This is a small rover I built one day when I was bored at school. I picked up a small square project box and thought, “This would make a good carpet rover”, and the rest is history. The wheels, made to mate with the non-stamdard HiTec servo splines are from Lynxmotion and the treads around them are a custom urethane molded part from the Omnitread robot that I helped to design and build as part of the Mobile Robotics Lab at UMich.
Navigates via IR and plays other random behaviors (navigate, wall follow, beacon follow, beep, spin, go crazy)
Actuators / output devices: 2 x HiTec Servos modiefied for continuous rotation
Control method: autonomous
CPU: Handy Cricket (PIC Based)
Power source: 5 x 1.2V NiMH AA Cells
Programming language: Logo
Sensors / input devices: Sharp GP2D120 IR sensor x 2
so the handy cricket has a so the handy cricket has a built-in IR transceiver that is used for programming and can be used to communicate between multiple boards. If you look at the top of the robot, the little unit in the center is the same transceiver desoldered and mounted on a breakout board. Then i found a tiny connector with the same solder footprint (surface mount) and soldered it on the cricket board giving me easy access to programming (just point the programmer at the robot) as well as a forward facing sensor to detect other handy crickets (beacons or other robots).
Hey - I really like that setup, that is an instant classic to me! 2 wheels, and 2 sensors next to them - vertical, way cool. I’d love to have some fun programming that!!
Really nice!
Video?
Boy, would that look cool using AmandaLDR! Or even with ordinary sensors and still just some LED’s out there on the sides!
I tried to emphasize the packaging. 4 of the batteries lie under the drive motors with the 5th one sticking up between them. then the board is sandwiched down on top. I was actually lucky to find a project box that was just the right size for this…thats really what inspired it.
nice design! I like neat bots.