Connect 4At last the mark I of the connect 4 playing robot is complete. There is lots more to do, but you can get the general idea now. CONNECT 4Connect 4 Robot DevelopmentYou could help develop the neural networks by providing opponents. Connect 4 Mark IAt last the mark I of the connect 4 playing robot is complete. There is lots more to do, but you can get the general idea now. Connect 4 Project Phase 3The next arm lifts counters from the slots into which the sort arm has placed them and loads the elevator alternately with red and yellow counters. Like the sort arm the lift arm only works in two dimensions. This arm is made from acrylic. It is not quite as rigid as aluminium but is rigid enough, and is easier to work with. In particular it can be welded using a sort of glue that gets into joints by capillary action. Connect 4 Project Phase 2In this phase the robot learns to distinguish red from yellow. The Raspberry Pi camera module is the basis for this. It might be considered overkill to take a megapixel picture to assess colour, but smaller images can easily be bamboozled by reflections and glare and ambient lighting features. I have had to abandon Lego for the robot arm as I couldn't get the rigidity necessary for predictable positioning. The arm is simply made from 3mm aluminium sheet. This wonderful material can easily be sawn and drilled with woodworking tools. Connect 4 Project Phase 1 |