I started this page a while ago, and then, I got really busy for a while (many projects!), then I got lazy :). I will try to update this page when I have a chance and more importantly, when I feel like doing so :). So, I guess it'll be under huge construction for a little while longer!!! Justin & Herald Performing Micromouse Theme Song (warning: huge download - 7.5MB) DivX Encoded. Download DivX 5.11 IEEE Region 1 Student Chapters held a student conference annually, which consists of a student paper contest and micromouse competition. The 2004 conference is held in State University of New York at Stony Brook, NY. Having graduated from Suffolk University two years ago, I resumed the position of an advisor to the Suffolk 2004 micromouse team. This is the robotics competition where I have had the most fun. Not only did the Suffolk micromouse team win the competition by a landslide (first and second), we also came up with the Micromouse Theme Song (warning: huge download - 7.5MB), with Justin and Harold being the singer and guitar player respectively. Check it out! It's REALLY funny. One thing to note is that this clip was recorded BEFORE the competition. As for why we performed this impromptu song instead of testing our robots, I have no idea. I believe it's either because of the confidence of having a good robot mouse or simply due to the nerve of the competition. But I believe this should be the theme song of every Micromouse Robotics Competition. Robotics has been my hobby (a very expensive one!) for quite a while. With my interest in hardware control through software (mostly, assembly), I am doing my own robotics research for fun, and making my own robots from components/parts that are easy to obtain. I buy most of my tools and parts from online shops (mostly from Digikey, Jameco and Acroname). For most robots I design, the controlling is done using MicroChip PICs. Thanks to MicroChip for these excellent, awesome, easy-to-program and affordable chips. The following page lists some of the robotics stuffs I have done or in the process of doing. Documenting all my work has become such an enormous task that I simply don't have time for. I try to record as much as possible in my robotics projects, and provide as much information as possible about the designing and building process. If you are interested in some of my projects, and are not clear about some of the materials presented here, or would like some more information, please feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to discuss anything robotics. These are Sumo and Scout, the two robots that won the 2001 IEEE Region I microMouse competition. These are the first two robots I took part in building. My best friend, Jozef Scesnak, is the main guy in developing these 2 winning robots. He started the project in 1999, and we got it ready for the year 2001 competition. I am the main programmer for both microMice. Sumo (the top one) is the winner, finding the center of the maze in less than 1 minute; Scout is the first runner-up, finding the center a few seconds slower than Sumo. More information on Sumo, Scout and the 2001 microMouse competition will be added soon. This is SHY-BOT. As its name implies, this robot is extremely shy. It will try to stay away from people and objects whenever possible. When SHY-BOT is turned on, it starts looking around. If anyone tries to catch it (put your hand in front of it, etc, etc), it will back off really fast away from you. It will keep running until it feels that you are far enough. When cornered or abused for too long, SHY-BOT will attack you at full speed. So, you can have fun playing around with it, just don't provoke it for too long! It is cute, and I have tons of fun building it. More information on SHY-BOT will be added soon. Interested in building your own robots? Here are some basic components of a robot you need to know: Motors Motors are the engine for your robots. They are probabaly the most important part of your robots that you need to get good control on. There are basically 3 types of motors: DC motor, Stepper and Servo (well, there are many others, but in Robotics, these are the main ones). Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. I have used all three types. When I want speed, I use DC motors; for control (in moving), I go for stepper motors; and if I need extremely precise angular control, I will go for servo motors. Click here to learn more about all 3 types of motors. Sensors Sensors are basically the 'eyes' and 'ears' of your robots. They allow the robots to see the world. Some of the basic types that have been used are: Infra Red, Sonar and Touch sensors. If you want your robots to see better (i.e. tell distances, etc), you can go for the so-called Rangers. There are some extremely useful rangers made by Sharp and Devantech. Some of them even give you an 8-bit digital reading (Sharp GP2D02). Click here for more information. Microcontrollers More information coming soon. Power Supply More information coming soon. Chassis More information coming soon.

Copyright © 2001 by Rudy Rudy. All rights reserved.