Servo Magazine - April 2007

Page 84 8:18 PM 3/8/2007 Cover.qxd Vol. 5 No. 4 SERVO MAGAZINE FIRST • FUTURE OF ROBOTICS • FAILSAFE DESIGN • BIOCRAB • INERTIAL NAVIGATOR April 2007 4 74470 58285 0 0 4> $7.00 CANADA $5.50 U.S. CoverInside.qxd 3/6/2007 4:43 PM Page 2 Perfect projects for kids of all ages! robotic kits chassis servos passives optos Robotic Kits Components... ...there’s something for everyone! Robotic kits help you and your child to experience and learn about perception and control using a variety of sensors and actuators. Challenge yourself with Jameco’s selection of fun and interactive kits! You or your child can assemble the kits and then enjoy endless hours of discovery. Check out our unique selection of robotic kits at . Robot Insects & Animals . Solar Robots . Listening, Touching & Seeing Robots . Hackable Robots www.RobotStore.com! . Programmable Robots . Educational Kits . Legged and Wheeled Platforms . OctoBot Survivor Kit integrated circuits At Jameco’s RobotStore you can get the world’s most complete robotic offering— all in one place! You’ll find kits for all ages and experience levels, along with gear semiconductors boxes, servos and chassis, for those who are ready to take on the extreme. muscle wires Robotic Kits and Components... The World’s Most Complete Of fering! Enthusiasts, Start Dream ing... Gift Givers , Take Note.. . connectors Engineers, We’ve Got It All! motors I-800-374-576 4 WWW.ROBO TSTORE.CO M CATALOG I62 test equipment WWW.ROBOTSTORE.COM/SRD I-800-374-5764 software books Call for your free catalog today! Full Page.qxd 3/6/2007 4:51 PM Page 3 TOC Apr07.qxd 3/9/2007 8:21 AM Page 4 Features & Projects 36 40 Seeing With OpenCV by Robin Hewitt Part 4: Face Recognition With Eigenface. A Simple Inertial Navigator by David Avikasis, Shachar Braver, and Shlomo Engelberg Travel the road to an inertial navigation system using simple and inexpensive parts. 44 48 61 68 2007 NERC Motorama by David Calkins This month: Artbots. by Pete Smith A mix of Beetles and Fairies and Ants, oh my! Columns Robytes by Monty Reed Build this “charter” robot from takenout-of-service medical equipment. 10 GeerHead Robot Simulation: Systems-Level Applications 14 Ask Mr. Roboto 18 Lessons From The Lab Chart Recorder Bots Build the BioCrab by Michael Simpson Putting the AX-12 from Robotis to work in another build. Failsafe Design and Implementation for RC Robots by Jay and Valerie Johnson Take the time to understand your specific robot components to design robust safety procedures. 4 ROBOGames Prep 08 by Bryan Bergeron A systems-level perspective is useful because it often provides insight for improvements to your robot designs and helps diagnose problems. 55 64 SERVO 04.2007 by Jeff Eckert Stimulating Robot Tidbits by David Geer Robot Snakes “Side-Wind” to a Perfect Cut by Pete Miles Your Problems Solved Here by James Isom The Runt and the Compass 72 Robotics Resources by Gordon McComb Joining an Online Robotics Community 78 Appetizer 79 Then and Now by Lester “Ringo” Davis FIRST by Tom Carroll The Future of Robotics SERVO Magazine (ISSN 1546-0592/CDN Pub Agree #4