Boe-Bot
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Professor Chuck Schoeffler of the University of Idaho Industrial Technology Education program took his Board of Education programming board and mounted it on a robot chassis, known today as the Boe-Bot robot. Dr. Scheoffler inspired the creation of the Boe-Bot robot and Parallax, Inc. developed the Boe-Bot robot as an educational kit for their Stamps In Class program. The Boe-Bot is controlled by a BASIC Stamp microcontroller. The BASIC Stamp is programmed in PBASIC. The Boe-Bot Robot Kit includes the “Robotics with the Boe-Bot” student guide, with 41 activities that range from basic movement and proceed to more involved sensor-based projects. The robot may be programmed to follow a line, solve a maze, follow light, or communicate with another robot by following the instruction of the Robotics text. No previous robotics, electronics or programming experience is necessary, recommended for ages 14 and up.
The Boe-Bot robot is simply a rolling BASIC Stamp on a carrier board (Board of Education). All I/O projects are built on the breadboard which although is smaller than that of professional tools is usually sufficient to hold anywhere from 2-4 components (LEDs,Resistors,ICs,etc). The circuit board is mounted on an aluminum chassis that provides a sturdy platform for the electronics and the servo motors. Mounting holes and slots on the chassis may be used to add custom robotic equipment. The rear wheel is a drilled polyethylene ball held in place with a cotter pin. Wheels are machined to fit precisely on the servo spline and held in place with a small screw. Both the carrier board and the BASIC Stamp module may be removed and used as a platform for non-robotic experimentation.