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Parallax - Turn the Boe-Bot into a TANK — Parallax Forums

Parallax - Turn the Boe-Bot into a TANK

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2004-04-11 22:01 in General Discussion
Hello Parallax Friends,

Since starting at Parallax in January of 2000, the Boe-Bot robot has
been my favorite kit. I don't know if it was the "PCB on a bot" aspect
or if it was the coolness of the IR sensors searching for objects.
Just when I thought it couldn't be any cooler, our team came up with a
Tank Tread Kit!

It's definitely a head-turner. When visiting a distributor last week,
the Boe-Bot Tank with the Memsic Accelerometer (for balancing) was by
far the favorite demo. We tried to do it justice by taking some outdoor
photos but I think the video clips are the best way to check out this
new add on. The link below contains both, along with downloadable
documentation:
http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=28106

Have fun with your conversions from roller to tank!

Sincerely,

Erik Wood
ewood@p...
Parallax, Inc.
www.parallax.com

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-04-11 14:42
    --- Erik Wood <ewood@p...> wrote:
    > Hello Parallax Friends,
    > Since starting at Parallax in January of 2000, the
    > Boe-Bot robot has
    > been my favorite kit. I don't know if it was the
    > Have fun with your conversions from roller to tank!

    Hey Erik,

    A few of us have been talking about the tank tread
    kit the last few days...I have mine installed, and
    today I will be working on code for that BOE-Bot,
    which I purchased just to add the tank treads to.

    I even purchased a separate BOE-Bot for the Hex
    Crawler Kit, but I haven't gotten that yet, since they
    were back-ordered (A good sign they're popular?).

    Anyway, I DO need to get the memsic device now that
    you mentioned it...I did watch the videos, and I can
    see the benefit of having it.



    =====
    Chris Savage
    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    http://www.knightdesigns.com

    __________________________________
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    Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th
    http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-04-11 17:29
    I second the idea that a MEMSIC device or some sort of tilt switch is
    necessary for a tank tread bot. About a year ago I mounted a BOE on a
    recycled tread base using a TI h bridge to drive the motors. While working
    on an algorithm to allow the tank to escape from a corner during an
    unsuccessful trial the tank-bot attempted to climb a wall and flipped over
    on its back. Very comedic in nature and should have been filming the stunt
    to add to my collection of robot follies video.

    I like how Parallax adapted the tread kit to interface to the servos.

    David in Austin

    ________________________________________________________________________

    Message: 2
    Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 06:42:58 -0700 (PDT)
    From: Chris Savage <knight_designs@y...>
    Subject: Re: Parallax - Turn the Boe-Bot into a TANK

    --- Erik Wood <ewood@p...> wrote:
    > Hello Parallax Friends,
    > Since starting at Parallax in January of 2000, the
    > Boe-Bot robot has
    > been my favorite kit. I don't know if it was the
    > Have fun with your conversions from roller to tank!

    Hey Erik,

    A few of us have been talking about the tank tread
    kit the last few days...I have mine installed, and
    today I will be working on code for that BOE-Bot,
    which I purchased just to add the tank treads to.

    I even purchased a separate BOE-Bot for the Hex
    Crawler Kit, but I haven't gotten that yet, since they
    were back-ordered (A good sign they're popular?).

    Anyway, I DO need to get the memsic device now that
    you mentioned it...I did watch the videos, and I can
    see the benefit of having it.



    =====
    Chris Savage
    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2004-04-11 22:01
    --- David Disko <drdisko@a...> wrote:
    > I second the idea that a MEMSIC device or some sort
    > of tilt switch is
    > necessary for a tank tread bot.

    Yeah, I just need to come up with a new set of
    sensors, perhaps dual-ir or something so I don't need
    to rely on whiskers on the Tank Tread mod.

    > About a year ago I mounted a BOE on a
    > recycled tread base using a TI h bridge to drive the
    > motors. While working
    > on an algorithm to allow the tank to escape from a
    > corner during an
    > unsuccessful trial the tank-bot attempted to climb a
    > wall and flipped over
    > on its back. Very comedic in nature and should have
    > been filming the stunt
    > to add to my collection of robot follies video.

    Yeah, if you do it again, and film it, let me know.
    That would be kind of funny! Meanwhile, we are
    planning on filming some of our experiments with all 3
    BOE-Bots soon, and we have a page set up for it all!



    =====
    Chris Savage
    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    http://www.knightdesigns.com

    __________________________________
    Do you Yahoo!?
    Yahoo! Tax Center - File online by April 15th
    http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html
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