AUTOMATIC ROBOT OF NEPAL

            Robot is a machine capable of carrying out a complex series of action automatically. It is used in various fields like automobiles industries etc.

            Here, I am discussing about the design and its working principle of automatic robot that participated in ABU ROBOCON 2010, Cairo, Egypt in 21^th September, 2010. It was built by the team of Shashank Gupta, Sarup Kumar Ghosh, Dinesh Kaudal, Sandeep Manandhar, Drona Raj Regmi, Bibek Joshi, Suraj Singh, Krishna Kumar Jha and Niswan Dhakal of Robotics Club, Pulchowk Campus, IOE, TU.

Fig: 3D Modelling of the Automatic Robot drawn in AUTOCAD 2009

Fig: Automatic Robot during testing stage.

          Robot was assigned to complete the job of building the pyramid with the help of blocks. The main block was rectangular in shape having dimension 500mm×500m×300mm while the top block was pyramid in shape with dimension 500mm× 500mm×300mm. The blocks contain the through hole of 60 mm in diameter.

            The automatic robot had eight blocks (seven main blocks & one top block) preloaded on it. The overall dimension of robot was 790mm×850mm×1350mm. Initially blocks were held horizontally in the arms of robots. The wiper motor was used to drive the rack and pinion gear which rotates the layer from horizontal position into vertical position. The slider mechanism was also introduced to move the layer in left direction. All these above process were performed at initial condition. Then with the aid of single drive motor the robot moves in forward direction. As soon as robot reach the pyramid it inserts the three main blocks in first layer which is followed by second and third layer respectively with the help of motor and double pulley system. Finally, the top block would be inserted through straight drive mechanism of slider.

HIRO, a Robot That Learns and Acts on Its Own

Just as we've become accustomed to algorithms constructed by humans but unleashed on the world where they can morph and evolve, robots have started to learn and function on their own once released by their human overlords. "Robots that have the ability to 'learn' and do specific tasks are nothing new," TechCrunch reminds us, "but truly autonomous models are still a thing of the future."

If efforts from the Tokyo Institute of Technology are successful, that future could be rapidly approaching. There, engineers and scientists are "working on a robot that's supposed to be able to learn, adapt to new situations and act in a human-like way someday," according to TechCrunch.

The video embedded below shows HIRO, a robot that uses SOINN (Self-Organizing Incremental Neural Network) to learn from new situations. "This robot remembers only basic knowledge, and it can apply that knowledge to its immediate situation," one of the programmers responsible for HIRO explains in the video. "If it doesn't know enough, it stops, and reacts by saying, 'I can't do this because I don't know how.'" But what makes this robot especially interesting (or frightening, depending on one's perspective), is that, once it recognizes it doesn't know how to do something, it can tap into the Web or the neural network of other robots like it. From there, it will learn, retaining the information it might need to complete similar tasks in the future.

 Video : HIRO, a Robot That Learns and Acts on Its Own

(Source:http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/video-of-the-day-hiro-a-robot-that-learns-and-acts-on-its-own/242830/)

Solar Weather Balloon

            

   Fig: Schematic diagram of Solar Weather balloon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Solar Weather Balloon

Materials required:
 1)      Solar panel

       2)      Rechargeable battery

       3)      Stepper motor

       4)       Photo sensor

       5)      Thermometer

       6)      Barometer

       7)      Hygrometer

       8)      Anemometer

       9)      Wind Vane
 10)  Altimeter

       11)  Weather balloon

       12)  RF transmitter and receiver

Purpose

            The main purpose of the Solar weather balloon is to collect data about the ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, wind direction and wind speed at different altitudes. The data recorded is send back to the receiver which records the change in temperature, pressure, humidity for past and present at different altitudes, in its database. Further, it also helps in weather forecasting.

            The power source for solar weather balloon is solar panel. A voltage regulator is used to charge the rechargeable batteries. The solar panel is used to generate the energy which supplies power to the control system containing the sensors for detection of the different weather parameters. The excess energy is stored in the rechargeable battery used to supply power during night, to the control system. 

             The solar panel is attached with photo sensors which guides the solar panel to the direction of the sun for maximum radiation. The movement is controlled by the stepper motor which rotates the solar panel to different angles in response from the photo sensor. This process is known as solar tracking.

            The signal containing the weather parameters is send back to receiver using RF transmitter where the data is stored and further analysis can be done from the available data. The change in temperature, pressure, humidity helps to know the effect on the area and change in   its climatic condition. 

            The balloon is filled with hydrogen or helium, with varying levels of gas being used, depending on the altitude of the weather balloon. The basket suspended from the balloon on a cord or rope contains the power source, control system and the solar tracking system. The altitude of the balloon is fixed from the ground by the cord.

Advantages

       1.      Zero energy concept.

       2.      Records recent change in climate.

       3.      Weather forecasting.