Ideas for picking up dog poop in grass

Community General Discussions
1

Hi all,

I’ve been trying to figure out a method to pick up dog poop in the yard with a robot.

My bot is able to detect it and position itself correctly, but I’m stuck on the pick up mechanism. Here’s what I’ve thought of so far:

  1. Vacuum to suck it up - This could work, but for a strong enough vacuum I would really need 120v power which would increase the size/cost a good amount. Currently I’m running everything at 12v.

  2. Soft gripper vacuum - This would basically be a balloon filled with sand that gets pressed into the object (with a protective sheet inbetween). Then I turn on the vacuum to make the balloon mold to the object. My problem here is in the pump selection and finding something strong enough.

  3. Claw - Something that drops down and does a scooping action.

Anyone have any better ideas? My mechanical/motor knowledge is limited and I’ve spent weeks trying to figure this out. I’m hoping someone has an idea or suggestion that I’m missing.

Thanks!

2

… so this is how the robot rebellion starts? :laughing:

The claw approach is interesting and might be the easiest, but you’d need to contend with grass, so rather than two solid scoops, you might try interlocking fans (like the teeth of a comb).

3

What about rake that slides through the grass under the poop then lifts it into your receptacle like a bulldozer?