The Tamabot DayCare v1 is a bot used to care of your Tamagotchi...
You've just got this tiny stuff, you love it, but you can't take care of it as you could. Let the TamaBot Daycare do its job, it will (almost) take care of it for you...

Note: the following examples are based on an old SirBot architecture, never released. Some information may be obsolete... Particularly, the SirBot console (see screenshots) is now a python CLI (ipython), the action file is a simple python file and the notion of order is completely out-of-date, and simply replaced by class method.

• Quick Tour
• How to build it ?
• Gallery
  

Quick Tour

The Tamabot DayCare is a robot, built with SirBot, which is able to care of your tamagotchi. It works with an arm, pushing the tamagotchi's buttons:




The tamagotchi is put on a "nest" so the TamaBot can act on it easily.

The TamaBot is a SirBot based robot. Connecting to the bot is esay, using the SirBot console:

Lauching the console automatically auto-configures the communication process and connects to the bot. Several commands are available, as shown using the help command.

Using ls, the SirBot console shows all the available actions the bot can understand. Some are ProtocolUnit, the smallest actions and the only one the bot can understand. Others are Order, a composition of other actions, which are translated into ProtocolUnit. Such translation is shown when ls'ing an order.


The SirBot console, as an interpreter, is also able to read action from a file:


Here, the TamaBot protocol is loaded, autosleep is configured so actions are synchronized between the SirBot console and the bot, then the bot is told to feed, cure, clean and time out the tamagotchi. Easy, simple, high level, it's SirBot...


Here is a video where you can see the TamaBot proceeding this file...

How to build it ?

Hardware

The TamaBot DayCare v1 is built with two major boards:

• a Main Board, which handle communication between the bot and the PC, and have a power supply
• a Servo Controller Board, which can control up to 8 servos.

You first have to build these two boards. Follow the links and instructions and proceed to tests before continueing. You also need to build a bus cable.Then, assemble the whole as following:


To build the TamaBot DayCare, you must have 2 servos, one to control rotations, another to push the buttons on your Tamagotchi.

Finally, you need a metal frame to give your bot a shape... You're free to build it the way you want. Notice that in order the arm of the bot able to push all the three buttons, three small plastic plates are used, which then allow the arm to be quite approximative...


Finally, the arm describes a circle, as the position of the tamagotchi's buttons. To facilitate the arm's movements, the arm and the button are aligned (but the arm hides the screen...).

Software

You need a piece of software:

• a PIC ASM file containing all actions the TamaBot can handle. This files needs to be compiled in hex code, and written on the PIC 16F628 used on the Main Board. (I personnaly use a commercial PIC programmer, PIC01. Check this link to see how to make it work under Linux
• a protocol file, describing the actions from the user point of view (high level). This protocol file is processed by the SirBot Software and allows you to easily control your bot.
  

Configuration

In the protocol file, you will see different values associated to the SERVO action. These values specify the position of the servo. You may need to change them, as positions may differ due to servos' differences and the way you built your tamabot. Be carefull not destroy your tamagotchi...

Gallery