Robot Inspiration Series #6: Computer-Interacting Robots

This week's Robot Inspiration might sound a little advanced: make a robot that interacts with the computer. However, this can actually be quite easy, while opening up a host of new applications. As I posted about here and here, you can use RoboRealm to easily make robots interact with the computer in a variety of ways. Now RoboRealm has added more computer capability to their software.

Keyboard: Besides taking input from the keyboard, you can make a robot control the keyboard. In other words, I could have my robot write a post on this blog! In terms of taking input from the keyboard, here's a video of a "NXT Messenger" I made using RoboRealm. With the range of BT, I can type a message up here in my room, and my mom can read it in the kitchen, two floors down, on the NXT brick!


(sorry for the low quality of the NXT screen... putting the video in the blogger player made it much harder to read the text on the NXT screen)

Mouse: Now RoboRealm lets you get the coordinates of a computer mouse and even control the mouse. Here's a video of my computer mouse controlling a cursor on the NXT screen:



-Jonathan

EDIT: You can get the two .robo (RoboRealm) files here and here (to get them you'll need to right-click->Save Target As). You can get the two NXT-G programs here and here. Just to clarify what goes on, the .robo files read inputs from the computer and send the data to the NXT brick via BT, and the NXT-G files recieve the data and control the actual behaviors of the NXT Brick.

EDIT 2: You can get the My Block for the Keyboard NXT-G program here.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very nice!
Anonymous said…
Good work!
Could you please post the robo program?
Thank you!
Updated the post with links to the robo files and NXT-G files... they're all very simple, except the robo Keyboard file has a lot of stuff inside the Keyboard Read module.

-Jonathan
Anonymous said…
I use NXTender, is this a better way?
I don't know... I haven't used NXTender.

-Jonathan
drewghost said…
can you post the myblock for the keyboard program in NXT-G?
Anonymous said…
Ive used nxtender and switched to roborealm..Ill never go back!
Its easier, at least for me, and has way more capabilities.

Nicthegr
Thanks for catching, Drew... updated the post with a link to the My Block.

-Jonathan
Salax said…
That's really cool, I'm planning on trying it on my dad's laptop once I get around to it(mine doesn't have bluetooth). Do you know if there are any easy to understand roborealm tutorials? I've messed around with the software but haven't actually figured out how to interface it, etc.
Salax said…
When I open the pages for downloading .robo files I just get a bunch of text. what do I do to get the program?
Anonymous said…
just click at the page with the right mousebutton,dispay source

here yo see a sort of xml file

save that file as a *.robo file !

Popular Posts