Next up is the remote. I built this thing out of some parts from Sparkfun last time around. This time, I actually hooked up the XBee module inside with the proper configuration.

The remote runs on 2 AA batteries and has only the XBee module and the joystick part from Sparkfun. The XBee module is setup to send out messages to a specified destination XBee module (that will be on the robot) when any of the 4 pins coming from the joystick switches changes from 3V -> 0V – which they will, if the joystick is moved in any of the 4 directions. Internally, the joystick just actuates 4 different micro-switches depending on which direction you are pushing it. On the receiving end, you see something like:

This works quite well. But as usual, there is a problem. There is a fairly noticeable lag between pushing the joystick around and seeing the output show up. Also, if the joystick isn’t being held in position long enough, there is no output at all. I think the polling on the XBee module might be a little slow. There is also a lot of random shit being sent along with the pin states.

Long story short, I think this will be replaced with a simpler RF transmitter attached to a PIC that’s programmed to do two things – poll 8 pins and send out their status as a byte over the RF transmitter. The extra 4 pins will me do some things like put in a kill switch signal for the motors in case the robot decides to go sentient.

Aside from the hardware, the project now has a real name and a project page – Stasis. I’ve also started a repository with code for the netduino and other controllers involved at Bitbucket: https://bitbucket.org/lostinspacebar/stasis

Along with the source code, there are other resources such as documentation. The first of these is a Fritzing ”schematic”. This is my first time using this program and it’s actually quite useful. I now have a nice schematic of what’s going on, on the robot. At some point I’ll make one for the remote, and whatever else I decide to include in this madness.

Next up is the motors. These are the same motors and motor mounts from the original MkI Balbot. In fact, most of the electronics are going to be the same with some improvements (more on that later on).

The zip-ties surrounding the motors are there to hold the ends of the motors from pivoting away from the ABS plate they are mounted to. The motor mount in use sadly has no way of tethering down the back of the motor, so when weight is applied from the top, the ABS plate flexes and the motors slowly arch outwards. But after a little zip-tie action, things are good.

Motors done, time for wheels. This time I wanted to use some off-road-y wheels from Pololu, but the shaft adapters they sent with the wheels don’t work with these motors, so for now, the old plastic wheels will have to do. They aren’t anywhere near as badass looking, but they will do for now, while the correct shaft adapters get here.

IR proximity sensors are next on the list. These will be mounted facing both sides of the balbot to measure tilt. This seems to work better when the sensors are mounted at an angle, so I’m using some position hinges to mount the sensors. These position hinges are special types of hinges that have two preset positions – 150 degrees and 180 degrees. And moving between these two settings takes… a lot of force. So basically, they snap into these positions and won’t budge unless you forcibly snap them into their other position.

The ABS frame plates were cut with these in mind -so there are mounting holes for the hinges. The only thing I wasn’t sure of was the alignment of the flanges on the sensor and the flanges on the hinges. But as luck has it, they align enough for #4 screws to work!

Still need to figure out how to mount the brains of the operation + the battery.

So plan B – super glue, or in this case – Gorilla Glue.

This stuff is… awesome.

So there is some white residue after the glue sets. I am hoping it’s not going to affect strength of the plastic. * crosses fingers *

The acrylic was pretty when put together but was very brittle. I never managed to get the software working by Maryland Day, so it was mostly abandoned.

Well Maryland Day is coming up again. Time for Mark II.

This time, I’ve used my experience from last time as a lesson. For MkII, I have forgone the fancy acrylic panels and gone for ABS. And instead of making the panels be the frame, I’ve made them support structures for a main frame made of threaded rods.

Once the nuts were threaded onto the rod frame (very very slowly… and somewhat painfully), it was clear that the nylon nuts don’t hold as well onto the rods when under vibration or shock. Locktite is not a great option as that stuff apparently eats through plastic.

Instead I chose hot glue – mostly because it was most accessible. And…

Watch this video on YouTube.

SUCCESS.

First stop. Kailasagiri. This is a park/recreation area type place that’s mildly religiously themed. I am not entirely sure there’s much super-interesting to say, but it was a nice place to roam around.

Visakhapatnam, being a big port city, has several beaches. Sunny day, comfortable temperatures and free time. What better time to check out said beaches?

Watch this video on YouTube.

Watch this video on YouTube.

What followed for lunch is possibly the only time I’ve been disappointed with food in my tour of India. The food came late and wasn’t worth it. If you ever do visit this country, stay away from overly posh restaurants – they show off more and do less of the actual good cooking. This is probably true in most other countries, but here, I feel like it’s even more the case.

Fresh guava from the farmer’s market before bed. Yay. The fancy cutting job’s credit goes to the cousin whose place we were bumming at.

After breakfast, it was time to check out the Farmer’s Market. This place is setup with basic stalls that local farmers can sell their crop in. I think they pay some sort of rent, but apparently it’s fairly tiny.

Watch this video on YouTube.

After a lunch back home (with fresh veggies we bought from the market in the morning), and a small (3 hour) nap, we left to check out downtown – an area called “Jagadamba”.

And if you are wondering. Yes. The food was delish.

We were insanely tired after our train ride (some of which involved not sleeping till 3am because my dad, brother and I had to sit on the same berth because our seats apparently weren’t confirmed). The rest of this day was mostly just lazing/sleeping at my cousin’s place.

Went out for a stroll in the evening though. Saw the following for the first time.

Auto-rickshaws have been around since forever, but recently, they apparently started doing these “Share Autos” where a slightly bigger Auto-Rickshaw is basically run like a small bus. The first customer dictates the final destination of the Auto. The driver then periodically stops at random places where he sees people waiting and asks if anyone is going in the same direction. If they are, they get to have a shared Auto ride for about 1/5th to 1/10th the cost of having your own Auto ride. Being India however, this sharing doesn’t stop at any sane point. As seen above. In some cases, people also cram themselves in the tiny boot area you see above.

Anyways. That done. Dinner Time.

The vegetables above are from a local farmers market (more on that later). It’s pretty common here for people to get vegetables and such less than a day before they are used. Sometimes, like this day, they were bought a few hours before they are used. And they were probably picked a day or two ago. Obviously, there are supermarkets and recently, there are more of them, but for the most part, people haven’t gotten the Costco bug there… yet.

Thank god.

Somewhat unrelated, but if you go around to spots like these and more general tourism spots like the Qutb Minar and Taj Mahal, you’ll see people walking around with cameras that will take your photo and photoshop it onto something related. Here, they were selling photos where you’d be photoshopped onto the main Tirumala Temple etc. The best part to look for is their Photoshop stations.

Next up was a garden / small zoo. But most of it was fairly boring except for a rock formation.

The rest of the day was another random temple and a dam.

Off to Vizag in the evening! This involved going down a hill full of hairpins, in one of these:

Oh, and we’re probably doing about 30mph … the ENTIRE FUCKING WAY. The entire ride down was like being a passenger in some sort of insane (awesome) modified rally car that takes 5 passengers. Every corner was High-G country. The squeaking noises you hear are the tired brakes of the bus that was in front of us as it also brakes way too late into corners. Repeatedly.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Watch this video on YouTube.

The main area of interest here is the temple atop the nearby hill town of Tirumala. People of the Hindu faith come here from basically all over the country… or from the other side of the planet, like we did. Kind of like Mecca, but for Hinduism.

There are two ways to get up the hill – a comfortable cab ride, or walk for about 7 miles, including climbing up about 2400 stairs. Guess which route we took?

Yup.

But before that, a delicious breakfast.

We were dropped off at Alipiri in a cab. We would be picked up at the top … about 3 hours later. We were climbing up the stairs with our backpacks and socks on. Shoes aren’t allowed. Some people going up also carried other things – usually offerings. Some also “promise” (there isn’t a good literal translation for the word) to their God that they will also do other stuff as they climb, like light small candles as they walk up the stairs.

Watch this video on YouTube.

About halfway through the way up the hill, the stairs end. Thankfully. But then you start walking up a road… against traffic. But before we started on the road part, we came across a rest area where people were eating the food they brought or were handing out free food for other travelers – called “Annadanam”.

Watch this video on YouTube.

So about that road…

Watch this video on YouTube.

As you can see, the footpath sort of runs out at random points. The buses however, don’t stop coming.

The rest of the day was all religious stuff that’s not really camera friendly.

Kite flying in India is slightly different from how things work around here. People don’t just fly them for … whatever people outside India fly them for. Instead, there are often fights using special twine. This special twine, also known as “Manja”, is coated in very finely powdered glass. People then use any maneuvering techniques available to them to loop around and cut the twine of another kite flyer. I used to do this way back when before I moved to the U.S. It’s fairly dangerous and quite a bit of fun.

Obviously, the kids and newbies fly with regular twine, just to learn/practice flying. This is what we ended up doing. Since we’re total n00bs now.

Another part of festivals is food. Large amounts of food. Food on these kinds of occasions is traditionally served on a large banana leaf. But really, the important part  - the food is delicious.

We left for Tirupati in the evening. When travelling relatively close distances (neighboring cities/states), people usually prefer trains in India. We did the same. Trains in India come in a wide array of classes. Everywhere from “General” (where you basically get on and use whatever space is available – sitting or standing – and you get to enjoy the elements to the fullest) to First AC (where you basically get your own air-conditioned room basically). We chose Second AC. Here you get your own seat and a berth at night to sleep and the entire car is air-conditioned. Total cost for a ticket here : $10-20. Fun fact: If you are OK with no AC (and in most places in India, you should be OK with the fans in the train car – unless it’s summer, in which case NO), you can get a train ride spanning two states for about $4… for two people.