Robobuilder

Assembled Robobuilder "Huno"

One can control the Robobuilder from within an interactive Ruby session (also available as 15.5 MByte DivX3 video and available on Youtube)

The Robobuilder Kit contains components for assembling a humanoid robot

Ruby Examples

Using the RBC controller

You can download the Ruby-extension for controlling the Robobuilder using a GNU+Linux PC here:

robobuilder-0.2.2.tar.bz2

Here is a small example program which makes the robot get up if it's lying on its back or its front.

#!/usr/bin/env ruby
require 'robobuilder'
require 'matrix'
class Vector
  def norm
    Math.sqrt inner_product( self )
  end
end
robot = Robobuilder.new '/dev/ttyUSB0'
puts "Robobuilder"
puts "Serial number: #{robot.serial_number}"
acceleration = Vector[ *robot.accelerometer ]
if acceleration.inner_product( Vector[ 0, 0, 1 ] ) >
    acceleration.norm * 0.97
  robot.basic
  robot.a
elsif acceleration.inner_product( Vector[ 0, 0, 1 ] ) <
    -acceleration.norm * 0.97
  robot.basic
  robot.b
end
acceleration = Vector[ *robot.accelerometer ]
if acceleration.inner_product( Vector[ 0, 1, 0 ] ) >
    acceleration.norm * 0.97
  robot.run 1
end
robot.close

Todo

• Implement various commands of direct mode
• Implement commands for uploading motion sequences
• Add support for Bluetooth communication
• Port serial communication module to Windows
• Computer vision feedback using (external) webcam

External Links

• Robobuilder Ltd. (Korean manufacturer)
• Robosavvy (UK distributor)
  • Robobuilder 5710K Humanoid Kit
  • Robobuilder Bluetooth Communication Module
  • Robobuilder Triaxial Acceleration Sensor Module
  • Robobuilder Creator users manual
  • Serial protocol to communicate with Robobuilder controller
  • Source code of Robobuilder controller
  • Forum post about this Ruby project
  • RoboBuilder enhanced with RoBoard (capable of running GNU/Linux)
• Robodance (free software to control toy robots)
• Robobuilder base dance video
• Video of Robobuilder at Roboworld 2008 (Seoul)