The Phidgets library compiles and installs on my Lemote YeeLoong. The netbook appears to need 20 volts while Microtron’s battery is 12 volts – so I’ll either add a boost-up circuit or use something else for Microtron’s on-board processor.
In the meantime, I’ll be ready for coding when the 8/8/8 arrives.
I ordered the Phidget Interface Kit 8/8/8 today. I read the description and it appears that the rat’s nest of sensor cables, miscellaneous wires, and assorted home-brewed circuit boards that are currently on board my Microton Robot can all be replaced by one off-the-shelf, miniature-sized component board. The field of robotics has come a long way since the early ’80s.
The Phidget 8/8/8 boasts 8 analog inputs, 8 digital inputs, and 8 digital outputs. This will cover all of Microtron’s currently designed functionality, with plenty of room for expansion down the road. Phidget also supplies the library as GPL’d source code, which I hope means that I’ll be able to develop on a GNU/Linux system.
Another plus: I’ll be able to access the device via a single USB port. After programming Microtron in 6502 machine code (w/ 4K of RAM), I’m really looking forward to doing some higher-level, language based robot programming instead.
The phidget libraries are written in C and I plan to write the first stages of Microtron’s new code in C as well. Some of my AI theories are object-based, so I may play around with Objective-C once Microtron’s basic functionality is working.
Found this diagram while cleaning the basement. I’d guess it’s circa aprox. 1980 or so.
April 1977 Interface Age Magazine. Cover scan courtesy of The Vintage Computer
Tod Loofbourrow’s original Microtron robot (which he called “Mike”) was featured in the April 1977 issue of Interface Age magazine. Prominently displayed on the cover, Tod’s “Mike” had at this point only reached the first stage of his development. Tod later added the eight-sided outer frames and impact sensors before writing his book about the robot.
Visible in this picture is the KIM-1 computer which controlled all the functions of the robot. In this early stage, the robot could be under joystick control, but later, after the impact sensors were installed, it was entirely self-directing.
His upper frame restored, Microtron patiently awaits his next update - a power source.
Microtron robot in 1983. The robot is facing to the left.
The photo above shows Microtron in all his fully-functional glory in 1983. Sometime in 1998, as part of an earlier restoration and clean-up effort, I removed the outer panels and the upper frame – as is visible in this more recent photo from 2009:
Microtron in 2009, fresh out of storage. Upper outer frame and panels are missing.
I decided that the first step in restoring functionality was to get the robot’s frame back together. Here are the original pieces, laid out in their proper order, ready to be bolted back together. Each piece is individually numbered (the number labels are on the inside of the pieces as is visible in the photo) – I merely followed the diagram from Tod’s original book:
upper frame pieces
A few nuts and bolts were missing, but I picked up replacements at a local hardware store. The new screws are identical to their 25 year old counterparts, except shinier. There were no problems in reassembling the upper outer frame, and here is Microtron with his now complete frame:
Microton with restored complete frame, 2009
Working with colleagues in 1956, Benjamin Bloom developed the idea of six levels of cognitive thinking, which he named Bloom’s Taxonomy. The levels, in order of lowest to highest thinking level, are knowledge; comprehension; application; analysis; evaluation; and synthesis. For information on Bloom’s Taxonomy, see
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/adapthandbook/learner/cdbrain.html#blooms
In the early 1970s, a bright 12-year old named Tod Loofbourrow built a 70 pound motorized mobile robot which he dubbed “Microtron” (or “Mike” for short). His robot was controlled by the KIM-1 computer and both he and his early ‘bot were written-up in the April, 1977 issue of Interface Age magazine.
He continued to develop the robot, and at the age of 16, he was approached by Hayden Publishing to write a book about it. In 1978, How to Build a Computer Controlled Robot was published:
Tod moved on to other things, but many hobby roboticists in the late 70s through the 1980s built their own Microtron robots using his book. This website is about one of them. (There are some others in this site’s Blogroll.)
ZagrosRobotics