Category Archives: News

RBNV – Robot Builders Night Virtual – April 21, 2020

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Meeting video:

Meeting chat record (PDF): Chat Text

When

• April 21th, starting at 7:30 PM Dallas time (CST).
• RBNV will continue each Tuesday evening until the crisis is over and the Maker Space re-opens.

How

• Join Hangouts Meet https://meet.google.com/hey-jxuo-esf
• Join by phone ‪+1 405-586-5598‬ ‬ PIN: ‪682 931 335 #‬

Why

• Talk robots & related stuff.
• Keep going while we’re stuck at home.
• Make it easier for people to attend DPRG remotely.

Agenda: RBNV – 21 April

• Round table – everybody spends a couple minutes telling what projects they’re working on as we’re all stuck at home
• Ad-hoc presentations – Whoever would like to show & tell.
• “Stump the club” Challenges – Ask for help if you’ve hit a roadblock in your project. Somebody in the club can probably get you pointed in a good direction – or even arrange a side bar session to help.

Note 1: We record a video of these sessions and post them on the DPRG YouTube channel. By joining the meeting, you’re giving consent to be included in the recording.

Roborama 2020 has been canceled

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The Roborama 2020 competition that was scheduled for April 25th, 2020 has been canceled due to the coronavirus situation. At this time DPRG expects to conduct an outdoor competition, RoboColumbus, sometime in the Summer and an indoor competition in November. Please stay tuned for future announcements.

RBNV – Robot Builders Night Virtual – April 14, 2020

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Meeting video:

Meeting chat text:  chat text

• April 14th, starting at 7:30 PM Dallas time (CST).
• RBNV will continue each Tuesday evening until the crisis is over and the Maker Space re-opens.

How

• Join Hangouts Meet https://meet.google.com/hey-jxuo-esf
• Join by phone ‪+1 405-586-5598‬ ‬ PIN: ‪682 931 335 #‬

Why

• Talk robots & related stuff.
• Keep going while we’re stuck at home.
• Make it easier for people to attend DPRG remotely.

Agenda: RBNV – 14 April

• Round table – everybody spends a couple minutes telling what projects they’re working on as we’re all stuck at home
• Ad-hoc presentations – Whoever would like to show & tell.
• “Stump the club” Challenges – Ask for help if you’ve hit a roadblock in your project. Somebody in the club can probably get you pointed in a good direction – or even arrange a side bar session to help.

Note 1: We record a video of these sessions and post them on the DPRG YouTube channel. By joining the meeting, you’re giving consent to be included in the recording.

KR01 Robot at DPRG’s First Virtual Monthly Meeting – April 11th, 2020

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Meeting video:

Meeting chat text (PDF):    Chat text

Join us for a special online treat during our world-wide quarantine!

This month the New Zealand Personal Robotics Group (NZPRG) and DPRG, bring you a world-wide event in the spirit of global cooperation. NZPRG member Murray Altheim will share his ongoing “KR01” robot build from his home base in New Zealand.

When:
Saturday, April 11th at 1:00 PM (This is an hour later than most DPRG monthly meetings.)

How to Join:
Meeting ID: https://meet.google.com/snx-isac-zqt/

Phone Number:
(backup in case of trouble with computer audio, add a comment to this meetup if you need a phone number for non-US locations)
(‪US‬)‪+1 609-469-1745‬
PIN: ‪862 716 153#‬

About the presentation:
The KR01 project was initially inspired by David Anderson’s YouTube video.  Murray became a subsumption architecture convert after reading through Rodney Brooks’ papers. He decided to build a Behavior Based System (BBS) in Python.

Murray began the KR01 robot project with these specific goals:

Note:  Extra time has been booked for this meeting, in case participants would like to continue chatting after the main presentation. We record a video of these sessions and post them on the DPRG YouTube channel. By joining the meeting, you’re giving consent to be included in the recording.

RBNV – Robot Builders Night Virtual – April 7, 2020

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Meeting video:

Meeting Chat Text:
chat minutes (pdf)

When

• April 7th, starting at 7:30 PM Dallas time (CST).
• RBNV will contine each Tuesday evening until the crisis is over and the Maker Space re-opens.

How

• Join Hangouts Meet https://meet.google.com/tkg-wzhq-prc
• Join by phone ‪+1 302-455-8896‬ PIN: ‪514 134 476#‬

Why

• Talk robots & related stuff.
• Keep going while we’re stuck at home.
• Make it easier for people to attend DPRG remotely.

Agenda: RBNV – 7 April

• Round table – everybody spends a couple minutes telling what projects they’re working on as we’re all stuck at home
• Ad-hoc presentations – Whoever would like to show & tell.
• “Stump the club” Challenges – Ask for help if you’ve hit a roadblock in your project. Somebody in the club can probably get you pointed in a good direction – or even arrange a side bar session to help.

Note 1: We record a video of these sessions and post them on the DPRG YouTube channel. By joining the meeting, you’re giving consent to be included in the recording.

RBNV – Robot Builders Night Virtual – March 31, 2020

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Meeting video:

Carl’s “Additional VS Code notes”:

More_VS_Tips-Carl

Details

What: Virtual RBNO meeting.

When:
•  March 31th  at 7:30 pm Dallas time (CST)
•  Continuing each Tuesday evening until the crisis is over and the Dallas Makerspace reopens.

How:
•  Join Hangouts Meet https://meet.google.com/txt-icwv-qgc
•  Join by phone +1 662-472-1236‬ PIN: ‪206 934 807‬#

Why:
•  Talk robots & related stuff.
•  Keep going while we’re stuck at home.
•  Make it easier for people to attend DPRG remotely on Tuesday, RBNO’s normal time.

Agenda:  RBNV – March 31th

•  Round Table – everybody spends a couple minutes telling what projects they’re working on as we’re all stuck at home

•  Ad-hoc Presentations –

•  Clay
• •  “My robot makes movies”- How to capture frames at high speed then stitch them together into mp4 video.
• •  How to make your Raspberry Pi file system show up as a directory on your computer.
• •  “Where would you steer?”- A short survey of robot camera images to study how the average person would respond if they were steering.

•  Carl
• •  More Tips & Tricks using Microsoft VS Code for robot projects.
• • •  Features that help write code better.
• • •  Use VS Code on your laptop to edit & compile code on a Raspberry Pi across a network connection.

•  Whoever else would like to show & tell.

Note 1:  We do record a video of these sessions and post them on the DPRG YouTube channel. By joining the meeting you’re giving consent to be included in the recording.

Note 2:  Our first Robot Builders Night Virtual was well received last week. We had 8 or 10 participants and healthy discussion on a variety of topics. We also found that a participant had some robot battery power budget questions – so we scheduled a sidebar session and helped with that…

Link to last week’s RBNV and Carl’s instructions to using VS can be found at,  last week’s RBNV.

RBNV – Robot Builders Night Virtual

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Meeting video:

Carl’s VS setup for Arduino instructions: 2020 March 29- Notes for VS Code w- Arduino

Who knew that DPRG had a PCP (Pandemic Contingency Plan)?

Step 1. Hold Virtual Meetings (instead of meeting at the Dallas Maker Space.)
Step 2. Simulate DPRG members.
Step 3. Create surrogate robots of human DPRG members- these surrogate robots then meet in the physical world while their human builders are stuck at home…

So let’s start with Step 1,
and hold our first RBNV (Robot Builders Night Virtual) on 24 March!

We can plan steps 2 and 3 later as things develop…

When
• Starting 24 March / 7:30 pm Dallas time.
• Continuing each Tuesday evening until the crisis is over and the Makerspace opens again.

How
• Join by Hangouts Meet: https://meet.google.com/hpm-faap-xgx
• Join by phone +1 252-501-3117‬ PIN: ‪649 689 577‬#

Why
• Talk robots & related stuff.
• Keep going while we’re stuck at home.
• Make it easier for people to attend DPRG remotely / during the week.

What
• Round table – Each member gets a couple minutes to show and tell about the progress they have made on their projects and other interesting things.
• Kibitzing – Members will give help to those having problems with their projects.
• Ad-hoc presentations – Carl will start the ball rolling on the 24th with a demonstration of how to use VS Code (free IDE) with Arduino & Git.

Build More Robots Tutorial Series 2 – Starts Mar 21th

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— Tutorial Series CANCELED due to COVID-19 virus situation —

Want to build a robot? Here is your chance to do it, with some help, and in a group of similarly minded individuals. The Build More Robots Series consists of 4 sessions, each 2 hours long, held on consecutive Saturdays. The sessions will cover the assembly of the robot, basic Arduino programming, line following robots, and sumo robots. In the line following and sumo sessions, you will reconfigure your robot to accomplish line following and sumo robot functions. There may even be some friendly competition!

The series is aimed at beginners. Prior knowledge is not necessary.  The classes are open to everyone, including students, however, note that the classes move quickly, and the classes may not be a good fit for young students.

To join the series, you must bring at least the robot kit, batteries, tools, and $5 to the 1st session. The sensors will be needed in the following sessions.

You also must sign up for the class at:

https://calendar.dallasmakerspace.org/events/view/15255

Seating is limited so sign up quickly. A count of students is needed to make sure that enough Platform Upgrade Kits are available.

It is also suggested that you get your robot kit and sensors as soon as possible.

Total Cost:    ~$40.00 for parts (note: parts are listed below, tools not included in cost).

Sessions:

Mar 21 at noon  –  Robot Build Session

Mar 28 at noon  –  Basic Arduino Programming Session

Apr 4 at noon  –  Line Following Robot Session

Apr 11 at noon  –  Sumo Robot Session

What you will need:

  1. Robot Kit  – https://smile.amazon.com/VKmaker-Avoidance-tracking-Ultrasonic-tutorial/dp/B01CXVA6IO/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=smart+car+robot&qid=1580782367&sr=8-3, or similar.
  2. Sensors – https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I57HIJ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , or similar.
  3. Platform Upgrade Kit – Provided by instructor at a nominal cost ($5).
  4. 6 AA Alkaline batteries.
  5. A Philips head screwdriver (#1), a small pair of pliers, wire strippers (optional), and wire cutters (optional).

    Example set of tools

The session descriptions:

Build More Robots Series – Robot Build Session

In this first session, you will need the robot kit, platform upgrade kit, batteries, and tools. During the session we will build the robot together and learn about the different components of the robot while we build.

Build More Robot Series – Basic Arduino Programming Session

You have built the robot, now what? In this session of the Build More Robots Series we will explore how to program the robot’s Arduino microcontroller board. We will learn the different commands, and how to develop a programming style that makes the process more organized and easier to change. The session is geared for the novice and should help anyone move up the learning curve with confidence.

Build More Robot Series – Line Following Session

In this session of the Build More Robots Series we will explore how to make our robot follow a line. We will cover some of the sensor strategies used in line following, then build our line following sensor using the infrared obstacle avoidance sensor modules that we purchased. After assembling and mounting our new sensor, we will program a basic line following program using what we learned in the Arduino Programming session. You will need the listed sensors for this and the next session.

Build More Robot Series – Sumo Session

What is Sumo? When talking robots, we mean a competition where two robots are placed in a circular arena and proceed to try and push each other out of the arena. It is a sort of bumper cars for robots. In this session of the Build More Robots Series, we will discuss basic strategies used by Sumo robots, and why they are used. We will also modify our robot into a Sumo robot and demonstrate a basic robot sumo program. Next, we battle!

Graduation Competition

After the last session, the attendees will have a chance to test their robot in a friendly competition. They may also consider attending DPRG’s Roborama on April 25th, and competing for prizes.

Have Questions?

You can contact the instructor by emailing info(at)dprg.org.

IRON REIGN Presents their Newest Robot – Monthly Meeting Topic – Feb 8th, 2020

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One of our favorite First Tech Challenge robot teams, Iron Reign, will present their newest champion robot at DPRG’s February monthly meeting. This robot was built to solve the current First tech challenge, titled Skystone. The robot competes to build a structure made of 4x8x5 inch blocks in 2.5 minutes while buzzing around a 12’x12′ arena with 3 other robots. As with all First Tech challenges there are multiple of complications. A full description of the challenge can be found at Skystone video. Competitive robots can build a structure of 6 feet or more.

Iron Reign’s robots always have cool and clever mechanisms that will delight anyone interested in robotics.

Come join the fun at the DPRG Feb 8th monthly meeting at the Dallas Makerspace in the Interactive Room. Presentation starts at noon.

This is a wonderful opportunity to see and ask questions about a really neat and interesting robot.

DPRG Annual Meeting – 2020

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DPRG 2020 Annual Meeting Minutes:  Annual Meeting Minutes – 2020

Every year in January, DPRG’s members meet at the club’s annual meeting. This meeting is where officers for the new year are elected, and members discuss club plans. The 2020 DPRG annual meeting will be held at the Dallas Maker Space on January 11th at noon.

Agenda

  • Ray Casler, the current president, will sum up the club’s 2019 activities and discuss the state of the club.
  • The candidates for 2020 officer positions will be introduced.
  • The 2020 election will be closed after all attendees have had a chance to vote.
  • Ron Grant, the election overseer, will combine the votes received prior to the meeting by email and the votes made at the meeting, and announce the election results.
  • The new president will take office.
  • The new president will preside over the annual planning meeting.
  • The club’s 2020 annual planning meeting will start:
    • New president will discuss club direction for upcoming year.
    • Determine community events that the club will participate in.
    • Formation of Competition committee.
    • Determine topics that members want to have presented at the monthly meeting and ask for volunteers to cover topics.
    • Listen to suggestions and ideas on how to make the club better.
  • Member show and tell of projects.