Round Bots can move into tighter spaces with ease, and won't knock anything over when they spin around but square bots are easier to build and the frame is much stronger than round bots.
Which one will win? You decide.
Okey Take these Pictures as an example. This is what I am trying to say.
SRLM said...
Does your robot really have the intelligence to move in really tight spaces? I'd go with square.
Disclaimer: I didn't come up with these pictures. They are not my designs. Please do not give me ANY credit for these two images.
I found the example in this book, Robot Builder's Bonanza Third Edition by Gordon McComb and Myke Preoko.
I think you need to consider what you want your bot to do, where it will be doing it and then decide. You should also take in to consideration, your skill level for designing and building. and also tools you have access to. how do you propose to get round parts? can you cut the sides to a square bot correctly?
round bots are definitely harder to build, but if done right the pay of is better athletics and possible better performance. After all the greatest robot of all time was round (ok cylindrical)..... R2D2
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DGSwaner
"When in doubt, use C4" - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
A 10x10 cm square robot will have 100 square centimeters of area to put stuff in. A circular robot with diameter 10 cm will have only Pi * r * r or 78.5 square centimeters.
I agree, when "moving down narrow corridors", a circular robot would seem to have an advantage.
Dgswaner said...
I think you need to consider what you want your bot to do, where it will be doing it and then decide. You should also take in to consideration, your skill level for designing and building. and also tools you have access to. how do you propose to get round parts? can you cut the sides to a square bot correctly?
round bots are definitely harder to build, but if done right the pay of is better athletics and possible better performance. After all the greatest robot of all time was round (ok cylindrical)..... R2D2
The way to construct a round robot is simpler than you think.
Just get some styrofoam or any other material. Draw a big enough circle on one side and then follow the line while you cut it.
After all that, Voila, there's the platform.
Now you've just got to find a way to attach the circuits, servos, sensors and everything.
Simple? I think yes!
People usually think that you need to do the outside frame first which doesn't work.
The Idea came from the book "Robot Programmer's Bonanza". Available from the Parallax website.
Haha.
Don't forget about the plunge router if you have one. Just set up a bar attached to the router and the screw down the bar via a hole in it to the center of the platform you want and cut away. Always a perfect round hole that your platform just pops right out.
Jax
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If a robot has a screw then it must be romoved and hacked into..
yes, getting round parts for a bot is easy enough, the more difficult things come when you want to mount things like wheels. it's hard to measure exactly where to put them, make sure they are parallel and directly in the center, (if you want a 0 deg turning radius). Is it really hard to do? No. But it's definitely harder than on a square bot.
I have access to a lathe so making round parts is quite easy.
The best recommendation I have is plan a head, and keep you parts square as long as possible, measure and drill mounting holes and then cut them round.
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DGSwaner
"When in doubt, use C4" - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
if you lay out all of your part mount·locations/hole locations·on your base material before it is cut into a circle, it isn't so hard to get your wheels located exactly where you want them.
For a round bot that needs a sturdy shell, I used a section of aluminum pipe.
here is a picture of the bot:
See an upcoming issue of Servo Magazine for a build report.
Comments
Disclaimer: I didn't come up with these pictures. They are not my designs. Please do not give me ANY credit for these two images.
I found the example in this book, Robot Builder's Bonanza Third Edition by Gordon McComb and Myke Preoko.
Post Edited (Ezsynn) : 1/18/2009 8:22:20 AM GMT
round bots are definitely harder to build, but if done right the pay of is better athletics and possible better performance. After all the greatest robot of all time was round (ok cylindrical)..... R2D2
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
DGSwaner
"When in doubt, use C4" - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
I agree, when "moving down narrow corridors", a circular robot would seem to have an advantage.
The way to construct a round robot is simpler than you think.
Just get some styrofoam or any other material. Draw a big enough circle on one side and then follow the line while you cut it.
After all that, Voila, there's the platform.
Now you've just got to find a way to attach the circuits, servos, sensors and everything.
Simple? I think yes!
People usually think that you need to do the outside frame first which doesn't work.
The Idea came from the book "Robot Programmer's Bonanza". Available from the Parallax website.
Haha.
Jax
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
If a robot has a screw then it must be romoved and hacked into..
I have access to a lathe so making round parts is quite easy.
The best recommendation I have is plan a head, and keep you parts square as long as possible, measure and drill mounting holes and then cut them round.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
DGSwaner
"When in doubt, use C4" - Jamie Hyneman, Myth Buster
For a round bot that needs a sturdy shell, I used a section of aluminum pipe.
here is a picture of the bot:
See an upcoming issue of Servo Magazine for a build report.