Thanks so much to Patrick for sending in his awesome connect four playing robot! Check out the details here.
This Connect Four robot was my final project for my Microcomputer Project Laboratory course. We had complete freedom over choosing our final project, but there were two rules we had to follow. First, we had to use the Cypress PSOC 5LP kit that was given to us at the beginning of the course. Second, we had to use an 8051 micro-controller or another micro-controller that can be programmed in the same assembly language (I went with the 2051, but more on that later). Besides these rules, the final project should obviously incorporate topics that were taught in the course. We had about 5 weeks to complete our final project.
Stepper motor – NEMA-17 size – 200 steps/rev, 12V 350mA: A stepper motor to satisfy all your robotics needs! This 4-wire bipolar stepper has 1.8° per step for smooth motion and a nice holding torque. The motor was specified to have a max current of 350mA so that it could be driven easily with an Adafruit motor shield for Arduino (or other motor driver) and a wall adapter or lead-acid battery. Read more.
Aluminum GT2 Timing Pulley – 6mm Belt – 20 Tooth – 5mm Bore: For precise motion control, GT2 belts and pulleys offer excellent precision at a great price. This pulley is meant for use with GT2 6mm wide belts only – MXL belts will slip due to the different tooth profile. Read more.
Timing Belt GT2 Profile – 2mm pitch – 6mm wide 1164mm long: Timing belts are a fantastic way to transfer rotational motion (from a stepper motor) into linear motion (along a rail) and these GT2 belts are excellent for the task. They have a special profile with rounded teeth which reduces slippage. Often used for precision 3D printers and CNC machines. Read more.
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Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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