2. Programming Part
3. Mechanical Part
Each of the above part has its own importance. Okay, one can handle all the parts if you are making some simple & conventional robot[like some line follower/obstacle avoider]. But if you want to try something different like robotic arm/quadropter etc then you need different team members from these above mentioned fields. You should have a basic knowledge in all the above mentioned fields. Then after acquiring basic robotics skills you can make yourself specialized in any one field mentioned above.
Importance of TEAM:- To better learn robotics you should always work in teams. An ideal team can consist of three members preferably one from electronics, one from computer science and one from mechanical engineering. A single student can not master in all the three fields. If anyone wants to learn robotics he needs to have lot of patience. So If you are a single then you will smash off things if you fail multiple times. And if you are in a team then atleast your team members will provide you some support. Also if you are working as a team you can handle different parts as per your interest. For example a computer geek can handle programming part easily on the other hand he might not get a shit about electronics or mechanical part. In the same way a mechanical guy can easily design the robot chassis while a computer or electronic guy might not do it well. Similarly a electronics freak can design the circuits better. So better work in teams. But before choosing your team members make sure that your team members are not short tempered because you are not going to achieve success in one or two shots. May be you will fail a hundred times but never loose the hope. Always divide your work in small modules and work on them individually first. This will also help you in debugging in future.
What's the right TIME to start off? -- Well I think you should start at the end of first year. Make sure you have learnt these courses in your college--
1. Programming in C/C++[Both theory and practical]
2. Basics of Electronics and communication Engineering
3. Elements of Mechanical engineering/Engineering Mechanics.
By the end of your first year you will be done with all the above courses. As I told you earlier each one of you must know the basics of robotics so all of you should start learning robotics individually in your summer vacations after first year.
How to get started? -- In all engineering colleges every student gets a vacation of about two and a half months in summer after his/her first year. Everyone usually wastes this time without doing anything. This time is very precious to you if you want to learn something extra. I am not forcing you to waste whole vacation in practicing & learning robotics. You can always go for an outing for half month with your family and friends. But please not more than that. Okay I am assuming that you understand electronics and programming like me. And I am telling you I am an average engineering student. So don't worry:-). To start off you need these important things:-
1.A good microcontroller development board having some test switches, LEDs and motor driver I.Cs.
2. A USB programmer
3. Atmega16 microcontroller
4. DC motors
5. Stepper motor/Servo motors
6. 16x2 LCD display
7. A 9v adapter to power your board.
8. A multimeter
9. A good quality soldering iron with solder and flux.
10. A laptop having a USB port for programming
I will recommend you to buy all these things before getting started. I know you might not be in a position to understand some of the terms in the list above. But leave it for now and go to some online robotics store and order these things as early as possible. If you are a Delhite then you can search for these things in Lajpat Rai Market near Chandni Chowk. You will get everything there. I don't know much about other cities in India. If you don't want to take the head ache of searching things in the market like a dog then you can order these things online. Well, you can assemble the whole microcontroller board, USB programmer by yourself by copying circuits available on the internet. But I don't want to freak out your head copying these circuits on P.C.B so you should buy a ready made one. If you are an electronics freak then you can try building these circuits in home but remember you need to know the use of a multimeter and you should have enough soldering skills otherwise you will burn your I.Cs. Here I am uploading pictures of all the things listed above so that you can have a look how they look like:-
A microcontroller development board
This is the iBoard designed by ThinkLABS. Nice board to start off.
A USB programmer
This is a USB programmer developed by Extreme Electronics India.
Atmega16 Microcontroller
This is Atmega16 M.C.U[Microcontroller unit] developed by Atmel.
DC Motors
Servo Motors
This is a standard Futaba S3003 servo.
Stepper Motor
16x2 LCD display
Multimeter
Soldering Iron
I will recommend you to buy xBoard v2.0 from extreme electronics or iBoard v1.0 from ThinkLABS robo shop. They are nice boards to start with. They have all the required features like motor drivers, connector for connecting a standard alphanumeric 16x2 LCD display, test switches, test L.E.D, I.S.P header, RF Module[with xBoard v2.0], potentiometers, IR reciever[with xBoard v2.0], analog sensor ports etc. They will cost you around Rs.1200-1500. Similarly buy a decent USB programmer from any roboshop.
Now friends its time to say good bye. I will meet you in my next tutorial "World of Microcontrollers".
Enjoy this video..
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