The personal digital assistant is the main control unit of the robot, communicating with the craft’s body via a beam of infrared light and to other machines on the wireless network. The PDA itself becomes a data transponder. It (the PDA) is insulated and protected from the robotic interface. It is said to be optically isolated, communicating on ripples of light. Because of this design, no connectors are required and the software provided will work with any Windows or PalmOS driven handheld PDA. I see a day when all components of a system are connectionless with harmonically synchronized transistors.

I will go into the theory behind the operation of each component as well as the practical hands-on information and processes needed to complete this project. I will also make suggestions for enhancements and modifications to the electronic, mechanical, and software design; enhancements that I will leave up to you to explore.

The only limit to any enhancements or changes will be that of your imagination. This book will give you the expertise to create anything. One of many areas that I will touch on is the smart distributed network, where each robot can pass the information that it gains onto the “collective” to be shared with other robots. For instance, if two PDA Robots pass each other they can exchange information about a room in the house that has been mapped, saving any duplication of effort. The robots can synchronize to coordinate effort as well. A good example of a coordinated autonomous effort is the idea of traffic being directed by a computer system. In the future, I believe the key to making the world a better place is to effectively and fully use the resources we have available.

Traffic congestion on the freeways could be eliminated for years to come without building anymore highways if it was managed properly.

Cars outfitted with sensors and wireless technology could be tied into a central coordination system making the commute to work an enjoyable and relaxing experience. This is something that could be achieved on a smaller scale with this project if you take it a step further.

Artificial intelligence, self-modifying code, and the emergent behavior of computers is a fascinating area of research that will be touched on in this book. Emergent behavior in a system is the system’s ability to become intelligent over and above the programming that has been coded into it. Sometime this is seen as a behavior or unanticipated function that is the result of the interaction between two systems. I have seen this happen with smart digital imaging archiving software at the medical imaging company where I currently work. One must be careful when enabling a machine with AI to make decisions around humans though. A “smart” robot building an office tower may decide that the best course of action may be to remove a support beam and put it up at a later time. But if the programmer made a mistake and didn’t have another algorithm check the structural integrity before approving of the decision, then the whole building would come down.

A simple coding error of “if (StructuralIntegrityOk = TRUE){ RemoveBeam(BeamNumber); }” spells disaster. The equality operator == is mistaken for and the assignment operator =. One must ensure that AI bots stay within safe operating parameters, are monitored closely, and have a remote kill switch.

Enabling the machine with a sense of sight is another topic that will be explored and explained. PDA Robot can “see” through the use of an infrared range finder and wireless video camera. The machine vision algorithms used in this project interpret the surroundings and send feedback to the robot. The ability to send video data into the wireless network through a video capture card open the “window” to a virtual presence. Amazing things are being done today with this technology.

Doctors can perform surgery from any point on earth to another; we can be there from here!

One interesting point about the IR range detector is the fact that the pulsed beam of IR light is highly visible to a modern IR target locking system deployed by most modern military equipment. This could be an advantage or a drawback. The invisible infrared beam can provide a good source for a night vision video camera, in fact most low cost video cameras will be able to detect the beam from the front. If you have a video camera give it a try! I will discuss other methods of data transmission (visible light) and range finding (invisible). If we tap into the this range finder and pulse the light beam and use a telescope, we can create a very long range point-to-point communication device ideal for ground to air operations. Something I will leave you to experiment with.

Once PDA Robot is on the network it is essentially an internet appliance.

My hope is that this project will give you the knowledge and experience to create any electronic device that you can dream up. All the information is out there - just follow the links from a good search engine. Automation, ordering over the Web, and courier service allows everything in this project to be delivered to your door. Please experiment with the design - I’ve designed an amphibious and airborne body that the circuitry can be “snapped” into. I hope you evolve this design once you become familiar with it.

If this technology is applied in the same spirit as the space program and with the ethics of modern medicine, then I can see great things evolving from it for online updates, source code, and other useful files that will aid you in completing PDA Robot, please visit www.pda-robotics.com.

Douglas Williams

Contents

Introduction xv
Acknowledgments xix
1 Anatomy of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) 1
Beneath the Cover 5
The SA-1110: An Example of ARM Architecture 7
2 Robotic System Overview 15
Major Electronic Parts 15
Microchip MCP2150 IrDA Standard
Protocol Stack Controller 15
Vishay TFDS4500 Serial Infrared Transceiver 17
PIC16F876 Microcontroller 18
L7805ACV Voltage Regulator (5 Volts) 18
L298 Dual Full-Bridge Driver 19
Sharp GP2D12 Infrared Range Finder 20
DYN2009635 20 MH and RXDMP49 11.0952 MHz
“AT” Cut Quartz Crystal Oscillator 21
3 Tools and Equipment 23
Essential Tools and Equipment 23
Safety First 26
Where to Get Equipment 27
4 Infrared Communications Overview 29
Technical Summary of IrDA Data and IrDA Control 31
IrDA’s New Full Range of Digital Information
Exchange via Cordless IR Connections 31
Optional IrDA Data Protocols 33
IrDA Control 33
Windows CE (Pocket PC) and IrDA 35
Communication Link Speeds 36
Communication Link Turnaround Times 37
SIR Coding 39
MIR Coding 39
FIR Coding 40
VFIR Coding 40
5 The Electronics 43
System Overview 43
Setting the Baud Rate 46
The MCP2150 Connection to the IR Transceiver 47
The MCP2150 Connection to the PIC16F876
Microcontroller 49
The Motor Controller Circuit 51
The Sharp GPD12 IR Range Finder 52
Component Descriptions 53
The Vishay TFDS4500 53
The Microchip MCP2150 Plug and Play IrDA 58
MCP2150 Applications: PDA Robot 59
Crystal Oscillator/Ceramic Resonators 62
Bit Clock 63
UART Interface 63
Baud Rate 63
Transmitting 64
Receiving 64
Modulation 64
Demodulation 65
Minimizing Power 65
Returning to Device Operation 65
Network Layering Reference Model 65
IrDA Data Protocols Supported by MCP2150 66
IRDA Standard Protocol Layers 69
PDA and PDA Robot Handshake: How Devices Connect 71
Normal Disconnect Mode (NDM) 72
Discovery Mode 74
Normal Connect Mode (NCM) 76
MCP2150 Operation 76
Optical Transceiver 77
Typical Optical Transceiver Circuit 78
MCP2150 Absolute Maximum Ratings 78
PIC16F876: PDA Robot’s Microcontroller 78
PORTA and the TRISA Register 84
PORTB and the TRISB Register 87
PORTC and the TRISC Register 90
The L298 Dual Full-Bridge Driver
(PDA Robot Motor Controller) 96
Description 97
The GP2D12 IR Range Finder 102
Connecting to the Sensor 104
Operation 104
Calibration 104
Ambient Light 105
IR Light 105
Laser Light 106
Operation 106
6 Building PDA Robot 107
Creating the Circuit Board 107
Positive Photofabrication Process Instructions 108
Parts Lists 115
Placing and Soldering the Main Board Components 117
Placing and Soldering the Motor Controller Components 120
The Infrared Transceiver 122
The Power Connectors 123
The Battery Packs 123
The IR Range Finder 124
Cutting the Aluminum Pieces and Drilling the Holes 125
Assembling the Geared Motors 127
The Ribbon Connectors 130
The Camera (Accessory) Mount 134
7 Programming the PIC16F876 Microcontroller 137
Software Installation 138
Hardware Installation 139
General Operation 140
EPIC for DOS 141
EPIC for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP 142
EPICWin Controls 144
The PICmicro MCU Compiler 145
The Command Line Compiler 146
The Source Code 147
Program the PIC16F876 153
PDA Robotics
8 PDA Robot Palm OS Software
Using Code Warrior 8.0 155
Creating the PDA Robot Project 157
9 PDA Robot Software for Pocket PC 2002
(Windows CE) 169
Microsoft eMbedded Visual C++ 3.0 Overview 170
Increased Developer Productivity 173
Simplified Debugging and Deployment 173
Comprehensive Access to the Windows CE Platform 173
Build for the Latest Windows CE Devices 174
Fast, Flexible Data Access 174
Building the PDA Robot Pocket PC Application 175
Creating the IrDA Link 177
The Wireless RF Link 186
CCeSocket::CCeSocket 188
Parameters 188
Remarks 188
OnWireless: Implementing the CPDASocket Class 189
10 The PDA Robotics Command Center 195
The Video Link 195
Motion Detection 197
Sending Data Using FTP 201
The Wireless Data Link 206
11 Infinitely Expandable 211
Global Positioning System 211
Pocket CoPilot 3.0 GPS Jacket Edition:
PCP-V3-PAQJ2 212
The TeleType GPS 212
Symbol SPS 3000 Bar Code Scanner Expansion Pack 214
Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 215
Telesurgery 216
Operations of the Future 216
Index 221

Copyright © 2003 by The McGrawHill Companies, Inc.

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