1. About Alter products
Alter is an open source intelligent robot product for artificial intelligence,robot enthusiasts and students. It is also an open Raspberry Pi-based robot development platform. It has the following features:
Easy to assemble: adopt structural modular design, open hardware list and detailed assembly tutorial.
Easy to learn: Complete and detailed development learning tutorials and sample codes are provided for algorithms and applications.
Multi-form: It can be transformed into different types of robots by different combinations, such as quadruped robots and intelligent wheeled robots.
Rich functions: visual line inspection, automatic obstacle avoidance, color recognition, color tracking, moving object detection, triangular gait, diagonal gait, average acceleration start, self-stabilization mode, Web remote control, OLED display, lighting indicator, line patrol module line patrol function
Aluminum alloy structure:strong and durable.
Scalable: The structure is scalable and DIY.
Web remote control: Regardless of mobile phone, tablet, computer, Windows, Linux, Mac OS, as long as you can install Google Chrome browser to control the robot.
Open API: Provides basic action control functions to facilitate the secondary development of users.
Support multiple versions of Raspberry Pi: Support Raspberry Pi 3B, Raspberry Pi 3B+ and Raspberry Pi 4.
Support Python: You can use python programming to achieve some functions.
2. Alter's three types of robots
Alter can be assembled into three different types of robots, namely Alter Dog, Alter Racing Car and Alter Classic Car.
2.1 Alter Dog
Alter Dog is an intelligent quadruped robot that uses advanced software and hardware technology architecture, mechanical design, intelligent algorithms and motion control algorithms. It has automatic obstacle avoidance, color recognition and tracking, moving object detection, self-stabilization, and triangular gait , diagonal gait, Web remote control and other functions; the leg is designed with a linkage mechanism, which can greatly reduce the complexity of the mechanical structure. While maximizing the use of the limited power of the servo, Alter Dog walk more stable and powerful; in the machine-controlled program, we used the algorithm of Inverse Kinematics to control legs.You can control the position of the end of the leg by inputting coordinate values, which is the basic function used to implement other advanced functions. For example, by acquiring the reading of the MPU6050 sensor, the self-stabilizing function of the quadruped robot can be realized; when performing color recognition, Alter Dog can be controlled to track a certain color for pitch movement;In terms of gait generation, we also provide diagonal gait and triangular gait generation methods. Since the latter has strict requirements for parameter debugging, we use the diagonal gait by default. Of course, you can also switch to triangular gait simply by rewriting one variable.
2.2 Alter Classic Car
Alter Classic Car is a wheeled robot with differential steering. It has functions such as visual line inspection and line inspection, automatic obstacle avoidance, uniform acceleration starting, color recognition, moving object detection, Web remote control, OLED display, and lighting indicators；Alter Classic Car uses 360° servos to drive the robot. It moves slightly slower, but it has a higher reduction ratio. When the car is very slow, it can also obtain a large torque. It is suitable for desktop occasions and low-speed control usage scenarios;In our default program, Alter Classic Car is uniformly accelerated, taking the advantages of 360° servos to obtain more efficient line-tracking performance.
2.3 Alter Racing Car
Alter Racing Car is also a wheeled robot with differential steering.Using large-size wheels, it makes Alter Racing Car have excellent off-road performance and can be applied to complex terrain.It has functions such as visual line inspection and line inspection, automatic obstacle avoidance, color recognition, moving object detection, Web remote control, OLED display, and lighting indicators;Alter Racing Car uses DC motors to drive the robot. It moves faster. We only need to control the high and low level of a few GPIO ports on the Raspberry Pi to control the motor rotation, which is convenient for beginners to learn the control method of car products quickly.
