New project

It's been a while since I've had a chance to either write here or do any robotics experimenting.
I bought a new book that has sparked some interest again and I have my eye on another one or two.

I bought Extreme NXT: Extending the LEGO Mindstorms NXT to the Next Level and I have really enjoyed the read.

http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-NXT-Extending-Mindstorms-Technology/dp/1590598180/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5/103-1587592-0151816?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177258983&sr=8-5

It is well formatted and although it deals with very technical things it keeps the focus on the goal. I still need a better understanding of electronics but this books started my thinking process again. I came up with an idea for a project I can try that will challenge my current skill set but keep me close to the foundation I am familiar with.

I'm going to make a robot card dealer. Initially I want it to deal to a fixed set of players. Later I may try to make it player aware using sensors. When I get it working well I may try different games that require dealer interaction.

Over the past few days I think I have come up with a basic design. I'm going to use the robot arm base to provide the rotation and possibly the motor control of the dealer arm. I'm still trying to decide what to use as the feed. It needs to quickly propel a single card forward. Initially I thought a wheel might work but I'm not sure yet. I'm still experimenting.

I've already been working out the deck holder and mating it with the delivery system. I think that will be the hardest part. While I'm tinkering with it, I'm also going to investigate some other programming tools to see how I can expand the basic tool kit. I like the block based Lab View system, but I am a programmer and I often think better looking at lines of code rather than logical blocks. I've not decided that there is a better tool yet. I need to write some more complex programs before I make any decisions.

I'll post pictures/videos here throughout the process so you can share in the joys of success and the agony of defeat.

Education update

I've been out of college for twelve years. I've worked in my field since I walked out of graduation (Actually, I was working the last semester). I've gone back to school on occasion to add a foundation in a new language that I needed. In that process I have learned that I would have a hard time going back to college. The pace is too slow for me. By the end of the first two weeks I'm ready to be done with the course. Most professional training courses are taught in a one to two week format and cover a lot of material in a short time. I guess I've grown accustomed to learning rapidly on my feet. So when I looked at how to add an understanding of everything electrical and electronic to my skill set I chose the home learning route.

Now I have tried this route several times and I have used several texts. I have come to another understanding that I am refusing to accept. I have some kind of mental block when it comes to electrons and how they travel through a circuit. I'm not going to let this beat me. I am on the third chapter of a very large book that is supposed to cover everything I need to know. I already know better than to believe that, but it is certainly setting the foundation.

I have not completely given up on the idea of going back to college for an intro to Electronics but I'm going to see where this takes me. Luckily the Mindstorms kit does not require me to know anything about electronics. I have completed the first two kits. I'm progressing slowly as time allows. The kits advance in difficulty culminating in the NXT Rex bipedal robot. It has the highest difficulty rating and appears to have a rather complex program. I am not going to skip to it yet though. I want to try and control my impatience and spend my time learning the basics. A good foundation makes for a strong building.

Well, here we go.

For those of you who are old pro's at blogging, I'm sorry. I'll get better as time goes by. Not all of my posts are guaranteed to be about robotics, I may ramble on about anything but I am going to try to keep this blog on topic.

This Christmas my wife of almost 11 years bought me a gift that I am very excited about. It will likely provide me hours of entertainment, learning and frustration. It is also likely the fastest way for me to realize a dream of mine. I have wanted to build robots. AI has always interested me, and, until I had a taste of it at work, building an automated machine with a team of electrical and mechanical engineers, I never knew what I had been missing. Since then all of the programming I have done seems flat and missing something.

I am in the process of building through the introductory sets that are provided with the kit to familiarize myself with what I can do. At the same time I am re-igniting the flame that I had extinguished so long ago when the project was over and I had no hope of another project like it (not because of my performance but because the company eliminated the R&D group I worked with and I left for a while to see what the world looked like somewhere else.) I have tried this path once before and slammed into a wall that I have never been able to overcome. I have no idea how to build anything but the simplest electrical circuit. Although I have the desire to build complex systems I can barely read an electrical schematic. This is what stopped my forward progress when I bought my BASIC Stamp last year. It has stopped me every time I have tried. I'm hoping this will not be the case this time. Ultimately I want to build my own sensors and even incorporate other microprocessors in my projects.

I am not able to sleep tonight so I am creating a blog to invite you all into my small downstairs office where I hope to make some robots. Welcome. Your comments are welcome and advice is always appreciated. If you see somewhere that I can improve or somewhere I should research please feel free to comment.