extremely cute
someone else and having a blast robot that can sit on
doing so!) your desk like the robot
Between bouts, each team was in Figure 16. You can
then decide to give
Figure 15. Dave and Amber are the winners of the Robot
the robot motion by Combat League Championship.
adding inexpensive
servos and maybe changing the Engineering, Mathematics) classes are
robots feet and ability to balance offered as early as elementary grades
while walking, all while learning in many school systems.
about robotics. Yes, many great teaching tools
Your inspiration can be from a and associated robot kits are available
movie that you saw or to win an from the advertisers in this magazine
amazing prize in a contest. As a (such as the Parallax BoeBot series
parent or teacher, you can set a and their courses).
child on a path to an exciting career You can also expand a childs
by encouraging the kid with a creativity by promoting garage
budding interest in science and experimentation and basic tinkering
computers to go just a little bit with things. Robotics does not have to
further and build a robot. cost a lot. Anyone can build a robot.
Figure 16. A cute little robot made from scraps. STEM (Science, Technology, SV

Advertiser Index Front Panel Express .....................................7 Pololu ..........................................Back Cover

Actuonix Motion Devices ........................12
All Electronics Corp. .................................47
EarthLCD ....................................................47
ExpressPCB ..................................................7
Hitec .............................................................2
Maxbotix ....................................................39
M.E. Labs ...................................................28
Mikronauts .................................................59
PanaVise ....................................................59
Robot Power .............................................29
Routakit ........................................................3
Super Bright LEDs .....................................39
The Robot MarketPlace ............................29
Tormach .....................................................19

SERVO 02.2017 65
SV Webstore - Feb 17 working_SV Webstore May 16 working.qxd 12/30/2016 4:29 PM Page 66

The SERVO Webstore

CD-ROM SPECIALS 02.2017 FEATURED

ROBOTICS
Arduino Robot Bonanza Making Things Move: Build Your Own Teams of
by Gordon McComb DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Robots with LEGO
Create high-tech Hobbyists, and Artists MINDSTORMS NXT and
walking, talking, and by Dustyn Roberts Bluetooth
thinking robots. Plan, design, assemble,
"McComb hasnt In Making Things Move: and program robot
missed a beat. Its an DIY Mechanisms for squads that
absolute winner!" Inventors, Hobbyists, communicate and
and Artists, you'll learn
how to successfully build cooperate with each
Breathe life into the moving mechanisms other to accomplish
robots of your dreams through non-technical together what they cant
without advanced explanations, examples, do individually. Inside
electronics or programming skills. Arduino and do-it-yourself the authors show you
Robot Bonanza shows you how to build projects from kinetic
art installations to how to construct a team capability matrix
autonomous robots using ordinary tools and creative toys to energy-harvesting devices. (TCM) and use the Bluetooth Robotic-
common parts. Learn how to wire things up, Photographs, illustrations, screenshots, Oriented Network (BRON) so your robot
program your robot's brain, and add your and images of 3D models are included for teams can share sensors, actuators, end
own unique flair. each project. effectors, motor power, and
$29.95 $29.95
Robotics Demystified
Build Your Own by Edwin Wise
Robot Builder's Sourcebook Humanoid Robots YOU DON'T NEED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Fascinated by the world of robotics TO LEARN ROBOTICS!
but dont know how to tap into the by Karl Williams Now anyone with an
incredible amount of information GREAT 'DROIDS, INDEED! interest in robotics
available on the This unique guide to can gain a deeper
subject? Want the sophisticated robotics understanding
names, addresses, projects brings without formal training,
phone numbers, humanoid robot
and web sites of unlimited time, or a
construction home to genius IQ. In Robotics
companies that the hobbyist. Written by
can supply the Demystified, expert
a well-known figure in robot builder and
exact part, plan,
the robotics community, author Edwin Wise provides an effective
kit, building
material, Build Your Own and totally painless way to learn about the
programming Humanoid Robots technologies used to build robots! $19.95
language, operating system & provides step-by-step directions for six
computer system? Robot Buiders exciting projects, each costing less than
Sourcebook is just what youve been $300. Together, they form the essential To Order Call 800 783-4624
looking for! ingredients for making your own humanoid
or visit our webstore
$36.00 robot. $24.95

66 SERVO 02.2017
SV Webstore - Feb 17 working_SV Webstore May 16 working.qxd 12/30/2016 4:29 PM Page 67

Order online
www.servomagazine.com
SPECIAL OFFERS
DIY Drones for the Evil Genius
by Ian Cinnamon, Romi Kadri,
Fitz Tepper
This fun guide shows
step-by-step how to
construct powerful
drones from
inexpensive parts, add
personalized features,
and become a full-
fledged pilot. It not
only covers safety,
mechanics, drone design, and assembly, but
also teaches the basics of Aerospace
Engineering. You will discover how to add
video transmitters, GPS, first-person view,
and virtual reality goggles to your creations.
Reg $25.00 Sale Price $19.95

PROJECTS
The SERVO Buddy Kit 3D LED Cube Kit PS2 Servomotor Controller Kit
From the
article Build
the 3D LED
Matrix Cube
as seen in the
August 2011
issue of
Nuts & Volts Magazine.
An inexpensive circuit you can build to This kit accompanied with your own
control a servo without a microcontroller. This kit shows you how to build a really PlayStation controller will allow you to
cool 3D cube with a 4 x 4 x 4 control up to six servomotors.
For more information, monochromatic LED matrix which has a Includes all components and
please check out the total of 64 LEDs. The preprogrammed instruction manual.
May 2008 issue microcontroller that includes 29 patterns For more information, please see the
or go to the that will automatically play with a runtime February 2011
SERVO webstore. of approximately 6-1/2 minutes. edition of SERVO Magazine.
Colors available: Green, Red, Yellow & Blue. Assembled units available!
Jig and plastic cases also available.
Includes an article reprint. $79.95
$39.55 $57.95

SERVO 02.2017 67
 The new starting point for robotics

Find out more at www.pololu.com/romi

Full Page.indd 68 10/3/2016 6:19:47 PM