Category Archives: How-To

Instructional information on making your own cellbot

Handling 3.3v to 5v Logic Level conversion

Posted on April 26, 2010 by ryan

Most projects using a 5v Arduino board for robots are going to run into some 3.3v circuits at some point. This might be the serial line coming from a G1 Android phone or an inexpensive Bluetooth module. To deal with … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To | 9 Comments

Updated CAD Designs & Acrylic Cutting

Posted on April 25, 2010 by ryan

We wanted to share a little more about the process behind the design of the Truckbot. The process starts by using SolidWorks to do the CAD work, and then exporting those files to PDF, and then using CorelDRAW for the … Continue reading →

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Using Plastic Heat Shrink To Protect Electronics

Posted on April 24, 2010 by ryan

The robots we’re using for Cellbots are typically very small and use tiny wires to connect all of the circuits. We’ve had cases where two of these wires bend and start shorting, and other times where we’ve pulled too hard … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To | 2 Comments

Using Bluetooth On Android & Nokia

Posted on April 23, 2010 by ryan

The Nrover Cellbot running on Nokia phones has always been using Bluetooth, and now we’re using it for the Android Truckbot and Tankbot too. This is thanks to an upgrade to the Android Scripting Environment, which now allows for Python … Continue reading →

Posted in How-To | 7 Comments

Hacking Servos for Continuous Rotation

Posted on April 22, 2010 by ryan

Our inexpensive Truckbot robots have been using tiny $3 micro servos that get modified for continuous rotation. We do this by removing some plastic that prevents the gears from going all the way around and then bypassing the potentiometer inside. … Continue reading →

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