Sensors

The order finally came in:

IR Range Finder

Sharp GP2D12 IR Range Sensor - 10cm to 80cm.

Accelerometer:

ADXL322 2g +/- Buffered Accelerometer.
This will be used for mapping to measure speed and distance traveled. 

Ultrasonic Range Finder

LV-MaxSonar -EZ3.
Will be used for mapping and navigation for object detection/avoidance. 

RF Transmitter/Receiver

On Shine 433MHz. For robot control and robot to robot communication.

Digital Compass
 

CMPS03 Module. For direction orientation during mapping.

A to D and Uart

Continued programming in MPLABS. We moved on to more complex programs (no more leds). We got serial communication going through the Uart port so that we could display debugging information in Hyperterminal. After this, getting analog to digital conversion working was much easier. By the end of the day we were successfully displaying analog readings from the potentiometers in Hyperterminal.

Library...

Library Worshop....  >_<

MPLABS

Started programming with MPLABS. Simple digital input/output (ie blinking leds and pushbuttons)

Block Diagram

After deciding all the sensors/components we wanted to use, the first real step we took in the design process was to make a very general block diagram to get a good idea of how everything was going to interface. All the modules were assigned to specific pins on the PIC microcontroller to ensure that there were enough space to incorporate everything we wanted to.

Wall Following

Wall following seemed like it would be very helpful for room exploration/mapping. We figured the easiest (and cheapest) way to do this was with those analog IR Rangefinders. When you're making two of something, the price likes to add up. $12.63 * 2 per robot * 2 robots  = $50.20....

Wireless

We decided to use RF for wireless communications instead of wifi because of budget restraints. I decided to get the On Shine 433MHz High RF transmitter/receiver pair from Robot Shop. It's cheap and looks like it will cover our needs.

Chassis

Due to time constraints, we decided to purchase a premade chassis opposed to desgning/constructing our own. We chose the Arduino Robot Rover platform from RobotShop. It comes with the drivetrain and it already has mounting spots for most of the sensors/hardware we plan on using so there will be hardly any modification needed. Win win!

Microcontroller

We are using the dsPic30F6014A microcontroller by microchip. We also get to use an MPLAB ICE 4000 emulator with a dsPICDEM 1.1 development board which is awsome for testing and debugging.

Day 1

This was our first day at Mentorship. I met Ilia my partner and Tom MacDonald our mentor. We spent most of the day brainstorming project ideas. After much debate we finally settled on making a robot (or pair of robots) that autonomously search a room for an IR (infrared) beacon.