Roombas Revenge
Here is a second look at dual steering, this time with full 360 steering. and Roomba motors for more power.
It is still in the devolopement stage, and has much room for improvements, like suspension, and flashing lights...
This close up drawing shows the top secret power distribution system that enables the super spin action..
Might be a little hard to make it out in that mess of wireframe, but you can get the general idea,
Springs are from ink pens and soldered to the smaller square brass tube, and that slides up and down in the larger tube.
Now that I built the thing, I want to redisign the whole assembly and make it horizontal instead of vertical like it is now,
I think I can make room for twice as many rotating connections, and that should make for a good light show...
And here is a very short video of one "axle" set spinning with great abandon...
[video=youtube_share;UT1wjBVY2Ho]
-Tommy
It is still in the devolopement stage, and has much room for improvements, like suspension, and flashing lights...
This close up drawing shows the top secret power distribution system that enables the super spin action..
Might be a little hard to make it out in that mess of wireframe, but you can get the general idea,
Springs are from ink pens and soldered to the smaller square brass tube, and that slides up and down in the larger tube.
Now that I built the thing, I want to redisign the whole assembly and make it horizontal instead of vertical like it is now,
I think I can make room for twice as many rotating connections, and that should make for a good light show...
And here is a very short video of one "axle" set spinning with great abandon...
[video=youtube_share;UT1wjBVY2Ho]
-Tommy
800 x 600 - 257K
Comments
What's your battery voltage, and how much current flows through those spring slip rings? I always thought those Roomba motors must be current hungry with their rubber drive belts, they don't feel very efficient when I spin 'em by hand.
It actually started with this little thing...
Works great except for that little red button on the backside. I have been trying to eliminate tail dragging ever since...
Of course, it's not like I haven't tried to make casters work for me...
Oh well, It's all part of the fun I guess..
Anyway, You asked about voltage and amps, Well, the two batteries are 7.2v 2000 mah each,
Wired in series, for a whopping 14.4 volts.
As for the amps the motors use, I will have to measure with a meter and find out for sure,
But would it help to say, when I stall the wheels, the transistors(TIP120 and TIP125) just slightly warm to the touch..
Not very scientific I know, but hey, I'm a carpenter, whaddya spect?.
-Tommy
and of course the vaunted LED cube, if you wanna go nuts, Charlie.
Plexing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcX41pokZY
I never took any video of The Light Show Robot, so this action shot will have to do...
The Light Show Robot was just to see if my bumper idea would fly...
The idea is to back the robot up according to how it made contact with the spring switches,
if it hit on the right side, it would back left, If it made contact on the left, it would back to the right.
There are a few combinations that would trigger different backing movements.
For instance if it made contact in the center, pushing the two outer switches open, it would back up straight
for one second, then spin around and try again at a slightly different angle. The IR would then detect whatever,
and finish steering around whatever...
It worked better then I had hoped, It would take a minute or two to navigate the dining room table and chair maze.
(about 30 legs in an 8'X8' area.) Good fun with all the flashing lights and stuff.
However, it has since been dismantled, as it needs some redesign.
This side veiw can help to explain why I need to redesign the Front Bumper mounting system...
It doesn't say much for my imaginering, but it does say much about Parallax quality...very tough little boards.
-Tommy
Makes me nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs...
Of course, I am not so sure I would "bite the bullet" and lick and stick my $30 dollar sensor to plywood and weather stripping,
Just to see if it would work or not...
I did buy some NC momentary switches from the shack, I think if I combine those with some plumbers tape, and a 74165...
Oh well, I better get some closure on Roombas Revenge first.
-Tommy
Love the continuous rotation...
You could use several round brass tubes in a co-axial arrangement to reduce the size and increase the number of connections possible.
Considering todays modern manufacturing techniques however,
I will wait for the time and budget for a set (or two) of these little Gems...
Things of beauty!
O well, Here's wishing more time and budget for all.
-TTailspin