View Full Version : programming languages

08-13-2010, 06:55 AM
I am absolutely new to robotics. I want to get involved in robotics as a hobby. What programming languages do I need to know to work with these robotics kits? To what extent do i have to be a programmer- do I need a high level of skill to make a hexapod kit or a biped kit. Actually these specific robots are my passion.

08-13-2010, 08:12 AM
I'm no expert in programming by any means...but here is my 2cents anyway.

You don't need to know anything. You just have to be willing to do the research necessary to learn anything.


08-13-2010, 11:07 AM
It sure helps to know fundamental BASIC to be able to understand even the simplest controls used in robotics. Luckily, they don't call it "BASIC" for nothing- dead easy to learn.

08-13-2010, 12:29 PM
Programming languages are not one-size-fits-all.

Most of the Lynxmotion hexapod and biped kits using the BASIC atom -- so you'd probably want to learn BASIC at some point with them, although if all you want to do is build it and leave it stock you'd never have to even mess with the code.

The new hexapod kits that Trossen is coming out with use an ArbotiX -- so they're C/C++ based (like all the Arduino stuff as well). In this case again, they come preloaded with code, so you don't *have* to learn the language -- although if you want to alter anything, you'd have to. In this case, the C/C++ used in the Arduino environment is actually a pretty small subset of C/C++ in general, and so the learning curve is a bit higher than BASIC, but not by much.

The Bioloid kit comes with a GUI based drag-and-drop programming solution -- so no language learning is needed (although, there is typically a limit to how sophisticated your programs can get when working with GUIs).

And just as an aside, if you ever want to write some desktop programs (on your PC) to control your robot (like, say, in mech warfare), the language I would recommend is Python (it's quite easy to learn).


08-13-2010, 01:02 PM
Hi how do I start a thread, because I have tons of questions!

08-13-2010, 01:10 PM
I wanna make a robot with the following features, and I dont know how to make my own thread:


1. Shoots Airsoft Gun or BB Gun quickly
2. Has wheels and engine/motor so it can move quickly
3. Can move down and up stairs quickly without slipping
4. Webcam so I can see what it sees on my computer monitor
5. A device I can speak to the people I'm near and they can speak back to me
6. Have the gun follow any movement and have a nice shooting program/system
7. Be able to all of this wirelessly on my computer
8. Be able to use my own Xbox controller to control all of this through my computer
8. Have it dressed in a suit with all of these features placed where they would actually be placed on a human body if possible

I'm extremely new to all of this, so I don't even know if all this is possible. I just need to know what parts to get to make most of this work. I barely know any programing, Im still confused what a "servo" is and Im pretty good with computers.


08-13-2010, 01:13 PM
Also, I can't find the link for TRC CHAT, can anyone help

08-13-2010, 03:40 PM
Create a new thread by doing the following:

click on "Community" followed by forums at the top. Select the "Rovers" forum. that will take you to the forum. Click on the "New thread" button directly above the Forum listing.

Info for the TR chat is here: