Project Implementation

     The implementation of the PSU Stiquito Project involved six distinct step:  research, assembly of Stiquito I, manual controller experiment, assembly of Stiquito II, BASIC Stamp micro-controller experiment, and evaluation of the experiments.

Step 1:  Research            

     The main sources of information on the Stiquito robot were the texts Stiquito:  Advanced Experiments with a Simple and Inexpensive Robot and Stiquito for Beginners:  An Introduction to Robotics by Dr. James Conrad and Dr. Jonathan W. Mills.  The latter was not received until the end of the project, however we did obtain chapter proofs from Dr. Conrad.  These books include background information, the robot kit, assembly instructions, and ideas for future experiments with the Stiquito and other robots.

     The other main source of Stiquito information was Internet sites.  A few of these sites were the IEEE Computer Society Stiquito page (for the two Stiquito texts), Dynalloy Inc. (the makers of the Flexinol wire), and Parallax Inc. (the makers of the BASIC Stamp micro-controller).

Step 2:  Assembly of Stiquito I

     The Stiquito robot was then built using the kit provided in the text.  This robot was used during the manual controller experiments and was hardwired for a tripod gait configuration with two control wires (see Figure 3 below).

Figure 3:  The tripod gait configuration

Step 3:  Manual Controller Experiments

     The manual controller was also constructed from the kit and procedure included in the text (See Figure 4 below).  The purpose of these experiments was to get the robot to walk well and to troubleshoot our assembly.

Figure 4:  Manual controller experiment

Step 4:  Assembly of Stiquito II

     With minor modifications, a second Stiquito robot was then built using the kit and procedure provided in the text.  This robot was used during the BASIC Stamp micro-controller experiments and could be tested with a variety of gait configurations because it had a control wire on each of its six legs.

Step 5:  BASIC Stamp Microcontroller Experiments

     The circuitry for the BASIC Stamp experiments was then constructed (see Figure 5 below), and different gait configurations were tested.  The BASIC Stamp is a programmable micro-controller controlled with Parallax PBASIC programming language stored on electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM).

Figure 5:  BASIC Stamp experiment

Step 6:  Evaluation of the Experiments

     The experiments were then evaluated in terms of their suitability and appropriateness for use during a first-year seminar course.  Considering our own level of knowledge and expertise against those of first-year students, as well as our own personal experiences as first-year students, helped up to make our determination.  Our findings and suggestions will considered when formulating the final set of experiments for the introductory course.