[...]... a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) Most PDAs have a small keyboard that the PDA clips onto, and an electronically sensitive pad on which handwriting can be received Typical uses include schedule and address book storage and retrieval and note-entering However, many applications have been written for PDAs Increasingly, PDAs are combined with telephones, paging systems, and wireless networks Some PDAs... IR transponders placed around the campus The PDA Robot featured in this book will use the IR port on the PDA to communicate with its body This protects the PDA from any dam3 PDA Robotics Figure 1.2 Palm m505: A typical PDA age that could occur by an electronic malfunction in the robot body, and eliminates the need for any physical connection to the PDA The PDA will act as the “brain” of the robot, monitoring... Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc Click Here for Terms of Use This page intentionally left blank PDA Robotics This page intentionally left blank 1 Anatomy of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) The power is sitting in the palm of your hand The technology exists today to bring your world to you wherever you happen to be Wireless technology, a handful of electronic components, a small handheld... the inner workings of PDA operating systems PDA (personal digital assistant) is a term for any small mobile handheld device that provides computing and information storage and retrieval capabilities for personal or business use, often for keeping schedule calendars and address book information handy The term handheld is a synonym Many people use the name of one of the popular PDA products as a generic... provide you with the know-how to create a robotic device that can be controlled through your PDA from anywhere over the World Wide Web or allowed to roam autonomously using its PDA “brain.” Why use a PDA? These devices are small and powerful, leveraging the best technology that can be offered today in the palm of your hand They make for perfect robotic controllers, as they can be easily expanded through... (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/)! PDA Robot is a scaled down version of Sojourner that has a similar framework, components, and functionality at a much lower cost! The personal digital assistant is the main control unit of the robot, communicating with the craft’s body via a beam of infrared light and to other machines on the wireless network The PDA itself becomes a data transponder It (the PDA) is insulated and... indicate alarms Some applications enable you to set alarms to remind yourself of events or notes You can set preferences for nonaudible alarm notification • Handheld screen: Displays the applications and information stored in your handheld It is touch-sensitive and responds to the stylus 4 Chapter 1 / Anatomy of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) • Graffiti writing area: The area where you write letters... and other devices (such as printers) come with IrDA ports This enables you to transfer data 8 Chapter 1 / Anatomy of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) from one device to another without any cables For example, if both your laptop computer and printer have IrDA ports, you can simply put your computer in front of the printer and output a document, without needing to connect the two with a cable IrDA ports... You can roam around your house on PDA Robot from your hotel room, cottage, or even flying 60,000 feet above the earth This book will give you the tools and know-how to transform this project into anything Explaining the schematic design, circuit board manufacturing, embedded software for the microchip, mechanical design and the software source code for the world’s two most popular PDA (handheld) operating... handhelds, and to perform HotSync operations Used for communication with PDA Robot’s body • Power button/backlight control/LED indicator: Turns your handheld on or off and controls the backlight feature If your handheld is turned off, pressing the power button turns the handheld on and returns you to the last screen you viewed If your handheld is turned on, pressing the power button turns the unit off . alt="" PDA Robotics PDA 00 5/28/03 8:19 AM Page i This page intentionally left blank. PDA Robotics Using Your Personal Digital Assistant to Control Your. 153 PDA Robotics xii PDA 00 5/28/03 8:19 AM Page xii 8 PDA Robot Palm OS Software Using Code Warrior 8.0 155 Creating the PDA Robot Project 157 9 PDA