Line-Following Race (Regulated vs Unregulated Power), GS 07

In this video two of my students, Omar Mustardo and Charlies Mao, demonstrate the difference between powering robots with regulated and unregulated voltage. Robodyssey Systems manufactures the Mouse robot and RAMB II motherboard you see here. The RAMB II gives the user the choice of using regulated or unregulated power.

The line-following robot that is powered using unregulated (battery) voltage is clearly faster that the one using regulated +5V power. Students often choose the regulated-voltage option when precision motion is desired. However, a line-following robot has no need for precision movements because it is self-correcting and therefore should be powered with unregulated voltage.

The robot's brain is NetMedia's BX-24 microcontroller, which is programmed using the BasicX language. I am the author of the world's only BasicX textbook; if you are interested in learning how to program your own robot, see my website at www.basicxandrobotics.com.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• robot
• regulated
• unregulated
• power
• line
• following
• computer
• programming
• autonomous
• BX-24
• BasicX
• George
• School
• Mouse
• RAMB

[odomc]

Unregulated power makes the robot move faster but with less precision. Precision is not needed with a line-following robot, so unregulated is probably the way to go here.

[odomc]

The BX-24 is powered with a battery pack. The battery pack (six AA rechargables) is fed into a Robodyssey motherboard called the RAMB II -- a GREAT little motherboard! The RAMB provides two power options: unregulated power straight from the battery pack; and regulated power. The regulated power comes from a simple 5-V regulator onboard the RAMB. Students can choose whether to power their servomotors with regulated or unregulated power. Regulated power yields a slower, more precise robot.

[markydavid26]

hi. . is it better to use a battery than a power supply? how come the other one is using a regulated power?i didnt see any supply