Scignos Robot Open Source Project
Scignos Robot constitutes an Open Source Project, created by Scignos Consulting Inc. for the benefit of Educational Institutions and Hobbyists. Its goal is to provide a step-by-step guide on how to easily build a programmable Humanoid Robot at a cost of 300 US$ or less. This Site provides the steps necessary for building such a robot. Anyone who can improve on the current Model has the ability to contribute to the Project.
The core processing unit of Scignos is a Raspberry Pi Computer. All the electronic components of the Robot are controlled by this Computer. Scignos has 17 Degrees of Freedom. The Raspberry Pi is powered by its own 5 Volt Battery Pack, while the 17 Servo Motors (corresponding to its 17 Degrees of Freedom) are powered by 5 Ni-MH AA Rechargeable Batteries.
The Servo Motors are controlled by a Software called ServoBlaster created by Richard Hirst. The files regarding this Software can be accessed at the following Sitehttps://github.com/richardghirst/PiBits/tree/master/ServoBlaster.
Scignos is a combination of the words sci, meaning �knowledge� in Latin, and gnos, also meaning �Knowledge� but in ancient Greek. Thus, Scignos is meant to be a knowledgeable Robot. Scignos uses the Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine (https://www.wolframalpha.com/) in order to answer questions (at least the experimental examples found on this Site do). It interacts with this platform via a RESTful Web Service API. This API can be used for free for personal/experimental use, although a no-charge Development Account is required (Access up to 2000 non-commercial API calls per month). Please consult the following Site for more information: http://products.wolframalpha.com/developers/
Upon communicating with Scignos, if instructed, a recording of the statements is done. This recording is afterwards submitted to Google�s Speech Recognition API. Google�s Servers interpret what has been uttered and send back a text file containing the word(s)/phrase expressed. This text file, containing the spoken words as text, can afterwards be used by any script/program coded to handle it. In the examples found in the videos on this Site, the text file is sent to Wolfram Alhpa�s Servers. The Google�s Speech Recognition API can only be used for personal purposes and a Developer Key needs to be requested from Google. Furthermore, the use of the free Key is limited to 50 Requests per day.
Logic can be programmed into the Robot, so that it doesn�t need to request answers from Wolfram Alpha. Meanwhile, this would involve more artificial intelligence programming. In any case, a certain amount of logic needs to be programmed in order to reply to any basic interactions.
Scignos uses a local speech synthesis software in order to speak with any interlocutor.
The initial few �external shell� components of Scignos were designed using the Web Based Onshape CAD (Computer-Aided Design) Software, accessible at http://www.onshape.com. At the time of design, the Software was free to use, with some private storage space limitations. The policy has been modified since this initial design. Please consult the Site for more details. Otherwise, other alternatives exist for free CAD Software, such as FreeCAD (http://www.freecadweb.org/) or Autodesk�s 123D Design (http://www.123dapp.com/design) for instance.
The 3D parts designed with the CAD Software were printed at a local library. Some municipal libraries offer this service, depending on your Region and Country.
Although an initial draft Robot has already been built, its programming and improvements are an ongoing process, and have actually just started as of December 2016. Videos of the Robot were posted on this Site. Meanwhile, please note that these videos currently correspond to the very first experiments made with just a few lines of code written to control Scignos. Not much programming has been performed as of today.
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