Hi! i’m new to the site, and although i have a EE background and can build control systems, i don’t know much about mechanical design or driving motors. My coworkers and i would like to build a remote telepresence robot (as a side project) and are stuck on the chassis. Some of the platforms on this site look exciting, but a table organizing them by max payload would be really nice.
For our build, i think we need to move a n 18" dia. base a a low speed with the following on it:
Laptop: 7lbs
Tower: 10lbs
Payload: 17lbs
plus batteries…
any suggestions of a platform? or a motor-controller-battery set? i’m worried that we’re outside of the “hobby motor” category b/c of our weight requirements.
though i should clarify that by “tower”, i didn’t mean a desktop system in addition to the laptop. rather, i just mean the structure to bring the laptop screen up to a reasonable height for human interaction. even something as lightweight as plastic filing crates (my prototype riser) adds up fast when you want it to be 4ft tall.
First, welcome to the RobotShop Forum. People who build robotics have very different backgrounds and although your expertise is in electrical engineering, do not feel intimidated about the mechanics involved in robotics.
RobotShop is developing not only comparison tables, but also selection guides and tools to help users build robots. You will see these changes in the coming months.
Your decision to go with a robotic platform is a good one. It will save you design and construction time. You are correct to assume that a robot capable of carrying a destop computer tower will undoubtedly require a larger body with more powerful motors. if there is any way to transfer all the functions of the tower to the laptop (perhaps with a few added microcontrollers), it would save you size and cost.
Note two RobotShop manufacturers have fully functional computers with their platforms: White Box Robotics and Coroware. Most Evolution Model Technology products can carry a desktop and often much more, but are considered more professional:
The best custom platforms RobotShop currently offers to suit your needs (if Whitebox and Coroware are out of the question) are the EMT platforms.
If you are willing to invest the time and energy to build a custom chassis, RobotShop will soon be expanding its selection of intermediate sized robot products, including motors, motor controllers, batteries, wheels and more (within the year).
Considering I have made a 2 foot long, 45g bridge out of spaghetti noodles that held 5Kg before breaking… 10 pounds for a support structure seems a bit overkill (consider using thin aluminium, plexiglass or even wood and triangular bracing).
I agree that an EMT platform would be the ideal choice (the tank platform with its wide base and weight would compensate for the fact that your laptop is raised at a height). This of course depends on your budget.
With any robot you choose, make sure the base is wide and heavy, because having a laptop at 4’ high will make it unstable. Why not use a USB wireless keyboard and mouse and mount a small USB screen at 4’ so you can keep the laptop close to the ground?
