R2Kee2

One third scale Astromech

R2Kee2 In Blue

This R2 unit was designed by my friend Damien Kee.

I used his building instructions to create my own version.

The head is built a bit different, and I'm not sure I like this one, yet.

I added a few internal supports, which Damien incorporated into his instructions.

This version is about 1/3 scale.  Coming up will be a photo shoot with him and his two bigger brothers, who are 1/2 scale and full size.

Brothers

Here's the little brother with his middle brother.

Building instructions and code are posted on Damien's web site: http://www.damienkee.com/r2d2

Additional information on Andrea's web site
http://vexiq.dreier-privat.de/projects/r2d2/r2d2.html

VEX IQ MS Worlds

Data for VEX IQ Worlds '17 - Middle School

This is live data for teams that are registered for VEX IQ Worlds '17.

Sample RobotC code for VEX IQ

Sample VEX IQ Code

I get a lot of questions about to to program VEX IQ using RobotC.

1. How do we make the arm move to a specific location?
2. Can we use the same program for Autonomous and Driver Command?
3. We have a list of commands that execute when we press a button.  Sometimes the robot will get stuck, while executing the commands.  How do we make it stop?

Below are three code samples.  They are intentionally posted as images in order to allow you the joy of typing each character, and learning something in the process.

The first code shows how to make a motor move to a specific location, using RUp and RDown (lines 11-19).

It also shows how to call the same block of code using the remote control OR touch LED (lines 20-37)

This image simply shows the above program converted to text using RobotC's "Convert Graphic File to Text" command.

This code demonstrates the use of tasks, for running code that can be interrupted at any time.

16-17 VEX IQ Teams from Indiana

VEX IQ teams qualified for '16-'17 Indiana State Tournament

This list should stay updated.  30 Middle School teams and 96 Elementary teams will qualify for the state tournament in March of '17

R2-IQ: Rebuilding

Rebuilding

Second Neck rebuild

R2 has been to a few shows, and there are several things that need tweaked.

Originally, the head-turning was driven by a single powered axle.  That put a huge amount of torque on the axle (and gears) and turned pretty slow.

I don't have a pic of the first rebuild, but it had one wheel driving the plate on the bottom of the head.

Third Neck rebuild

The second rebuild had four wheels driving the head.  Sort of.

I can't believe I screwed up the gearing like that.  The third rebuild works very well.

There will still be a wire coming out and attaching the brain to the LED sensor in the head, so the head can not spin 360, but it should turn very well.

Small opening

If anything happens to R2, like it gets knocked over, or I otherwise need to work on the inside, there is a very small hole in the body to reach through.

That makes maintenance very difficult.

Back panel w/Magnets

On Sunday (Build day 327) I decided to make a removeable panel for the back.  This will allow me to get inside and make adjustments as needed.

There are four sets of magnets that hold the back on.  Hopefully they will be strong enough to hold everything in place.

Back panel with hatch

There is a small hatch on the back, so I can turn it on and off.  I will have to take the back panel off to replace the battery.

Closed back

With the hatch closed, it looks clean.

Super Robo Rally V2

SRR Version 2:

Over the years, I've spent more time working on Super Robo Rally than any other project I've ever created.

SRR at Nexus Game Fair '16

In fact, I may have spent more time on it than all other projects, combined.  (maybe not.  I've had many projects)

After starting on it in 2010, it's been through more revisions than I can list.

The current system uses a Windows 7 PC running C# code to control the game, and communicate with the robots.

Over the summer, I will be working on Version 2.  This version will move from the C# engine currently used, to a MySQL database on a Raspberry Pi, where the Pi can also communicate with the robots via Bluetooth.

The best part about this, will be getting around the current weakness of Windows, where a PC can only communicate with 7 devices.  The Pi will be able to use multiple bluetooth dongles to communicate with robots.

I can't explain how much better this will make the whole system.  I'll try to follow up as this progresses.

R2-IQ: Printed Parts

R2-IQ: 3D Printed Parts

Complete Artoo Head

I just received 16 printed parts for R2-IQ.  The process for getting them was a long story...

I designed a couple pieces in SnapCAD (CAD software for VEX IQ) and posted them on the web, asking if anyone could create an stl file.  Within a day, I had a couple offers, and one very good file from David Knerr.

After we made a few tweaks of two parts, Davin printed the parts in one of Purdue Polytechnic's labs.

Assembly of Head

The two parts consist of a triangle-shaped piece (4x) and a diamond-like polygon (12x) which together fill all the area in R2's head.

The design of these parts allowed me to remove much of the internal structure that was required to create the original shape.

Head on body

The most time consuming part of assembling the new head was putting 240 pins into the 3D printed pieces.

Once it was complete, the new head has a lot less panels inside, and is much more rigid than the previous one.

The head is mounted on four rollers, which previously only raised the middle enough to stabilize it.  Now, there is actually a small gap between the head  and the body.

The new design drives a couple small wheels that the head is sitting on.  It's much freer to turn, and slip when people try to turn it manually.
The drive for the head was originally a motor & worm gear that turn an axle connected to the head.  This put a great deal of torque on a couple small pieces, especially when people would walk up and try to turn the head by hand.

R2-IQ: Round Head

R2-IQ: The Round Head

Part 1

The real challenge with R2-IQ has been making it round.  It's one thing to make a cylinder for the body, using the square VEX IQ parts.  It's another thing to make the head.

In SnapCAD (VEX IQ modeling software) I drew up a part that I thought would help.

Part 1 Printed

I posted my picture on line and asked some friends if they could help make a file for a 3D printer.

I received a reply from someone I didn't even know with this drawing that looked better than my original one.

"I didn't know the angles, so I used 70 degrees."

As near as I could tell, I wanted them to be about 18 degrees (or 72, depending on the reference)  In a very short order, he had a new drawing, and thanks to friends (Davin) at Purdue Polytechnic, I had the new part printed in no time.

Part 2 Hole

"Well, that was easy.  But can you make a part to fill this hole?", I challenged David.

Part 2 Hole in CAD

After clarifying some of the angles...

Part 1 actual angle

We discovered the actual angle of the original part should have been about 13 degrees.

I'm not sure how to calculate that angle.  I'm sure someone can.  David did it by lining up all the other parts in CAD and having it tell him the angle.

P2 Original Curve

In no time we had a new part design, which would fill the holes in the head.

P2 Original

After printing it, the part appeared to be a bit too "pointed".  So, instead of it being flush with the red & orange pieces, it was offset to an 11 degree angle.

Basically, I asked him to push the point in, while leaving the attachment points in the same place.

P2 Good Curve

The new (purple) piece has a very nice curve.  In addition, it has enough connection points that I should be able to remove most of the internal structure.

Head with Parts

The first picture of the head with the printed parts installed.

The curve looks very good.

R2-IQ: Filler Parts

R2-IQ at VEX Worlds

I started this post a few weeks ago, and didn't complete it.  

Modified Feet

Before VEX Worlds (in April) I made some tweaks to the feet.  At Brickworld Indy, I had issues with the axles coming out.  So I added more support, and didn't have any issues with them for the 4 days it drove at Worlds.

Small Rebuild

However, I did still have an issue at Worlds.  Turns out trying to back over holes in the floor would cause the legs to buckle and he fell over.

Inside of arm

This is a look inside the arm.  I wasn't sure if I had posted any pictures of the shoulder, so I took this shot.

New Part

I had an idea to fill in the head.  If I can get four of this part, it will allow me to put several plates in place to help create a curve.

This was drawn in SnapCad, and has "wings" at 18 degrees.

VEX IQ Middle School Worlds '16

Worlds '16 Data

Here's a bunch of data I've collected about teams attending VEX IQ Worlds Middle School division in 2016.

It should be noted that this data has come from different times in the season, from various tournaments, and also Skills events that sometimes do not host Teamwork events.  While it may provide some comparison between teams, each team's results in qualifying and in the finals depends a great deal on other teams at that event.  This table does not indicate how much a team may improve between the tournament listed, and Worlds.

This table lists the tournament from which this data was collected for each team.

The Program and Driver Skill scores are pulled from the tournament listed, or the World Ranking, whichever is greater.
"All Avg" is the average score of all qualifying matches for that team.
"Used Avg" is the average, not including scores that were dropped.
The table is sorted by "Average", which is:
(([Total Used] + [Final])/([Qualifying Matches] + 1) + [Program Skill] + [Driver Skill]) / 3

If teams don't have a score in a category, a value of zero is used.



*** this data was pulled live from the web site, and that web site has been updated, so the data is no longer available.

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VEX Power

Charging Station

With a couple big projects and four VEX IQ teams, the chargers can quickly get out of control.  So, I built a charging station to keep things in line.

The back is simply a piece of wood with a handle cut into it.

The power strip is attached by screws, and the chargers are attached with 3M VHB double-sided tape.

All designed to fit into the VEX IQ storage box.

R2-IQ: On Display

Build Day 52:

R2 On Display

"The" movie is in theaters.  Today was my target day to finish.  52 days in, I can present it as complete.  But, like many projects, it will never really be complete.

I brought R2 into work to show him off.  Everyone loves him.  I've been passed in the hall many times and the normal mindless greeting of "how are you" has been replaced with "very cool".

That makes me smile.

New design for shoulder

Last night, I totally rebuilt the arm, and how it connects to the body.  I don't have any good pictures right now.  Generally, I redesigned it so the arm would split in two pieces and the upper arm would remain attached to the shoulder.  That allowed me to build a more rigid pivoting point, but still allow disassembly for transport.

R2 Standing on 2 legs

I still have a number of things I want to work on.

1. Fill in the gaps in the head
2. Replace the shells for the outside feet
3. Build a shell for the third leg
4. Motorize raising the third leg
5. Rebuild the bottom skirt so it is lower
6. Add more decorative stuff to the body
7. Find out why the head-turn motor is so loud
8. Attempt to speed up movement
9. Fix the colors on the shoulders
10. Add better sounds & lights (arduino) 

Even with all that, it's still good.  I think I can say I will never retire it.

While the build is "complete", this is where the journey really begins.  Right?

R2-IQ: Photoshoot

Build Day 50

Standing on three legs

I'm trying to take some good pictures that I can share.

I went down in the basement, turned on all the lights, and one of them proceeded to stop working.

So, the pictures are not as well-lit as I want, but it will have to do, for now.

Front View

Standing on two legs

Tall looking droid

R2-IQ on TV

Build Day 49

Looking good

Our visit to the Game Preserve was captured and broadcast last night.  Today, the news was loaded with stories that started, "In anticipation of the new Star Wars movie..." (someone did something)

So, I did my part.  Check out the story, which is slightly longer than the ad you must watch at the beginning.

WLFI News Story

A couple corrections:
1) The story starts by him saying "...the 45 robot...", which I think should have been "... the 45 day old robot..."
2) I said I'd been working on it for 45 days.  It was actually 48.
3) The total number of pieces is more like 4,000 than 40,000.  About 2,400 of those are pins.
4) I said I was a robotics coach.  They said I'm a teacher.  OK...

Highlights of the night:
A) Matt helping me assemble it.
B) Kurt reminding me of the items on my list (weight, part count, creation time, cost)
C) The people present expressing how cool it was
D) Seth being impressed that we got TV18 to show up.

R2-IQ at the Game Preserve

R2-IQ as it looks right now

Build Day 48

Tonight, we'll be taking R2-IQ to a local gaming store, the Game Preserve, to display.

At the same time they will be playing several Star Wars games like IMPERIAL ASSAULT SKIRMISH, X-Wing, Armada, and/or Star Wars LCG.

Stop in and check it out, or visit the GP Facebook web site.

Stats:

Weight: 43lbs
Material: VEX IQ robotic construction parts
Part Count: 3,300 pieces

R2-IQ: Broken Arm

Build Day 45:

Outline of feet

My latest task was to create a shell for the feet which will go on the outside legs.

The feet themselves are not going to move (like the real R2).  The shell is going to move to keep the feet looking flat to the ground.

Standing R2-IQ

I did a full assembly of the current version.  I still need to fill-in the head and finish up the feet.  Beyond that, a few more decorative items, and it will be great.

Fallen Hero

I put it into three-leg mode, and drove it around a bit.  Turns out the new better-looking arms are not as rigid as the old ones.

One of them gave out, just below the shoulder, and the whole body crashed to the floor.

Broken leg

The only thing that was really damaged was the arm.  The whole robot came down on it.

I don't really mean it was damaged.  It came apart.  When I put it back together, it will be stronger.

We can rebuild him.  Better.  Stronger.  Faste...  well, the same speed.  (showing my age?)

Broken Pin

There was one pin in the body that was broken.  It took me about 10 minutes to snap the body back together.  Five of that was trying to figure out why two plates wouldn't go back in place, because there was a bent pin between them.

Just to be clear, this was not a part failure.  It was the result of the entire robot falling over.

R2-IQ: Getting More Difficult

Build Day 43:

Progress is hard to obtain, now.  I'm not sure I'll be happy with how it looks (compared to an actual Artoo).  Most will see it an say it looks great, but I can't get the detail I really want in the curved exterior, and the head is going to be a mess.

Building a round robot with square parts is not easy.

R2-IQ: Head Turn

Build Day 42

Failed assembly (doesn't fit)

Today I was working on mounting the head, and getting it to turn.

At this point, it's going to turn slow.

My first attempt would not fit in the body.

Head Internal

There will be one axle that goes up through the body and into the head.  That should keep it pretty straight.

Head connection

The bottom of the head has a couple plates that line up with a plate on the "head-turning-assembly".  This will make it easy to attach and remove.

Head motor assembly

The final assembly has a worm-gear drive, and two roller-wheels  for the head to sit on, to allow it to turn more easily.

R2-IQ: Weekend Progress

Build Day 41:

Prototype shoulder curve

I spent a lot of time over the weekend, and made very little progress.

My main task over the weekend was building the legs.  I had some prototype legs which were mainly created for their length.

I spent a great deal of time trying to create a good curve at the top of the shoulders.

Shoulder and top of leg

Once I found a good curve, I built it up and discovered the internal structure of the curve hit the internal structure of the shoulder.  I spent a lot of time trying to tweek it, and finally found a way to make it work.

Building a new leg from the old

Then I was able to take apart the old legs, and create a new one.

Standing on the new leg

There are still parts of the leg that need filled in.  I should be getting the new parts in a couple days.  Mainly need some 4x4 plates in white, which I somehow did not put into my original order.

If you look close, you'll notice I've only made one new leg here.

Lower Flange supports

The bottom of R2 has a flange that sticks down on the bottom.  I had to pull the body off the bottom ring, reorient a couple angle connectors, and reattach the body.

Then, I was able to install supports for the flange.

(not sure that's the "correct" name for that part.)

Lower Flange

Once I got all the supports installed and mounted the white pieces...  I didn't like it.

I don't think this part will change in the next couple weeks.  I'll have to live with it.

R2-IQ Pieces

One challenge I will face with R2-IQ is transporting it.  When I break it down, it's pretty light.

In order to take off the legs, the shoulders need to be removable.  I will have to see if they are sturdy enough when they are easy to remove, or if I must make them harder to remove, and more sturdy.

(I just realized I put two of the leg-buttons on wrong, so both legs look the same.  will fix that)

Modified Head

Using only VEX parts, I don't think I'll be able to put as much detail into this as I would like.  There aren't enough "decorative" parts, like there are with LEGO.

Do I want more decorative parts?  Not really.

Standing on two legs

Here's R2-IQ standing on two legs.

Sort of.

I didn't bother to raise the third leg for this picture.  The brain is not attached (see loose wires).

Standing on three legs

R2-IQ can stand on three legs.

I still need to build a shell that goes over the outside feet.  The shell will be able to swing, to make it look like the foot is flat on the ground, even though only one of the two wheels will be rolling.