Zing

Zing is a mini humanoid designed to make learning robotics engaging and accessible. It can walk, dance, and respond to voice commands through the Plode App. Perfect for hands-on learning, Zing provides an engaging platform to bring your programming and robotics ideas to life.

Introduction to Zing

Zing is packed with awesome capabilities that make learning and playing with robotics super fun! Here’s what Zing can do:

• Basic Movements and Actions: Zing can perform basic human actions based on its pre-programmed code through the Plode App.
• App Remote Control: The Plode App remote controls Zing’s movements and actions.
• Interactive Usage: Equipped with ultrasonic sensors, Zing can navigate obstacles and interact with its environment. It can be also controlled through voice in the AI mode of the Plode app.
• Programmable Actions: Create your sequences and teach Zing new tricks with block-based or text-based programming.
• Ultimate Edutainment: Zing is your gateway into mastering humanoid coding and problem-solving.

Zing’s Anatomy:

The design of Zing is made to ensure that the movements are similar to that of a Human body, the left and right half of Zing’s anatomy consists of 8 motors for each side, and the head is controlled by one motor.

Let us understand Zing better with the breakdown of its key anatomical components given below:

● Head

• Motor: Servo PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) (Label H)
• Components: Equipped with a servo motor at the neck and an ultrasonic sensor.
• Degree of Freedom (DOF): 1
  • Capabilities: Can move left and right, allowing for expressive interactions and sensing.

● Torso

• Houses the motherboard and battery. It provides structural stability and supports other parts of Zing, including the head, arms, and legs.

● Arms

1. Shoulders:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 16, 8)
   • Components: Equipped with 1 servo motor on each arm.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 2
     • Capabilities: Allows for lifting and lowering the arm.
2. Elbows:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 15, 7)
   • Components: Equipped with 1 servo motor on each arm.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 2
     • Capabilities: Allows for bending and straightening the arm.
3. Wrists:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 14, 6)
   • Components: Equipped with 1 servo motor on each arm.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 2
     • Capabilities: Allows for forward and backward movement.

● Legs

1. Hips:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 13, 5)
   • Components: Equipped with 2 servo motors on each side of the hip.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 2
     • Capabilities: Facilitates sideways movement of the entire leg.
2. Thighs and Knees:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 12, 4) & (Label 11, 3)
   • Components: Equipped with servo motors for bending and straightening the legs.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 4
     • Capabilities: Supports walking and dynamic poses by adjusting leg angles.
3. Shins:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 10, 2)
   • Components: Equipped with servo motors on each shin area of the legs.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 2
     • Capabilities: Provides additional flexibility for the legs.
4. Feet/Ankles:
   • Motors: Serial Servo (Label 9, 1)
   • Components: Equipped with servo motors on each foot.
   • Degree of Freedom (DOF): 2
     • Capabilities: Supports Zing while walking or standing, allowing for foot/ankle movement.

1. Hardware

1. Mechanical Components

Zing's mechanical design ensures versatile and dynamic movements while maintaining a compact and sturdy form. With 16 degrees of freedom, Zing can perform various actions such as walking, dancing, and interacting with its environment. The Serial servo motors installed at key joints enable smooth and precise movements.

Center of Gravity (COG) Management and Stability:

1. Component Placement: Critical components like the battery and microcontroller are strategically placed in the torso to keep the center of gravity low and centered. This design choice helps Zing stay balanced during various movements.
2. Weight Distribution: Zing’s weight is evenly distributed across its frame. The arms, legs, and torso are designed to have balanced mass distribution, which aids in maintaining a steady center of gravity.

• Mechanical Specifications of Robot Body:

Specification	Detail
Height	____ inches
Weight	____ kg
Material Used for External Body	AL5052
Thickness of material	Knee and Hip: 1.5 mm Rest: 1.2 mm

The external body of the Zing is made up of durable powder-coated coated aluminum alloy. This has been done considering the following reasons:

1. Corrosion resistant
2. Enhanced Durability
3. Easy Maintenance
4. Aesthetically appealing
5. Lightweight yet strong structure

Motherboard:

Zing is equipped with a motherboard based on an ESP32 microcontroller. This motherboard includes additional GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) ports for extra connections and controls. The ESP-based motherboard manages Zings’s operations and communication, making it a central component for the robot’s functionality and flexibility. The motherboard can be used on other robotic applications as well.

Motherboard Specifications:

Specifications	Details
Name	PeeCee
Microcontroller	ESP32 S3 Module
Flash Memory	4 MB
SRAM	520 KB
Operating Voltage	3.3 V
Temperature Range	-40 to 85°C
Connectivity	Bluetooth, WiFi, USB-C
Additional Ports	A, B, C, D (A and C  port exposed)

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) Servos:

In Zing, a single Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) servo motor is employed to control the head movement. This servo motor is integral to the robot's expressive interactions and sensing capabilities. Here's a brief overview of its functionality

(Add Pic of PWM Servo motor that is used in zing)

• Description: PWM servos operate by receiving signals in the form of pulse width modulation. The length of the "high" pulse (how long the pulse stays on) within a fixed period determines the servo's position.
• Precision: The control afforded by PWM signals allows for accurate head movements, allowing Zing to interact in a lifelike manner.

Specifications Of PWM Servo:

Specification	Details
Type
Torque
Speed
Operating Voltage	5V
Control Resolution
Size
Weight
Gear Type	Plastic clutch motors
Payload Capacity

Serial Servos:  

*picture*

Serial servos are specialised motors used in Zing’s joints to control movement with precision and simplicity. Unlike traditional servos, which require multiple wires for power and control, serial servos use a single data line for communication. Although there are many servos available in the market we have chosen to use Serial servos for the following reasons:

Key Benefits:

• Simplified Wiring: One data line for control reduces clutter and complexity.
• Built-in Communication: Direct data transmission allows for precise control and less signal interference.
• Compact Design: Helps keep Zing organized and lightweight.
• Daisy-Chaining Capability: Serial servos can be connected in a series (daisy-chained), allowing multiple servos to be controlled with fewer wires. This is particularly useful in robots with many joints, like Zing.

Specifications of  Serial Servo Motor:

Specifications	Value
Type	Serial Servo
Operating Voltage	6.0 - 8.4V
Stall Torque	35 kgf-cm
No Load Speed	0.16 sec/60°
Mechanical Limit Angle	300°
Control Resolution	0.01° resolution
Backlash	≤1.0°
Dimensions	20 x 40 x 40.5
Weight (per motor)
Gear Type	Metal Gears
Payload Capacity	25 kg-cm

Caution: These high-capacity Servo motors have moving parts that can create pinch points. Fingers or other body parts caught between moving components can cause injury. Always ensure that hands and other body parts are kept away from moving parts while the servo is operating.

Other Electronic Component Specification:

Component	Specification
Battery	Voltage: 12.6 V battery [3.7 Li-ion x 3] Capacity: 2000 mah
Ultrasonic Sensor	Operating Voltage: 5V Operating frequency: 40khz Measuring Angle: 15° Min Range: 2cm Max Range: 4m Sensitivity: -65dB/min
Speaker	Type: Stereo speaker Power: 3W
Adapter	Output Voltage: 12.6V Output Current: 2A

Additional Plug-ins: External plug-ins in Zing refer to the additional components that can be connected to the robot's Motherboard to enhance its functionality. These plug-ins include sensors, LEDs, and displays. The external plug-ins connect to specific ports on Zings’s custom-built Motherboard. These ports are strategically placed on the board to ensure easy access and efficient connectivity, allowing users to enhance and customize 's capabilities according to their needs.

2. Software

Zing is supported by in-house software called PLODE. We can connect Zing to the Plode App by using Bluetooth in case of an Android device or by using a USB C-type Cable in case you are connecting it to a PC.

Plode contains an inbuilt remote control for Zing which allows you to control the robot to move in different directions. It also contains a menu of pre-programmed actions which you can make Zing to perform. For eg. Attention, Left Kick, Right Kick, Dance, etc.

Through Plode’s AI mode, Zing can respond to voice commands by performing actions based on the command.

Zing supports a variety of programming methods, offering flexibility to suit different skill levels and project needs all through the Plode app.

visit Plode for more info.

Block-Based Programming

• Ideal for beginners, the block-based (add a link for block-based programming wiki on word block-based)  interface in the Plode app lets users create programs by arranging visual blocks. This method is user-friendly and helps grasp basic programming concepts without writing code.

Python Programming

• For those with more programming experience, Python(Add link for plodes python wiki on word ‘python’) offers advanced control over Zing. This text-based language provides powerful tools for writing custom scripts and handling complex tasks.

Additional Programming Environments

If necessary Zing can also be programmed with many other IDEs such as Arduino IDE, Thonny IDE, etc.