My goal for 2020 is to begin. A fella’s got to start somewhere right? So why not the beginning ! And where better then with enthusiastic, intelligent people like you.
I have some ideas in mind.
The design of my friend’s robot that I will build for him this year is based on his condition and needs:
- He is paralyzed from the waist down.
- He is a double amputee. One leg is cut off at the shin and the other just above the knee.
- He ain’t got time to putz around when he want’s to get somewhere fast, ie. the bathrooom
- He might want to go outside and traverse ares that are not perfectly flat ie. stepping over curbs and or climbing stairs.
- Getting in and out of the apparatus unassisted with ease is critical to the design.
- Attachable mods such as wheels or a jet pack in case he wants to drag race or fly to Paris.
For things like this, power is always the primary issue.
Batteries alone limit the use time so much so that it’s really impractical to consider.
I’m thinking a small (super quiet) gas motor with a generator and decent size battery would be ideal.
Of course you wouldn’t run the gas motor while indoors unless the exhaust could be cleaned (filtered) similar to the DEF systems used in the diesel industry.
Style is nice to think about… I want to make this robotic contraption help my friend walk with style.
When people see him walking down the street I want them saying “wow, that dudes got style” or “dude, I wish I could strut like that”.
The idea of building a jerky robotic system is out of the question. It’s got to be fluid like none other.
LOL, let’s call it R-Dude and R-Dudet
LOL - It’s time to bring back the 70’s … some real John Travolta stuff.
Can you imagine that. Not only can we help people walk again out of compassion but we can help them dance too. “forget about it”
It’s admirable that you’d like to help a friend out with this situation, and robotics are certainly the answer. There are systems in place already, but they can be quite expensive - and with reason. Developing an inexpensive and reliable system can certainly be done, but it’s hard to follow an engineering approach.
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About using the existing (expensive) systems that are already in place.
I hope to achieve my goals with minimal expense:
Using mostly open source software and / or software that i will write myself.
Using arduinos for the controllers.
Using hardware that’s within my modest budget (income from occupation as a truck driver)
