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PatrolBot Mark II — Parallax Forums

PatrolBot Mark II

norris56norris56 Posts: 69
edited 2012-11-12 16:06 in Robotics
Here is a short video demonstrating my PatrolBot Mark II telepresence robot. It will appear in the next Robot Magazine. It's powered by a Propeller (of course) and uses HB-25s for motor controllers. Since it is an outdoor robot, I've installed a number of interesting defense systems as you will see. I still need to complete its outer enclosure (maybe clear Plexiglas) to protect it from the elements but I think it has a cool kind of techie look right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YosLQDAnps

Steve Norris
www.norrislabs.com

Comments

  • jdoleckijdolecki Posts: 726
    edited 2012-11-05 07:57
    Way cool I like the suspension you made.

    Do you drive it around with a rc controller?

    What are you using for a monitor?

    Is the camera WiFi or ?

    Poor Rabbit got all wet!
  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2012-11-05 10:38
    Sorry to hear coolerbot bit the dust, but the replacement looks pretty good.
  • Matt GillilandMatt Gilliland Posts: 1,406
    edited 2012-11-05 11:13
    Nice job Steve! - 'course a fair warning before playing the video would be nice - my volume was max, and that first "beep" knocked me off my rocker :tongue:
    -MattG
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2012-11-05 14:55
    Great job, Steve! Agreed, nice suspension. Is that a regular caster wheel on the back, or are you actively steering it, as Tommy Tailspin advocates?
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2012-11-05 21:30
    PatrolBot Mark II is set up perfectly for motorizing that Tail Wheel...:smile:

    However i might concede that for this particular design criteria, the Tail dragger system is adequate, and seems to maneuver very well on wet lawn and leaves...:thumb::thumb: and looks cool too..:thumb::thumb: AND most importantly, it also sprays water at fish eating, furry things wandering about in the middle of the night...That's just way cool.

    Well done.


    -Tommy
  • norris56norris56 Posts: 69
    edited 2012-11-06 07:36
    Thanks guys!

    I'll check out your motorized Tail Wheel, Tommy. PatrolBot have been fun and I'm always looking for ways to improve it.

    Answering a few questions:

    I use my Robot Remote Control Console (RRCC) to control it. You can check the article on the ROBOT magazine site at http://find.botmag.com/500106

    The camera is the standard 2.4 GHz type (not WiFi) and it came with its own receiver which I built into the RRCC.

    Sorry Matt about the loud sound but that was exactly the effect I was trying for. On my Facebook post I actually encouraged friends to turn up the volume. They are now probably "former" friends.
  • JerseyTechGuyJerseyTechGuy Posts: 3
    edited 2012-11-11 18:34
    Great Job Steve, especially on the suspension! Question, are those shocks custom made? Been looking for a good source of compact sized shocks like that.
  • norris56norris56 Posts: 69
    edited 2012-11-12 12:57
    The shocks are more or less custom. I started with 6” long Bicycle Suspension Spring Shock Absorbers that I got through Amazon.com. These are used primarily for the front fork suspension system in heavy duty Mountain Bikes. The assembly was perfect but the spring was too heavy. I disassembly them and replaced the existing heavy duty springs with 4” steel compression springs made with .095" wire. I bought the springs from McMaster-Carr.

    On another note, the video above has gone somewhat viral with over 22,000 views in 4 days with both Make Magazine and GizMag picking up on the story.
  • JerseyTechGuyJerseyTechGuy Posts: 3
    edited 2012-11-12 13:33
    norris56 wrote: »
    The shocks are more or less custom. I started with 6” long Bicycle Suspension Spring Shock Absorbers that I got through Amazon.com. These are used primarily for the front fork suspension system in heavy duty Mountain Bikes. The assembly was perfect but the spring was too heavy. I disassembly them and replaced the existing heavy duty springs with 4” steel compression springs made with .095" wire. I bought the springs from McMaster-Carr.

    On another note, the video above has gone somewhat viral with over 22,000 views in 4 days with both Make Magazine and GizMag picking up on the story.

    That certainly explains why they looked like bike shocks. They spring threw me off. Thanks for sharing the info!
  • CrazyrabbitCrazyrabbit Posts: 116
    edited 2012-11-12 16:06
    Very nice. I won't take the rabbit spraying personal. Would be very useful for protecting wifeys vegtables from critters. I am ust starting to get into outdoor bots. Not that big yet.
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