OTvinta Cube Solver Application - Project Day 4
WIP - Solved Servo power issue & continue learning Maestro script programming
Received variable power supply (1.5-12v, 3A) - Time to head over to the MakerSpace and test out the robot
12/29 - First tested with the old variable power supply I dug out in the garage (6v 3A) - nope, the problem is still there. Tried with the new one I just received, set it to 6v (5A) - the problem is almost gone as the servo shaking and half Turing happens later in the loop. Raised the voltage to 6.2v 5A (one of the EE mentor I have here at the MakerSpace suspected a possible power/voltage dip) - Boom, all the problem fixed related to the shaking and half turn.
Need Grip & Arm calibration - Although the servos are turning quickly with no half turns, I still have issue with the grip grabbing the cube wrong and twisting the cube as it tries to turn it. As it was recommended by the OT Vinta, I will need to 1) Mechanically tighten/straighten all grips and arms, 2) On the Maestro software, calibrate the servos to ensure all the grip & arms are holding the Rubik’s cube tightly.
Need to camera configuration or replace - To test the camera and ensure the robot can solve the cube, I helped the robot grab the cube correctly whenever it gets twisted. The cube solving loop moves on for a while and stops with the error code - Cube Grid Detection Error (this is what OT Vinta engineer warned me about). Rather than trouble shoot the camera that is known to have to issue, I pressed the Easy button by ordering a recommended web cam from Amazon ($8) - expected shipment is end of Jan 2020 - Feb 2020
Next Step - while we put the project on hold an wait for the camera we can 1) 3D print the replacement parts for the robot to house the new camera, 2) I can write the script directly to the Maestro controller board to run a demo of it moving the cube (as if it was solving it on the mean time)
After having some time playing around with the Pololu Maestro Servo Controller Board, I must say I was very impressed with the capability and programmability it offered. I had 10 micro 9g servos that was laying around. I hook up all 10 on the newly purchased 12Ch board to practice programming it. Awesome. I really like it & definitely will be using this board for my future electronics and robotics projects.
