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Beginner high school project - any help appreciated! — Parallax Forums

Beginner high school project - any help appreciated!

ROBOTiGORROBOTiGOR Posts: 2
edited 2014-01-23 16:15 in Robotics
Hello, I'm a high school student interested in robotics and I just started my first project with some friends, but we're complete beginners so we're having trouble figuring out how to go about turning this idea into a reality..

Basically, we want to construct a speaker "ball" that we will be able to increase and decrease in size via bluetooth. We already have a spherical wireless speaker with bluetooth connectivity and we need to construct the rest of it.

So far, our best idea is to attach the speaker we have to a Hoberman sphere using elastic materials and also a bluetooth controlled antenna or antennas (aerials) that we will be able to extend and retract using a mobile app we will also build.

My friend is doing the coding and I'm responsible for the construction. I have little knowledge about anything like this and have just begun reading about robotics, so if someone can help point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone knows about what tools would be better to construct this or if this has been talked about before, please share any of it with me.

Thanks you! :smile:

Comments

  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2014-01-18 15:36
    A couple of questions.

    1 - Is the speaker ball going in the center of the Hoberman sphere or on the outside?

    2 - Will the Hoberman sphere be stationary or moving around?
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2014-01-18 16:06
    This same question was also asked at LMR. It might help anyone trying to help here to be aware of what has been posted at LMR.
  • ROBOTiGORROBOTiGOR Posts: 2
    edited 2014-01-22 17:35
    kwinn wrote: »
    A couple of questions.

    1 - Is the speaker ball going in the center of the Hoberman sphere or on the outside?

    2 - Will the Hoberman sphere be stationary or moving around?

    1 - Yes, the center.

    2 - Initially it will be stationary and I'm hoping we can just make it increase/decrease in size.
    Duane Degn wrote: »
    This same question was also asked at LMR. It might help anyone trying to help here to be aware of what has been posted at LMR.

    Thanks for adding the link, I'm desperate for help or suggestions. :)
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2014-01-22 19:40
    Perhaps you can connect the speaker and antennas together as a single assembly so that they remain in the center of the sphere as it increases in size. Another option might be plastic rods that press against the motor shaft to expand the sphere. I think you may need to buy the Hoberman sphere and do a little experimenting to see what might work.
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,933
    edited 2014-01-23 16:15
    I would suggest picking up a plastic Hoberman sphere from Toys-r-us first. The mechanics of a Hoberman sphere enable a few perfect attachment points for small servos in opposing locations that would provide enough force on the sphere to expand and contract it. The plastic spheres do have a lot of play, so if you attempt to open just one point of the sphere, it will tend to lock up against itself. However, placing 2-4 servos equally spaced on the sphere should keep it from locking up. When the proper points of the sphere are used to open or close the sphere, it is very easy. It's hard to explain, but if you have one in your hands, it only takes a minute to figure out the points for mounting a servo and linkage. I have one of the plastic ones and have always thought it would be cool to make a small setup in the center that makes it open and close on it's own.

    inspiration:
    http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671494/an-ingenious-expandable-lamp-inspired-by-a-hoberman-sphere
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