Ask Slashdot: How To Begin Simple Robotics As a Hobby? 166
First time accepted submitter nedko.m writes "I would describe myself as more of a 'software guy' rather than somebody who likes to play with hardware much, but I've wanted to start doing basic robotics projects as a hobby for quite a while now. However, I was never sure where to start from and what the very first steps should be in order to get more familiar with the hardware aspects of robotics. For instance, I would like to start off with a simple soccer robot. Any suggestions on what low-budget parts should I obtain, which would provide me, subsequently, extensibility to a bit more elaborate projects?"
Re:Agree CNC mill (was Re:EMC2) (Score:5, Insightful)
With MakerSlide, it's quite easy.
Many things are easy for people who already know what they are doing. If the question had been "I want to build a CNC mill..." I'd agree, a kit is the easiest way to do it. Note, I didn't say "easy", I said "easiest". "Easy" is calling the vendor and having a completed mill show up in a box ready to run.
But for someone who says "I want to play with a soccer playing robot...", then a mill kit isn't going to be the best place to start. When/if he finishes the kit, and it works, and he doesn't get distracted or disappointed or burned out or simply tired of the process, he'll have a CNC mill and will have learned how to put that kit together. That's not much closer to a soccer playing robot than when he started.
I don't think a "software guy" is really going to need to start milling his own robot parts until he gets to generation three, or maybe two if he's really into it, of the robot. Having to build your own parts detracts from the other necessary parts of the project, like "how do I detect the ball", and "what are the necessary steps in doing this task?" It isn't until he's at "how do I make the hardware better" that a mill comes into play, really. Maybe for a mechanical engineer it starts there, but not a "software guy".
Start small and cheap (Score:3, Insightful)
Get to a Maker Faire. Several years ago I spent awhile talking with Bre Pettis about his new machine from MakerBot without realizing who he was. Take the kids! Solder your own badge! Learn how to make your own air powered rockets! My kids aren't even into robots think it is a blast. A word of waring... they make you sign a serious waiver for a reason. They expect you to pay attention to your surroundings and not blindly walk into that quadcopter demo. Make sure your kids are not texting as they walk. Look for some of the small booths/tables with guys that brought in their home brewed stuff. They were you not that long ago and would love to talk about hot to get started. The fancy booths are people looking to sell stuff. If your not looking to buy your own laser cutter.... they will let you look and they will be polite but they are looking to sell stuff.
http://makerfaire.com/ [makerfaire.com]
If you decide you want to start now and want to learn how things work....
Get this kit for $49:
http://www.adafruit.com/products/193 [adafruit.com]
Follow the tutorials starting here:
http://learn.adafruit.com/lesson-0-getting-started [adafruit.com]
Soon you will be a master of blinky lights. Think of it as "Hello world" for robotics.
If you think, "HOLY CRAP. I AM MAKING IT REALLY DO THINGS" Then continue. If you went, "HOLY CRAP, I JUST WASTED $50 AND A FEW HOURS OF MY LIFE TO MAKE A STUPID LIGHT BLINK" you might consider some of the more expensive options or re-consider your desire to do this. If you want to continue...
If you have an old printer laying around then rip some motors out of it. In fact anything that has a motor or is older electronics will soon be looked at with, "Hey, that has a nice transformer in it. Those are some nice through hole resisters. Would you look at those hardened steel rods! I wonder why they did it this way?"
Things to consider furthering the addiction:
motor shield with some basic motors
digital multimeter
Soldering iron, do not get one of those nasty Radio Shack $20 pieces of junk. You wouldn't try to build a small deck with a handsaw. This is one of the more expensive pieces you will buy, but it is one of those tools that you will use and will appreciate not having a junk one. This does not mean you need to get a super solder re-work station. Get one with a base station and dial control. Temp controlled would be great.
Go to a nearby electronics place that sells this stuff and buy some general wire, breadboard etc. They will appreciate the business and might be there someday when you really need that one part and don't want to wait for shipping. I was amazed to find one near me. They were rather knowledgeable compared to some certain chains (they had a soldering iron on the counter just in case)
An old computer with the following ports: MIDI(computers used to have a port with real IO, oh my), serial, USB, parallel. You might want to eventually talk to ports and individual pins without the OS in the way. Windows stopped allowing this with XP. A P4 is fast but gets warm and very power hungry. A PIII not so hot or power hungry but not as fast. An old laptop works great for this since it has a small footprint.
Start to follow a few web sites:
http://hackaday.com/ [hackaday.com]
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/?main_page=blog [adafruit.com]
http://blog.makezine.com/ [makezine.com]
http://dangerousprototypes.com/ [dangerousprototypes.com]
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/ [evilmadscientist.com]
http://diydrones.com/ [diydrones.com]
https://www.sparkfun.com/ [sparkfun.com]