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Desktop Robotic Companion

 What’s up Tinker gang. I’m back with another update to my robotic experiments.  I’ve already created a pretty stable robotic companion, but now that this companion can travel, I don’t like it super close to me because of dust and dirt. I now want something near me as I’m working on my computer, and have found a pretty cool opensource project to start from.  You may know the project as Emo on YouTube, this humanoid desktop robot rotates its body and arms , as well as displays facial animations thanks to its tiny face screen. I liked the concept and wanted to play with the designs. First, I wanted to add a way for the device to have extra gpio hats. The original design tucks the computer inside the body shell but I needed room for a microphone and any other thing I wanted to add. I thought about a few possibilities, including some kind of backpack (which I still may use later) on the bot but I didn’t like my mental designs. Instead, I decided to increase the height of the base and add
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Getting started with single board computers.



What are they?

Single board computers were released close to 5 years ago but they’ve seen nothing but booming sales and wide adoption everywhere. But what exactly is a single board computer? The answer is in the name. It’s a computer where all the electrical components that it’s made of , sit comfortably on one board. 


Benefits

Compact

This single board allows more compact smaller computers for consumer consumption. What’s special about small computers? Well for starters , the smaller they get, the more portable they can now become. Instead of lugging around a full desktop you can carry a playing card sized computer and just hook up to a monitor or mouse and keyboard. You might be asking “what’s so special about this I have a laptop”.


For tinkerers and inventors 

Single board computers allow developers and tinkerers alike to add components to it on the fly. For example, let’s say my single board computer doesn’t come with a mic or lidar(a laser that measures the distance of objects around it), but I’d like to make a robot car that has both of these components. 


Flexible design to add components 

On a traditional computer, that would mean learning the schematics and specifications of that computer, and attempting to reverse engineer while integrating. A job only real engineers would take on. However for a single board computer, that would mean adding the component as either a Lego like attachment called a hat, or wiring and soldering them together. Either way, the single board computer community has a litany of tutorials and demonstrations that show the process of the two connection methods in detail. 


Sd card operating system

Essentially, single board computers are great for Frankenstein projects and robotic solutions. But that still doesn’t completely cover the benefits in detail. One of the best parts about the SBC’s is that the operating system lives entirely on a micro  Sd card. This means if I ever break a needed program or mess up anything, you can either revert your card to a former copy of itself or simply reset it with a fresh install. 


Power consumption 

SBC’s are mobile but also require less energy to operate. Essentially, most SBC’s can be battery powered.


Costs

What does all this stuff even mean 

Well for the price of 15 to little over 100 dollars, you can buy a SBC and get started on any prototype solution. Most SBC’s prices lie in the under $100 dollar range, making any system they are used in, a financially responsible choice. 


Conclusion 

Whether it’s a echo/google home alternative, a robot farmer, or even a future planet rover, single board computers are an elegant solution to a portable, electrical system. 


If you’re interested in one of these computers and don’t know where to start. Read my article on different boards and their perks.

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