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Nybble the Cat — Parallax Forums

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  • Well, it's Raspberry Pi 3, with an Arduino based hat for running the motors.
    Still very impressive motion/walking.
  • Impressive. It looks like the legs are two degrees of freedom, so it would be interesting to see how it turns. I watched the video twice and went to the website, but they didn't have much information on that.
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    Well, it's Raspberry Pi 3, with an Arduino based hat for running the motors.

    hmm.... Maybe the Power drain of P2 is not such an issue ? This is right up Parallax business model too...
    Projects like this do make selecting wider range switchers to power P2 more important...

  • Martin_H,
    It does a form of "skid-steer":

    In order to turn, one sides legs move in bigger steps while the other side does smaller steps.
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    A cat with severe arthritis.. a robot with a cat-like spine would have been great.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Nice video, Roy. The elbows & knees nearly scrape on the ground in the final straight walk, kind of odd.

    Can't tell if the feet are simple pads, or wheels, possibly ratcheting wheels. Not a lot of obvious leg lift, body tilt or weight shifting going on. Many simple 4-legged walkers lift the front legs only and the rear feet just slide/drag along.
  • @Roy, thanks for posting that video.
  • thaliadanielsthaliadaniels Posts: 6
    edited 2018-11-21 12:51
    I'm an Electrical Engineer in a company that offers patio pet doors (which allow your pet to access inside or outside at their own convenience). I've been following the improvement of this Robotic cat, I hope that it will be more agile like a real cat. :)
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Well there is a challenge. Build a robo cat that always lands on it's feet when you throw it across the room upside down.

    Try to avoid throwing real cats whilst researching how they do that.

  • I could not resist. So Bob (cat) is not amused right now. To be fair I threw him upside down about 6 feet onto my bed and not just across the room.

    It is a myth, he did not land on his feet, At least not on the first test. I was tempted to do multiple tries, bobcat did not really agreed to more then two, so the experiment is not a proof.

    Bob did not land on his feet, but he obviously tried to by turning the front of the cat in one direction and the back of the cat in the other direction, so the two front feet could lock onto the sheet, thus allowing him to straight himself out after hitting the cushions.

    I argued with bobcat about a third try , throwing him higher so giving him more time to react, but he was not interested in further testing.

    No sense fore Science.

    Mike
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    edited 2018-11-05 21:42
    I warned you not to do that.

    As a young teenager I had heard this thing about cats landing on their feet. Being a bit scientifically inclined this called for an experiment:

    1) Apparatus: A young cat and a bed.

    2) Method: Hold cat at various heights above the bed up side down. Drop the cat and observe what happens.

    3) Results: The cat is frikkin' agree about it. Despite the scratches I get a result. Pretty much always managed to rotate itself around and land on it's feet. Not so much below half a meter height. Intuitively it's impossible to turn around without something to push against. This all happens really quickly but after a few goes I think I see the cat's trick. Shame I had no video equipment back then.

    4) Follow up: That cat hated me till the end of it's days. Had no qualms about pooping in my shoes or lacerating by throat if I disturbed it from it's comfortable place on my chest as I watched TV reclining on the sofa. Sinking it's claws into my nose when I'm asleep in the morning was it's way to say it's time for breakfast.

    It never forgot....
  • Don't worry @"Heater." Bobcat is quite though. He is the first cat I had able to catch a Bat (hey Mike, look a flying Mouse). All (some?) of his prey ends usually in my bathtub. To show off.

    BobCat deserves his Name because he is sort of oversized for a cat. Say bigger then a standard terrier. Bob is slim, muscular and weights about 18 pounds, when empty and hungry.

    I do also have a Irish Woulfhound, she is kind of taller as a usual Danish dog. So the Dog-Door I have (that clear plastic flap) goes up to your belt, else she would not use it.

    And Bobcat brings his prey thru that dog-flap into my bathroom (or Bed)

    Blu Jays. A Racoon. If he is proud they end up on my Bed and he wakes me up.

    Bobcat is not mad about my experiment, just - hmm - confused?

    Mike
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