So I must come up with a battleplan to tackle this monster of a project.
BATTLEPLAN:
1. Create the battleplan (this list)
2. (Small) purchase of some components for testing
Air compressor & tank Pneumatic Cylinders ( single and double-acting cylinders) Solenoids (something like this) Arduino (have that, and the Intel Galileo if needed) Transistor (before I had a relay board but apparently a TIP120 Transistor is all I need to fire the solenoid)
3. Hardware Setup & Programming
Wire everything up Should be pretty basic. Arduino -> relay -> solenoid -> pneumatic cylinders
Start programming! Simple test case of extending and retracting a single pneumatic cylinder Work on two cylinders at once and see if there is a noticeable lag between starting and stopping Add more and more cylinders until Arduino cannot handle it or I run out of cylinders.
Testing and feasibility study(can this work?, do I have enough power and speed on the Ardunio ? that sort of stuff)
4. Purchase more components
5. Integrate components into overall testing setup
6. Start working on design of robot
Where do the pneumatic cylinders go Why should it go there and not over there?
How will the robot keep its balance? A ccelerometer? Gyroscope? Both? Multiple?
Size of the robot? Probably around adult-sized, so I can work on it easier and I don't have to worry as much about smaller more expensive components
Feet This is going to require a lot of experimentation. I don't like the flat footed (literally and figuratively) nature of most robots, so we will have to design a new foot, with a ball for a heel and a split both length-wise and wide-wise(better control just at the feet)
Arms Does it need arms? (probably)
Hands? Probably later since they are difficult and require smaller and more expensive components and aren't needed for walking and moving. Although they would help save the robot if it falls but I may just use some sort of counter-balance system for that
Torso In a perfect world a lot of the control components and air compressor and supply would go there but the compressor and supply will be off-robot in the beginning.
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