Modular Robot Subassemblies

Let's Make Robots Projects Showcase
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I was not thinking about modularity when I designed Mega Scout. It was not until I got through v5.0 of The Bipod that I started thinking about modular assemblies. The Bipod is meant to be an intermediate step to the Mega Scout. I want to be able to use as much of the Bipod as possible for Mega Scout so I don’t have to rebuild from scratch.

Since I finally have assemblies for the Bipod leg I like now, I started looking at the Mega Scout design so I can update it to use the new assemblies from the Bipod, which include the 4DOF leg without foot (it attaches differently to Mega Scout), the feet (two different types now), and the lower part of the leg of Mega Scout (the biped portion).

I have a total of ten modular assemblies (Body, Sensor Turret, Upper Left Leg, Upper Right Leg, Lower Left Leg, Lower Right Leg, Left Foot #1, Left Foot #2, Right Foot #1, and Right Foot #2) that can be used to build either The Bipod or Mega Scout, and many other robot types and variations.

Some of these assemblies can also be used to create other types of robots, such as quadrapods and hexapods, with some interesting variations. I have a modular robot assembly kit now, created totally with Servo Erector Set parts. :smiley: You might be surprised at how many different robots can be assembled using just these ten subassemblies. :smiley:

I am in the process of creating the subassemblies with appropriate generic names and configurations (poses). The great part of this is that variations of each subassembly can be created and used to create even more robot variations as long as the connection points do not change. As an example, the first three joints (the multi-pod leg) can be replaced with a different design as long as you don’t change the way the fourth joint is oriented and connects, because it is what connects to the next assembly.

I will be posting my current design for each subassembly and some examples of how they are put together to create The Bipod and Mega Scout, as well as Quadrapods and Hexapods. I just have to get each subassembly into its own 3D model and get proper generic names assigned. From now on, each robot subassembly I design will fit into this scheme and be connectable to others in the series.

8-Dale

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I’ve assembled the brackets for the first 3DOF of The Bipod’s legs using my set of modularized SES subassemblies. It actually works quite well! I need about $75.00 more worth of brackets and I can start saving to get servos (and I think, Open Servos) for it.

I only made one on the fly design change, which I need to update the CAD models to reflect. I also found a design flaw, but that can be corrected with a pair of L brackets. :slight_smile:

If anyone is interested, I can post pictures and/or 3D PDFs of each SES subassembly I am using. I think I will be using these SES modules in all my robot designs from now on.

8-Dale.