make sure readers know where to get class content
[challenge-bot] / guide / hausner / 2016 / 08 / overview.org
1 #+TITLE:hausner challenge-bot overview
2 #+SETUPFILE: ../../org-html-themes/setup/theme-readtheorg.setup
3 * assembling the hardware
4 go to the [[file:0-mechanical-assembly/mechanical-assembly.html][mechanical assembly]] page to see excruciating detail
5 on how to put the mechanical parts together.
6 * software
7 software is available as nice neat installable packages for
8 Mac OS X, GNU+Linux, and MS Windows.
9
10 it's also available in source code form, so you can compile it for
11 other platforms.
12
13 all software used in this robot is available for you to use for any
14 purpose, improve, and, share those improvements (if you want).
15 ** robot behavior: arduino
16 control how the robot gets information from sensors, and moves
17 its motors.
18
19 https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
20 ** part shaping: openscad
21 create robot parts!
22
23 use this program to view parts inside the "3d-printables"
24 directory of the class content.
25 there's a class content section below.
26 write code to modify the parts and create completely new ones.
27
28 http://www.openscad.org/downloads.html
29 ** wiring: fritzing
30 wire up components!
31
32 you can also create your own circuit board layouts and get your
33 design fabricated by fritzing.
34
35 http://fritzing.org/download/?donation=0
36 ** extract: 7-zip
37 extract the contents of .tgz files, like the content of this class.
38
39 this is needed on MS Windows(tm) only.
40
41 if you are on Mac OS X, or GNU (on top of cygwin or linux), then you
42 do not need this.
43 operating systems other than MS Windows can extract class content
44 with no extra software.
45
46 http://7-zip.org/
47 * class content
48 all the source code for the class is available here:
49
50 http://challenge-bot.com/repos/?p=challenge-bot;a=snapshot;h=232ff7a14f9d8be27362c268c6cdd1b67f59a24a;sf=tgz
51
52 what follows is a high level description of the contents of the most
53 important top level directories in the class content.
54 ** 3d-printables
55 the parts of the robot that are 3d-printed are in this directory.
56 use openscad to open the parts in this directory.
57 ** build-stages
58 all the wiring diagrams and arduino code live in this directory.
59
60 under this directory, there is one subdirectory for each
61 build stage.
62 each build stage is prefixed with a letter to make it appear in
63 order.
64 for example, =a_serial= contains the first build stage.
65 * troubleshooting
66 to troubleshoot a misbehaving robot, go through these stages
67 in order until you find a stage that does not work correctly.
68
69 first, in =a_serial=, you'll check whether the arduino can
70 communicate over the serial connection with the computer.
71
72 in each stage, make sure the wires shown in the fritzing
73 diagram are correctly connected on your robot.
74 then load the corresponding arduino sketch to your robot
75 and either check the serial monitor, or turn on the motor battery.
76
77 this will help you pinpoint exactly where the problem lies on your
78 robot.