My Robot Base gets fenders
Matt Gilliland
Posts: 1,406
They're delrin, and the top is cast acrylic (drillable and tapable). The center piece of the top can be removed for easy access to the electronics, without having to remove all the perimeter screws.
-Matt
-Matt
Comments
What are those 2 semicircular thick wire rails on top? 10 kV more theft deterrent?
Remind me to upload a pic of the padded denim coveralls I made to protect my Hero Jr robot.
Yeah, there was cool lighting - until I let the smoke out on "Robot Day" (last Friday). Those are the Pllx ccfl's - they're really inexpensive and we figured a way to make them "grow" from one end to the other as the speed of the robot increased.
Searider - I've actually never used one - I might try that :-)
-Matt
It's a little hard to replicate clear acrylic in wood.
Do you have any video of it running? Sorry if I've missed it.
Tony
Your acrylic sheet as a static dissipative coating, right. Right??
>It's a little hard to replicate clear acrylic in wood.
But there is transparent aluminum. I saw it once in a Star Trek movie.
The bot already has 300 bucks worth of PING sensor collision avoidance. Are the fenders now simply protecting the PINGs? It almost implies a lack of confidence!
Yes, Mr. McComb, The information is here -
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Transparent_aluminum
We have to wait a few years though...
In-the-box thinking there, Erco! The PINGs are there to find things to bash into. The fenders are there to keep the damage to a minimum. (Ankles not included.)
I am a strong believer is backup safety systems. I have a similar bot in that it uses Ping sensors, prop and Parallax motors, wheels, and driver kit. I use the Ping Sensors for navigation. Their goal is to avoid bumping into things while moving. Because these are under program control, a SW failure could render them ineffective. While a vibra tab will not eliminate the Prop and therefore software failure mode, it is still a second opinion. On my system I have several "Bump" switches around the perimeter of the Bot that are directly connected to a power relay that will remove power to the motors if pushed(bumped)
anyway, doesn't the most gagets on a bot Win ?
Just the other day I PM'ed Matt that bump switches would be worthy additions to his fenders. Thanks for seconding the motion, Michael, and yes, gadgets always WIN!
My robots tend to bash no matter how many proximity sensors I put on them. I figure if it doesn't leave behind the odd nut and bolt here and there ("Look sir, droids!") it's not a real robot.
Searider mentioned Kynar film tabs. I've found these work well, and can be taped to a length of flexible plastic (like the stuff for school report covers) to increase the surface area for the flex when the plastic is in a bow shape. These could be attached slightly outside the fenders. The FlexiForce sensors are quite good for this, too, though I haven't yet used them as much.
The 10 PINGs do look a bit crazy, but actually most of the good research bots (like the Pioneer) have something very much like it (Pioneer has 8 of the Polaroid-style transducers). This Parallax base is a lot less money. I'm quite impressed with it -- even with **BLACK** HDPE!!! (hehe)
@TonyB - Thanks! and you're right - transparent plywood isn't feasible at this time. And no video yet - soon, though, I hope...
@GordonMcComb - to paraphrase Mr. Spock: sometimes "the needs of the large, outweigh the needs of the small" (or something like that). Don't feel too bad for the little fella though, he's gonna get a lot of roboty-back rides, once his older brother is up and running.
Anti-stat coating for sure, and cast so that it's machinable :-)
@searider - Absolutely! Different types of redundancy are necessary to get around in the real-world - collectively we're building "Denser alloy. My father gave it to me." Sonny.
@erco - Ping futures are up!
Any and all comments, and criticisms are welcome - you know, "iron sharpens iron", or plastic, or something like that...
-Matt
What about plywood?
Rock Breaks Plastic
Plastic Yields to Plywood
Plywood covers Rock
Any more questions?
I don't think that joke wood work with plastic.
Tony
But, Just in case someone thought it was not already done with Plywood.
An 11" X 3" three ply Maple "Ping Protection System", otherwise known as a Banjo Ring...
-Tommy
Sweet Matt! Looks as though it should be scurrying about the Death Star. ;-)
Amanda
Cellulite: Bad
Cellulose: Good
Celluloid: Best (burns great!)
There are those that think a set of bumpers and hardware should become a real product and there are others that think we wouldn't sell enough to make it worthwhile.
They were originally designed with my two boys (ages 10 and 14), because I thought it would be a good introduction and learning experience for robot hardware design. My boys got to experience the agony of mistakes, and the thrill of getting-it-right. They got to help create the precision cut file for the Laser, and then they helped me put the guards on our Robot Base - all in all - a great learning experience.
They do provide a lot of protection for the pings - not the least of which, they prevent you from picking up the whole robot by grabbing a single ping (looks and acts like a "T" handle).
Another thought was that my boys (like most their age) really think of a robot as something like an R2D2. So we thought that by building "additional levels" over time we could create something similar to R2, yet in slower, less expensive steps/phases.
Several interesting suggestions have come up too: for example, make the ping openings "knockouts" so that you can selectively place pings only where you want them, and not have holes where there's no ping - or you can add more pings later, and simply knock-out the openings.
I don't know...you'all are the real experts - any thoughts?
-Matt