B.E.A.M.
BEAM is an acronym standing for :
Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics and Mechanics
last updated Mar 27, 2007
BEAM robots attempts to :
- use minimal electronics (keep it simple, reduced parts count)
- recycle & reuse components out of technoscrap
- use solar power, if possible By Brian O. Bush
Solar powered robots need
solar-engines (relaxation oscillator) because most robots do not get enough
power from the solar cells. Have you try to hook up a small calculator solar
cell with a motor ? Nothing happen. It's because the
motor needs more energy to turn it on. So they need to use solar-engine to save
up enough power to move, even in full sunlight. Without a solar-engine, the
solar robot probably be stand still on a cloudy day. By using a solar-engine, you
can also use a much smaller solar cell, even the solar cell from the solar-calculator !!
last updated : Mar 27, 2007
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Nov 27, 2002 |
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Oct 26, 2002 |
Oct 30- Nov 19 My
vacation finally :-) |
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Feb.25, 2002 |
Tutorial on DIY :
"Dark" Detector finally :-) |
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More pics
: M. Ahn on Hall of Fame |
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Dec. 5, 2001 |
More pics
: Michael Jovan on Hall of Fame |
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Dec. 3, 2001 |
Really small NiCd
battery for white led, "Dark" detector or solar-beacon |
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Nov. 26, 2001 |
More pics
DIY : "Dark"
Detector |
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Nov. 20, 2001, nov. 23, 2001 |
More pics
: Steve Red and Frans Storms on Hall of Fame |
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Nov. 12, 2001 Nov. 7,
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More pics
: Frans Storms on Hall of Fame |
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Oct. 25, 2001 |
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Frans Storms on Hall of Fame |
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Sep. 19, 2001 |
Lego : Walker (Droid
Developer Kit) |
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Sep. 19, 2001 |
Dan Roe on Hall of Fame |
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Aug. 29, 2001 |
More pics
on Hall of Fame |
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Aug 3, 2001 |
What is Terminal Block ? |
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July 25, 2001 |
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July 11, 2001 |
photo-transistors comes
with Bicore Head kit #6 now |
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July 8, 2001 |
More pics
on Hall of Fame |
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July 5, 2001 |
Pack & move to a new
place!! Slow down on bot-building :-( |
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June 21, 2001 |
Photo-transistor for Bicore-Head is here :-) |
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June 18, 2001 |
More pics
on Hall of Fame !!! |
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May 5, 2001 |
Limping |
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Umbrella Aluminium backbone : -)
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Lego R2D2 Droid Developer Kit
Solarengines are classified into 3 categories:
Type 1 : The motor turns when the pre-set voltage in the
circuit reaches
Type 2 : The motor turns at a preset interval of time
Type 3 : The motor is "charge curve
differentiated." It's sort of a combination of type-1 and type-2. When
capacitor slows down it's charging
rate, it triggers the circuit. 9 Nov., Y2K : Ben Hitchcock's type 3 SE and 10 Nov., Y2KWilf
Rigter's type 3 SE
Currently, most of my robots are using
type 1 solar-engine : the normal FLED triggered
Solar-engine.
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M1: Motor. Any type, but
pager motor is the most efficient.
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This is
the original circuit designed by Mark Tilden. It is the basis for all of the other solar-engines created
thus far. The D1 can be zener diode and can be
replaced with 3 diodes (1N4148) in series, a flashing LED (FLED), or even a
resistor (10k Ohms). Ivar Thorson
found that using a flashing LED is the most efficient. And thanks to Ben Hitchcock, a modified version of FLED solar-engine
( he named it Fred) is made possible to pop its way
just under desk-lamp.
Fred's
Schematic
The
solar-engine works like this:
The solar cell charges the capacitor (C1)
continually until the voltage reaches the trigger voltage of (D1), then the capacitor is discharged to the motor via the two
transistors (Q1 & Q2). The resistor (R1) determines how much current passes
through the motor when it is triggered.
From the father of BEAM robotics: Mark W. Tilden
...The science behind the idea
stems from current concepts in artificial intelligence (AI), artificial life (ALife), evolutionary biology, and genetic algorithms. It
seems that building large complex robots hasn't worked well, so why not try to
evolve them from a lesser to a greater ability as mother
nature has done with biologics? The problem is that such a concept
requires self-reproducing robots which won't be possible to build (if at all)
for years to come. A solution, however, is to view a human being as a robot's way of making another robot, to have an annual venue where
experimenters can let their creations interact in real situations, and then
watch as machine evolution occurs. In other words, robogenetics through robobiologics.
Andy's
light-seeking robots
please click on the image to go to that page