Well, let me preface this message with saying that what just occured really sucked. I attempted to post a long thoughout message and it was rejected as “it contained personal information in an attempt to prevent spam.”
Ok, here’s the short version.
The topic of the message is NOT a joke. This also is NOT spam. I have not posted this message on any other board but this.
I am a private investigator looking to hire someone to help me design a robot for surveillance purposes. I also have a technical background, and have some design requirements or specifications already thought out.
For the timebeing, let’s call the project baldbot.
Baldbot is a mobile platform solely. He DOES NOT need to be autonomous.
Baldbot needs a camera with a minimum of 26x optical zoom. Camcorders seem to carry the best bang for the buck in this regard.
Baldbot will need Pan tilt and zoom capabilities.
I’m looking for someone to help me develop this robot. In essence, this is Steve Jobs in search of a Steven Wozniak.
Thats enough for now, as I don’t even know if this will post on this attempt.
Is anyone interested in more specifics ?
Moderator, PLEASE allow me to put my contact information up in the next message if I do generate an interest in my idea.
Baldbot needs a camera with at least 26x optical zoom. The camera needs ptz capabilities.
Baldbot transmits the video back from the camera to the deployment vehicle. The distance between the two is a minimum of 300 feet.
Good solid reliable communications are crucial to this project. That rules out 100 milli watt transmitters. I’m thinking about a video transmitter such as what is used in rc airplanes to send video down to their operator. Transmission strength between 250 mw to 1 watt is the area I have in mind.
Baldbot is not a device designed to stick flags in sandboxes. I apologize for putting it that way, but I am really a PI and as such am blunt. Baldbot is hopefully a solution for a real world problem.
Baldbot should be able to stay stationary for prolonged periods of time and therefore, will need a pretty decent and advanced battery (such as what is being used on bombots by the military). I have some ideas in mind in this regard, and it will warrant additional discussion.
Baldbot needs to be fairly quiet in nature. Nitro RC cars are not going to work. He should be an electric vehicle solution.
Baldbot should be no bigger then two feet wide and two feet long. Much bigger and I think it would be very hard to conceal him.
I would finance building of baldbot. A contract and confidentiality agreement would come into play. The designer/builder could be paid an hourly wage, a finished product fee, or (and I would suggest this option) would keep in mind that this is a prototype and that if successfully deployed, there is a lot of market potential. Therefore, the best arrangement in my opinion would be to recieve a percentage of profts earned on future baldbot sales.
what sort of budget are you looking at? Also, (i hope you don’t get offended) but could you give any specifics on the actual mission, for ethical reasons? it probably doesn’t matter, but just to make sure people don’t get messed up in something they had no idea about… and should it be able to climb stairs, etc?
My first question is what type of terrain will the bot be required to navigate over? the options are tracked, wheeled, legs, air, or a totally custom design beyond what is mentioned. Also, how long must it operate? can it be tethered or must it be wireless?
Being blunt also, how much $$$ do you have to spend on the bot? People frequently come to the forum wanting to build custom bots that will be far more expensive than what they think or beyond the capability of hobby robotic products. As a reality check, will the bot actually do what you want it to do?
In terms of how much money I have to spend on the bot, I would say up to 5,000$ if the need was there to spend that kind of money. All component purchases would be made by me, and they all would have to be accounted for in the end product.
The capabilities of an Emaxx vehicle in terms of terrain would exceed my needs. It’s not going upstairs or through swamps, primarily it would be along the side of the road under a bush or some other type of cover.
It must be wireless, that is the whole point.
Specifics of the mission: To travel from the deployment vehicle to a setup location betwween 300 and 500 feet away, zoom in and transmit video back to the deployment vehicle.
I really don’t see it as being a terribly difficult project. The key to the whole thing is going to most likely be manipulation of the camera, and good wireless communication with the deployment vehicle.
Another user of the forum (twilight) has a website with photographs and videos showing what’s he’s done along these lines. The website makes it look as if he’s offering the platforms commercially. inspectorbots.com
Here is a robot which would work. It has a PTZ Camera, a range of 700 ft and a runtime of 6 hrs in standby mode. It is quiet, rugged and based on the E-Maxx. The new price is $6000 with the PTZ Camera.
It is called the Space Crawler from Inspectorbots inspectorbots.com/_Space_Crawler.html
Video: youtube.com/watch?v=M2BUcFQPFL4
Get more info at: [email protected]
