This book provides far more detail on the hardware aspects of robot building than any other I have seen to date and is worth picking up.
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Intermediate Robot Building - 0 views
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"Intermediate Robot Building" offers the kind of real-world knowledge that only an experienced robot builder can offer--the kind of knowledge beginners usually have to learn through mistakes. In this book, you'll learn the value of a robot heartbeat and the purpose of the wavy lines in photocells.
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Intermediate Robot Building by David Cook covers all aspects of robot building, from mechanical, to electronics, to microcontroller selection.
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BASIC Stamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views
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The BASIC Stamp is a microcontroller with a small, specialized BASIC interpreter (PBASIC) built into ROM.
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The third variant is the Javelin stamp. This stamp uses Sun Microsystem's Java programing language instead of Parallax's PBasic
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all current PICs are Flash-based, and support in-circuit programming.
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The Basic Stamp > interprets instructions in real-time, essentially running a virtual machine on the PIC. This means that it is much slower
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The Stamp implements a complete solution on a single PCB. In comparison, a bare PIC requires a separate power regulator and substantial decoupling on its output.
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Robot: mere machine to transcendent mind - 0 views
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The book considers the history and future of intelligent machines. It argues that robots will match human intelligence in less than fifty years, and suggests arrangements for a comfortable human existence in a fully automated economy. Concluding chapters speculate on the distant future of evolving intelligence.
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shared by York Jong on 27 May 07
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BEAM Pieces -- Integrated circuits - 0 views
library.solarbotics.net/...parts_elect_ic.html
5star beam collection electronics ic motor robot solar survey
shared by York Jong on 27 May 07
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1381s are CMOS voltage-controlled triggers -- these "gate" a source until the voltage is above some "trip" limit, at which point it is allowed onto a third pin
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We use them as 3- or 5-volt triggers
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This chip is often considered the heart of Nv net technology
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The '240 is often called "the bicore chip," because we can take advantage of the 240's inverters to turn a single 74*240 into a bicore
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The '240 also has tri-state outputs, so an enable line can be used to turn its outputs on and off simply (good for adding reversing capability to a 'bot).
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any *cores built with a 74*04 will require additional logic "downstream" to amplify the current to levels sufficient to drive a moto
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Schmitt triggers can't easily be used in suspended bicore implementations
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use its buffers as little current amplifiers
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it is usable for either grounded or suspended bicore designs (but better for suspended)
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74HC/HCTxx non-buffers (74HC14 or 74HC04) draw about half of the current consumption, and have about half the drive current compared to HC / HCT buffer chips (74HC240 or 74HC245). Non-buffer chips are thus better for oscillators, say Nv and Nu applications; they are not suited for use in driving motors.
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74AC is best suited for motor driver applications with all inputs driven rail to rail.
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The '245 is an octal buffer chip, and so has 8 channels of buffering power available for our misuse. This chip was designed for data transmission uses, but we'll misuse it as a motor driver chip
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The '244 provides us with 8 (thus the "octal") buffers, enableable in banks of 4. This is a very useful chip for amplifying small currents
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it can drive up to 4 motors in 2 directions each, or you can "buddy up" inputs and outputs to drive fewer motors at higher current
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it can drive up to 4 motors in 2 directions each, or you can "buddy up" inputs and outputs to drive fewer motors at higher current
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If you can't find 1381s locally, you might have better luck finding its European cousin, the TC-54 -- for details on it
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Note that if you need more than about 200 mA per motor, you'll need to use an H-bridge, or some similar motor driver
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The ideal BEAM circuit would use a low (2V-3V) voltage core and sensors combined with level shifting high (5-6V) volt motor drivers to maximize efficiency.
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74ACxxx used in typical BEAM applications uses 4x more supply current than does 74HC/HCTxxx.
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The following material is intended to cover usage and part selection details of ICs you're most likely to see in BEAM robots.
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Build this simple "electronic electroscope," a FET electrometer - 0 views
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This simple circuit can detect the invisible fields of voltage which surround all electrified objects
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The Gate acts as an antenna, so leave it unconnected.
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The 1-meg resistor helps protect the FET from being harmed by any accidental sparks to its Gate lead. The circuit will work fine without this resistor. Just don't intentionally "zap" the Gate wire with a charged object or your charged finger.
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To test the circuit, charge up a pen or a comb on your hair, then wave it close to the little "antenna" wire. The LED should go dark. When you remove the electrified pen or comb, the LED should light up again.
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If you suspect that humidity is very high, test this by rubbing a balloon or a plastic object upon your arm. If the balloon does not attract your arm hairs, humidity is too high.
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This FET sensor is not an ideal educational device because it responds differently to positive than to negative.
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negative objects turn the LED off, it lights again when removed. positive objects make the LED bright, then dark when removed.
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Obtain a small capacitor with a value below 100 picofarads. Connect it between the FET gate lead and one of the other FET leads (doesn't matter which one.) This greatly reduces the sensitivity of the device
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Now make the circuit MORE sensitive. Obtain an alligator clip-lead, and connect it to the Gate lead of the FET. Let it hang loose without touching anything. You'll find that this has vastly increased the sensitivity of your FET circuit.
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This simple circuit can detect the invisible fields of voltage which surround all electrified objects. It acts as an electronic "electroscope.
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Inside The Ugobe Pleo - Organic Robot Life - 0 views
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CALEB CHUNG: Of course we could have used micro-servo motors to accomplish the motion of Pleo, but we aren’t able to use expensive motors. So we had to engineer it with a high-speed motor with high gearing and no backlash for control purposes and have it all fit within the muscle envelope of Pleo.
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So what we did was go after a lot of ethology research. How do animals really handle the complexity of their environment? We built a virtual brain—a whole system that decides how Pleo will react in various situations.
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CALEB CHUNG: Pleo will reset thresholds and adjust his idea of what he thinks is normal. Let’s say you get Pleo and you take him home to your shag carpet. When Pleo walks, the carpet will drag on his feet. So his force feedback sensors will realize that he is spending too much energy to walk around. Pleo will try different things to reduce the energy spent. Eventually, he will have the idea to step higher. Your Pleo compared to my Pleo will walk with a higher step.
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Eventually, we got to the point where we don’t know what Pleo will do next because he learns. If Caleb and I went to your house to see your Pleo, we couldn’t predict a lot of the things he would do, even though we know everything we put in him. Pleo has the ability to change and figure things out on his own.
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Consumers will be able to download and customize Pleo later this year or early next year. We want to give the user the ability to change Pleo’s personality, animations and tricks. We also want to allow developers and hobbyists to take the SDK and motion system and behavior system and choreograph advanced features and animations for new AI functionality.
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We didn’t include a camera (or voice recognition) in Pleo because of the price point for the product. Pleo is probably a good hack for a CMU camera, and we want people to develop these sorts of things.
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The only way you can create life is to give it choice. Life is very complex, and it has to evolve, otherwise it is a robot. The only way to get complex systems to work is to let them chose for themselves.
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Pleo is UGOBE's first designer Life Form and is based on the Camarasaurus dinosaur. He is made up of an amazing array of sensors, motors (14!), and distributed computing with an ARM-7 processor commanding it all.
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Trossen Robotics Offers Pleo Preorder - 0 views
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Pleo Technical Specs: Ugobe LifeOS 32 bit Atmel ARM 7 microprocessor - The main processor for Pleo 16 bit sub processor - The processor dedicated to the camera system (4) 8 bit processors that provide the low-level motor control for the servos (35) Sensors including a camera custom designed to fit into Pleo’s very compact body. (4) foot-switches to detect footfalls and being picked up - assists with spatial orientation. (12) capacitive touch sensors (4) legs, (4) feet, back, shoulder, head, chin (2) microphones for directional sound detection (14) “Force” sensors, one per servo, to recognize abuse through force feedback joints. Orientation/tilt sensor IR transceiver for bidirectional data communication with other Pleos. IR interrupter for detection of objects in Pleo’s mouth (14) motors. Standard low voltage DC motors (150) gears and clutches Rechargeable NiMH battery pack USB port with mini USB connector SD/MMC memory card slot
Look Inside << PleoWorld - 0 views
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全球首款"生命体"机器恐龙Pleo粉墨登场 - 0 views
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shared by York Jong on 27 May 07
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Furby Schematics - 0 views
mechatronics.mech.northwestern.edu/...Furby_schematics.html
5star calebchung circuit embedded furby robot schematics
shared by York Jong on 27 May 07
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Note that the resistor value of the pull-down resistor affects the voltage at pin 3 of the Furby's connector. We used a 1k ohm resistor to make it less sensitive to light (since we're now operating with it open to ambient light).
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In the above diagram, a 20k ohm resistor is used as the pull-up resistor. You can, however, use any resistor as the pull-up resistor as long as the resistance is high enough to protect the circuit.
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There are a number of sensors and a motor driver on the Furby. The following is a list of these sensors and their functions.
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shared by York Jong on 28 May 07
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Ray's Solder-less Motor Mount Tutorial - 0 views
raysbeambots.solarbotics.net/MotorMount.htm
5star beam diy motor nonsolder photopopper phototrope photovore robot toturial trick
shared by York Jong on 28 May 07
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attach your Pager Motors to your Popper using two Fuse Clips, two Small Paper Clips, and no solder
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Set one straightened paper clip aside, you will use it at the end. Bend the two tips of one of the two paper clips as shown.
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Put it in through the fuse clip like this, but make sure the notch in the fuse clip is facing out. (The clip has one edge bent inwards. This is the part that has to face outwards). Study this next picture closely.
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From the position above, bend the paper clip up and then around the lead of the fuse clip as in the next picture.
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Bend the paper clip under the fuse clip...
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then up and over the fuse clip:
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then around its other lead and you're almost done with the first fuse clip.
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First clip -- wire is on the RIGHT side of the fuse clip leads... Second Clip -- wire is on the LEFT side of the fuse clip leads... But remember to make sure the notch in the fuse clip is facing out. (The clip has one edge bent inwards. This is the part that has to face outwards). Follow all the steps above with the second clip and you get this:
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I'll show you how to attach your Pager Motors to your Popper using two Fuse Clips, two Small Paper Clips, and no solder.
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BEAM Circuits -- Field sensors - 0 views
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note that the human body is a good absorber of stray RF fields, so this sensor should be a good people-detector
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should be shield, not sheilduses two of six inverting Schmitt trigger in a 74HC14 IC
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Robotics -- Logo Products - 0 views
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Many Logo-based and other robotics products produced by LEGO are distributed to schools in the USA by Pitsco.
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This free-range turtle does not require connection to a computer. All the controls are on board.
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The Cricket is a tiny computer, suitable for all kinds of robotics projects, that you can program using Logo.
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Logo has long been used to control mechanical turtles and other robotic devices. Here are some sources of equipment and related software.
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MetaCricket: A designer's kit for making computational devices - 0 views
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All Cricket devices have a built-in bidirectional infrared communications channel, which is used for Cricket-to-desktop communication (when downloading programs to a Cricket, or viewing sensor data) and Cricket-to-Cricket communication.
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Cricket Logo is based on an iterative, interactive model of project development. It includes a “command center” window; instructions typed into this window are instantaneously compiled, downloaded to a Cricket, and executed, giving the system the flavor of an interpreted software environment such as LISP, BASIC, or FORTH.
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The MetaCricket software system is based on a virtual machine, written in PIC assembly language and running on the Cricket, and a compiler for the virtual machine running on a desktop development computer
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It is straightforward to implement an interpreter-like interface, where user commands are transparently compiled, downloaded, and executed.
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The Cricket virtual machine is burned into the PIC microprocessor's internal ROM
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The user's code resides in a serial EEPROM
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Built-in infrared communications routines include a protocol for reading and writing to this external EEPROM, and for asking the virtual machine to begin execution of byte codes already loaded into the EEPROM.
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Users write programs for the Cricket in Cricket Logo, a dialect of Logo specialized for the Cricket virtual machine. Essentially, there is a one-to-one mapping between statements in Cricket Logo and primitive functions built into the virtual machine. This makes the implementation of the compiler far simpler than typical compilers.
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The infrared protocol includes the following capabilities: Check that a Cricket is present and ready for other commands. Write a byte to the Cricket's EEPROM. Read a byte from the Cricket's memory. Begin program execution from a particular memory address.
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we have found that a debugger is not necessary because of the interactive and incremental style of project development that occurs when using the Cricket.
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The compiler includes an interactive mode—a text window where user expressions are compiled, downloaded, and executed in one step when the user presses the return key. A portion of the Cricket's memory is set aside for these dynamic programs.
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User-level primitive functions compile to one, two, or three bytes of object code for the Cricket virtual machine.
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The Cricket virtual machine has two process threads: a foreground process and a background daemon. In most Cricket programs, the foreground thread handles all the work, but for some tasks, the background daemon is valuable. For example, the background daemon can be used to instigate a periodic activity, or take action when some event occurs.
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There are hardware-specific primitives for interacting with on-board Cricket hardware. Motor commands set state (on or off), direction, and power levels for each of the two integrated motor drivers. Analog sensor primitives (sensora and sensorb) return a value (0 to 255) for each of the two voltage inputs. These inputs also may be interpreted as digital values using the switcha and switchb primitives. There is a pair of primitive functions for generating tones on the piezo beeper: beep and note, the latter taking pitch and duration arguments.
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there is a background millisecond timer that is updated every four milliseconds
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One foreground thread plus one background daemon Daemon fires when provided Boolean expression makes false-to-true transition
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Robot Room - Recommended books and periodicals - 0 views
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Hobbyist may have difficultly finding a book about electronics that doesn't contain too much mathematical or theoretical material. The books listed on this page are those that I found helpful, readable, and interesting.
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Robot Room - Removing Weight From Tiny Vibrating Motor - 0 views
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ELM - Desktop Line Following Robot - 0 views
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The Line Following is a kind of the robot contests to vie running speed on the line. I build a tiny line following robot which can run on the desk, moving the key board aside will do.
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ROBOT BATTERIES - 0 views
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Motorcycle lead acid batteries work great for larger low performance type robots. They are great for solar power robots too.
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lead acid batteries have the serious problem of being very large and heavy, need to always be kept charged, and do not have the high discharge rates as the more modern batteries.
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They have low power capacities, are heavy, have trouble supplying large amounts of current in short time periods, and get expensive to constantly replace
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Li-ion batteries have the same high energy capacity as NiMHs, power output rates of NiCads, and weigh about 20%-35% less. They also have zero memory effect problems, meaning you can recharge whenever
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NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries are good for small to medium size range robots. They have the highest current output, are more affordable than NiMH's, and can be recharged within one or two hours
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A NiCad, over many charges, can only store less and less energy after each recharge. To prevent memory effect, whenever you wish to recharge your NiCad, you must first fully discharge it.
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NiCad batteries contain toxic cadmium stuff, so save a squirrel and recycle/dispose of it properly.
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NiMH battaries can last many more cycles than your typical NiCad battery.
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they have good current output, and have the highest energy capacity. I would recommend them for small size robots and for powering circuits. Note, NiMH batteries usually take like 10 hours to recharge depending on various factors.
