Home Sign Up!

Browse Community Submit

All Art Craft Food Games Green Home Kids Life Music Offbeat Outdoors Pets Photo Ride Science Tech

Wallbots: Autonomous Magnetic Robots that Traverse Vertical Surfaces

by staceyk on May 8, 2009 Table of Contents License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Wallbots: Autonomous Magnetic Robots that Traverse Vertical Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: Gather Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: Hack the Servo Motors to Allow for Continuous Rotation (Part 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: Hack the Servo Motors to Allow for Continuous Rotation (Part 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: Flip the rotation of one of the motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: Re-assemble the motors back together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 6: Attach the Magnetic Wheels to Each Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 7: Connect the Servos to the Arduino Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 8: Attach the Photoresistors to the Arduino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 9: Connect the RGB LED to the Arduino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 10: Connect the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 3 5 5 6 6 7 8 9 9

step 11: Upload the Code onto the Arduino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 step 12: Create the robot casing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) Intro: Wallbots: Autonomous Magnetic Robots that Traverse Vertical Surfaces
This Instructable will teach you how to create magnetic robots that traverse vertical surfaces. These robots can move on any metallic walls, including elevators, whiteboards, refrigerators or metal doors.

The robots are outfitted with several light sensors, allowing them to respond to simple user interactions. My implementation supports 3 robot 'personalities', which can be changed by covering the topmost light sensor: Red robots move fast, going towards objects (such as human hands or other robots) Green robots move slower, turning away from objects Yellow robots move the slowest, and stop completely when motion or objects are detected This instructable details my first prototype. In the future I plan to build in more complex, autonomous behaviors. I will use these robots to engage people in public spaces such as elevators or hallways. In doing so, I hope to facilitate creative interaction between people and technology in mundane, everyday settings. Stacey Kuznetsov stace@cmu.edu Human Computer Interaction Institute Carnegie Mellon University for Making Things Interactive, Spring '09 *** UPDATE *** I recently made another version of this project using continuous servo's from sparkfun and a custom-cut PCB. The new robot is much much sturdier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtwVwc91XYs

step 1: Gather Materials

To make one robot, you will need: 2 servo motors http://www.rctoys.com/rc-toys-and-parts/DF-SRV-6G/RC-PARTS-DRAGANFLYSERVOS.html?utm_source=googlebase_froogle&utm_medium=US&utm_term=DF-SRV-6G 4 light sensors http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G14025 4 2.2 K resistors 4 10K resistors 1 100 ohm resistors 1 Arduino Mini http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardMini 6 magnetic disks http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=R8201 1 RGB LED http://www.superbrightleds.com/pdfs/RGB-1WS.pdf 1 lightweight Battery http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=731 Some hard wire (not easily bendable)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Electric Tape Wire Shrink Tubing Cardboard or paper Hot glue or epoxy You will also need access to: Soldering Iron Hot glue gun (or epoxy) Scissors Wire Cutters Exacto Knife

Image Notes 1. light sensors 2. servo motor 3. 10K resistor 4. 100ohm resistor 5. 2.2K resistor 6. hard wire 7. magnetic disks 8. arduino mini 9. rgb led 10. shrink tubing

step 2: Hack the Servo Motors to Allow for Continuous Rotation (Part 1)
Off-the shelf servos allow for fixed motion. We want continuous rotation in order to control robot movement. You will need to make 2 simple modifications to each servo: remove the physical rotation barriers, and hack the potentiometer into always receiving a constant signal. The black part of the motor is designed to stop movement after 180 degrees. This is done physically- there are two plastic knobs that prevent continuous movement. 1. Pry open the servo case 2. Take apart the gears 3. Cut the wires off from the black casing (the next step explains what to do with them) 4. Clip off the small plastic bearings that hinder continuos rotation

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Image Notes 1. black casing that prevents continuous motion

Image Notes 1. Gear casing removed from the wires

Image Notes 1. clip this 2. clip this

Image Notes 1. the piece of the case that prevents motion has been clipped

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

step 3: Hack the Servo Motors to Allow for Continuous Rotation (Part 2)
Now 'trick' the potentiometer into always getting continuous signal 1. Cut the red, green and yellow wires from the black casing (you should have done this in the previous step) 2. Solder a 2.2K resistor between the green wire and yellow wire. 3. Solder a 2.2K resistor between the red wire and the yellow wire.

Image Notes 1. 2.2K resistor 2. 2.2K resisotr

step 4: Flip the rotation of one of the motors

Servos usually rotate in the same direction given the same analog signal. We'll need to arrange them symmetrically on the robot, so we'll have to reverse one of them. This can be done in code or hardware (I did hardware b/c I'm lazy with code). To do a hardware direction reverse: 1. cut the red and blue wires that go from the motor to the motor's board 2. solder the red to the blue, and the blue to the red (criss-cross the wires)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Image Notes 1. red-> blue (flipped) 2. blue -> red (flipped)

step 5: Re-assemble the motors back together

This step is easy! Gently tuck the wires back into the case of the servos as much as you can and re-assemble the gears. I couldn't get the casing to fit after I added the resistors, so I taped everything back with electric tape.

step 6: Attach the Magnetic Wheels to Each Motor

I used hot glue to do the 'attaching'- but any type of strong adhesive should work. 1. Cut 2 equal pieces of the hard wire. It should be about 1 inch long for each wheel. 2. Hot glue each wire into the top gear of each servo. Make sure the wire is centered. 3. Hot glue 3 magnetic disks onto the end of each wire*. Make sure the disks are centered.

*actually, I've found that once the magnets are glued on, working with the servos becomes really annoying- the stick to everything. You may want to hold off and do this at the very end.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Image Notes 1. hot glue 2. hot glue

Image Notes 1. hot glue 2. hot glue

step 7: Connect the Servos to the Arduino Board

I'm using the Arduino Servo library, so I use pins 9 and 10 to drive the motors. So my setup looks like this: Pin 9 -> Orange wire of Servo 1 Pin 10 -> Orange wire of Servo 2 Ground -> Black wires of Servos 1 and 2 VCC -> Red wires of Servos 1 and 2

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Image Notes 1. pin 10 2. pin 9 3. Raw (vcc) 4. Ground

step 8: Attach the Photoresistors to the Arduino

Attach each photoresistor (light sensor) to the Arduino. There are 4 sensors, for the left, right, front and top of the robot. The circuit diagram for each light sensor is shown below. One wire of the sensor goes to VCC (power). The other wire connects to the 10K and 100 ohm Resistors. The 10K resistor connects to ground. the 100ohm resistor connects to the input pin. The input (green wire) of each sensor goes to Analog Pins on the mini (A0, A1, A2, A3). In my code, I have set it up like this: Analog 0 -> Top Sensor Analog 1 -> Left Sensor Analog 2 -> Front Sensor Analog 3 -> Right Sensor

Image Notes 1. 100 ohm resistor 2. 10K resistor 3. Power (VCC) 4. Analog In on the arduino (pins A0-A3) 5. Ground

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Image Notes 1. Analog Pins 0-3, connecting to the light sensors

step 9: Connect the RGB LED to the Arduino

You can use any RGB LED, and connect it to any of the PWM pins on the Arduino. I'm only using Green and Red Colors, so my setup is: Red-> Pin 5 Green -> Pin 6 Ground -> Ground You may want to put a resistor between each pin and the LED (on the order of 200 ohms). I didn't do this bc my LED can take much higher current than the arduino can supply, so it will not burn out.

Image Notes 1. Red->Pin 5 2. Green - > pin 6 3. Ground -> Ground

step 10: Connect the Battery

Basically, any battery that supplies around 3-4volts will work, the lighter the better. I used the sparkfun Lithium battery. Attaching it is easy. Ground goes to ground, power goes to raw VCC on the arduino.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

step 11: Upload the Code onto the Arduino

I'm pasting my code below. Each sensor is sampled, and the robot moves depending on which sensor detects a human hand, and whether or not it's red, green, or yellow (if it should move away or towards objects). /* Wallbots Code Stacey Kuznetsov May 6, 2009 for Making Things Interactive, Spring '09 This is the basic code to drive robotic movement of 2 sevo motors based on input from 4 light sensors. Motion supports several settings, based on the robot mode. Red robots move fast, towards objects (when light sensors detect darkness) Green robots move at medium speed, away from objects (away from darker areas) Yellow robots move slowerly, and stop to blink when objects are detected The purpose of these robots is to move on walls using magnetic wheels. Supported movement includes right, left and forward directions. Several speeds are implemented based on the robot mode. The light sensors auto-calibrate on reboot or when the top sensor is covered for more than 3 seconds. */ #include <Servo.h> // Right and left servos Servo servo1; Servo servo2; // Light Sensors int topSensor = 0; //700 int leftSensor = 1; /// Threshhold is 400 int frontSensor = 2; //400 int rightSensor = 3; //300 // Hardcoded thresholds (not used because we auto-calibrate) int topThreshhold = 400; int leftThreshhold = 550; int frontThreshhold = 200; int rightThreshhold = 650; // Current robot type (red gree or yellow) int STATE = 0; // State values int RED = 0; int GREEN = 1; int ORANGE = 2; // Pins to drive the top tri-color LED int redPin = 5; int greenPin = 6; // Values to hold sensor readings int front; int right; int left; int top; // Auto-calibrate light sensor thresholds void calibrate() { Serial.println("CALIBRATING"); long int val = 0; for (int i = 0; i<5; i++) { val += analogRead(frontSensor); delay(10); } frontThreshhold = (val /5) - 80; val = 0; for (int i = 0; i<5; i++) { val = val + analogRead(topSensor); Serial.println(analogRead(topSensor)); Serial.println(val); delay(10); } topThreshhold = (val /5) -200; val = 0; for (int i = 0; i<5; i++) { val += analogRead(rightSensor); }

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

rightThreshhold = (val /5) - 100; val = 0; for (int i = 0; i<5; i++) { val += analogRead(leftSensor); } leftThreshhold = (val /5) - 100; // Print threshold values for debug Serial.print("top: "); Serial.println(topThreshhold); Serial.print("right: "); Serial.println(rightThreshhold); Serial.print("left: "); Serial.println(leftThreshhold); Serial.print("front: "); Serial.println(frontThreshhold); } void setup() { // turn on pin 13 for debug pinMode(13, OUTPUT); digitalWrite(13, HIGH); // setup sensor pins for (int i = 0; i<4; i++) { pinMode(i, INPUT); } Serial.begin(9600); calibrate(); // generate a random state STATE = random(0, 3); setColor(STATE); } // MOTOR FUNCTIONS void turnLeft() { Serial.println("LEFT"); start(); delay(20); for (int i = 0; i<20; i++) { servo2.write(179); servo1.write(1); delay(20); } stop(); delay(20); } void turnRight() { Serial.println("RIGHT"); start(); delay(20); for (int i = 0; i<20; i++) { servo2.write(1); servo1.write(179); delay(20); } stop(); delay(20); } void goForward(int del = 20) { Serial.println("FORWARD"); start(); delay(20); for (int i = 0; i<20; i++) { servo1.write(179); servo2.write(179); delay(del); } stop(); delay(20); } void stop() { servo1.detach(); servo2.detach(); delay(10); }

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

void start() { servo1.attach(10); servo2.attach(9); } // Set the color of the top tri-color LED based on the current state void setColor(int color) { if (color == RED) { digitalWrite(greenPin, 0); analogWrite(redPin, 180); } else if (color == GREEN) { digitalWrite(redPin, 0); analogWrite(greenPin, 180); } else if (color == ORANGE) { analogWrite(redPin, 100); analogWrite(greenPin, 100); } } // Blink the yellow color (when robot is confused) void blinkOrange() { for (int i = 0; i<5; i++) { analogWrite(redPin, 100); analogWrite(greenPin, 100); delay(300); digitalWrite(redPin, 0); digitalWrite(greenPin, 0); delay(300); } analogWrite(redPin, 100); analogWrite(greenPin, 100); } void loop() { top = analogRead(topSensor); long int time = millis(); while (analogRead(topSensor) < topThreshhold) { delay(10); // while there is an arm wave from the user don't do anything } if ((millis() - time) > 3000) { // if the sensor was covered for more than 3 seconds, re-calibrate calibrate(); } // if the top sensor was covered, we change state if (top < topThreshhold) { STATE = (STATE+1) %3; setColor(STATE); Serial.print("CHANGED STATE: "); Serial.println(STATE); } // Read the other sensors right = analogRead(rightSensor); left = analogRead(leftSensor); front = analogRead(frontSensor); if (STATE == RED) { // go towards objects if (front < frontThreshhold) { goForward(); } else if (right < rightThreshhold) { turnRight(); } else if (left<leftThreshhold) { turnLeft(); } else { goForward(); } } if (STATE == GREEN) { // go away from objects if (front < frontThreshhold) { int dir = random(0,2); if (dir == 0 && right > rightThreshhold) { turnRight(); } else if (dir == 1 && left > leftThreshhold) { turnLeft(); }

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

} else if (right < rightThreshhold) { if (left > leftThreshhold) { turnLeft(); } else { goForward(); } } else if (left<leftThreshhold) { if (right > rightThreshhold) { turnRight(); } else { goForward(); } } else { goForward(); } delay(200); } if (STATE == ORANGE) { // only move if there are no hand motions- otherwise blink int dir = random(0, 3); if (left<leftThreshhold || right<rightThreshhold || front<leftThreshhold) { blinkOrange(); } else { if (dir == 0) { goForward(); } else if (dir == 1) { turnRight(); } else if (dir == 2) { turnLeft(); } delay(1000); } delay(10); } }

step 12: Create the robot casing

Since this robot will move vertically, it is important to make the casing as light as possible. I used cardboard, but paper or lightweight plastic will work too. Before doing this step, make sure the code works and you can tell which servo is right and which is left. I hot-glued the servos onto the cardboard base, and arranged the sensors to be on top, right, left, or front of the robot. I then created 'walls' of the case with more cardboard. I cut out the holes to fit light sensors and motor gears. The top of my robot is just a piece of paper! ... and you're done!

Image Notes 1. left servo 2. right servo 3. top sensor 4. front sensor 5. left sensor 6. right sensor 7. rgb LED 8. arduino 9. Ground (-) wire for the battery 10. VCC (+) wire for the battery)

Image Notes 1. hole for the photo resistor 2. space for the servo gears

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Related Instructables

Hexabot: Build a heavy duty six-legged robot! by rpantaleo

My Autonomous HomeMade Wall-E Robot (slideshow) by djsures

Build a Very Small Robot: Make The World's Smallest Wheeled Robot With A Gripper. by mikey77

Building Small Robots: Making One Cubic Inch Micro-Sumo Robots and Smaller by mikey77

Robots (guide) by Instructables Guides

My Autonomous Cookie Monster Robot (slideshow) by djsures

Ard-e: The robot with an Arduino as a brain by imadami

Electro-Graf by Q-Branch

Advertisements

Comments
36 comments Add Comment

Cynar says:

Aug 6, 2010. 12:18 PM REPLY If you added a larger flat magnet in the middle of the robot it would give you a bit more weight to play with(just need to be careful of slippage). Good show though :-)

louisr90 says:

Jun 15, 2009. 11:04 PM REPLY how exactly would u upload the code the the control circuit and is there anyway for u to make a "kit" that other people could buy

staceyk says:
Yea i have a pcb, and bunch of extra boards i printed back in the day. it's pretty easy to put together

Aug 6, 2010. 11:13 AM REPLY

PS118 says:

May 11, 2009. 10:50 AM REPLY These things are so cute! I think it's a travesty that this one wasn't "featured". BTW, How much does one cost? Also, since they travel on whiteboards, it could be fun to give them a marker "tail" so they make designs in their travels.

pocketspy says:

Aug 6, 2010. 9:52 AM REPLY I like the marker idea. If you could use a smart board like Mimeo, that my ex, an art teacher uses, you could have them create art and 'save' it to your computer.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

rak says:

Aug 5, 2010. 9:23 AM REPLY I love the marker tail idea! That would be so cute. Cost wise: the servos he uses are $10 each. An arduino like his is in the range of $20. Add headers (the connectors), the leds and photocells, and shipping, and I would say that each one cost him around $70. I could make it quite a bit cheaper though, just by using a different microcontroller and buying cheaper servos in bulk.

peanutgnome says:

Aug 5, 2010. 3:57 PM REPLY the opposite would be fun too - add an eraser and these would be like the Roomba robotic vacuums, but for the whiteboard. Turn them on when you leave at night and come in to a clean board in the morning!

rak says:

Aug 5, 2010. 4:11 PM REPLY lol. Wow this is a fun thread to be participating in! Given the processing power of arduino, I would get some proximity sensors and maybe a compass sensor, so that this thing can go up until it senses the edge, turn to the right and go for a bit, then go down and do the next row, and so on. Only thing is that you would need to install a ledge at the top much like the one on the bottom that holds the markers.

staceyk says:
I recently made another version of this using continuous servo's from sparkfun ( http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9347 - $13) Some pictures here And a demo video I used a custom-cut PCP, which cost me $89 for about 20ish boards? So I think the price per one is $26 for servos $5 magnets $20 arduino $5 for the custom cut board $2-3 for wires, LED's, resistors, etc

Aug 5, 2010. 9:34 PM REPLY

So about $60 just for the robot itself. Then, the price goes up depending on what sensors/lights/etc you put on it. Photocells are less than a dollar, so is a hall effect sensor- which you can use to detect when the robot is about to climb off a magnetic surface.

rak says:

Aug 5, 2010. 9:43 PM REPLY perfect timing, posting that video. I must say, using the hall effect sensor as you have just described is pretty genius. I had not thought of that. I am definitely going to be making something like this bot in the future, as soon as I can clear some time to do so. I would make the pcbs by hand, and I use the raw atemega chip + oscillator right on the pcb to save money. Not much to say for the servos. Also helps that I have a fully stocked workshop for everything else.

Cynar says:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.35764 Good little miniture servo that might be helpful

Aug 6, 2010. 11:27 AM REPLY

staceyk says:
how do you print your own pcb?

Aug 6, 2010. 11:11 AM REPLY

rlmagidson says:

Nov 24, 2009. 9:52 AM REPLY I've read in many projects about the "how" of hacking servos, but I don't really get the "why." Why is it better to hack a servo than just buy a (cheaper) motor that already allows for full rotation? Thanks for taking the time to educate me. - Russ

rak says:

Aug 5, 2010. 9:20 AM REPLY Servos are an easier alternative to using dc motors such as hobby or gear motors. They feature a built in gearbox and drive circuitry. Say a servo costs 10 bucks. If you get a hobby motor for $1 , you still need gears and drive circuitry. The common L293D dual motor drive chip (aka dual half bridge) costs about 5 bucks. Not to mention this requires more pins of your microcontroller (like arduino) vs. a servo only requiring one. A gear motor (with a built in gear box) will typically cost more than a servo itself. So... servos are quick, cheap(er), and are generally more convenient. In a project like this, there's no space to build 2 gearboxes with about a 120:1 gear ratio each. It also leaves a lot less room for error. I can't tell you how many robots I've built where the fatal error was an ever so tiny flaw in the gear train.

nak says:
yep

Aug 5, 2010. 12:12 PM REPLY

fluffy111 says:
Becouse it has got already build in drive transfer and you only mount wheels when you hack servo.

Nov 28, 2009. 7:40 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Munchys says:
They look like moving led stop/street lights

Aug 5, 2010. 10:06 AM REPLY

AndyGadget says:

May 8, 2009. 3:26 PM REPLY It would be fascinating to have a LED at the back of each robot and give them an occasional light homing behaviour. You could than have a 'crocodile' of magnetic minibots.

rak says:

Aug 5, 2010. 9:24 AM REPLY So now we can move this project into swarm robotics with infrared leds and recievers as the primary form of communication.

marc.cryan says:
Well done!

Aug 5, 2010. 7:41 AM REPLY

kinomix says:
I think its awesome

Aug 4, 2010. 11:03 PM REPLY

killerdark says:
Well done!

Aug 4, 2010. 10:39 PM REPLY

crossfire says:
I love it! Can you make a kit for it?

Aug 4, 2010. 8:31 PM REPLY

noik says:
skills

Aug 4, 2010. 9:15 AM REPLY

kcls says:
Cool!

Aug 4, 2010. 5:30 AM REPLY

shawntherobot says:
you should enter this into the arduino contest

Oct 8, 2009. 11:22 AM REPLY

afw11 says:
Which LED did you use? Is the light sensor threshold different for each one? If so, how do you find it?

Jun 13, 2009. 6:24 PM REPLY

afw11 says:
Also, in the last picture, where is the battery?

Jun 13, 2009. 6:35 PM REPLY

robot797 says:
do you sell them i wanna buy 2 of them

May 13, 2009. 3:19 AM REPLY

magicpocket says:
Beauty

May 10, 2009. 7:10 AM REPLY

Bongmaster says:

May 9, 2009. 2:15 AM REPLY what changes would need to be made if u were to use LEDs for the light sensors? (due to me only having one LDR). i understand the LED wouldnt be a very good light sensor but it can be one aparenty :)

munchman says:
You can't use an LED in place of an LDR, an LED only emits light, it cannot detect it.

May 9, 2009. 3:09 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/

Bongmaster says:

May 10, 2009. 3:29 AM REPLY actually it can. even tho its not made to do so. its prolly not that good at it tho, but they have been used in applications like LED tables that react to movement, the LEDs that are used as the sensors are used in between the ones that give light. check the arduino site, there are examples.

DemonDomen says:
You should use a board to mount the electronics. You will use less wire, it will be more robust and possibly take up less space.

May 8, 2009. 2:36 PM REPLY

jeff-o says:
It's fine for a prototype, but yeah, a custom PCB would be most excellent.

May 9, 2009. 10:41 AM REPLY

Bongmaster says:
kool looks like the kind of code i need for my R2 :3

May 8, 2009. 4:06 PM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallbots-Autonomous-Magnetic-Robots-that-Traverse/