Wow! Thats cool. But they are a tad large and expensive. Getting 4A of sparkfun’s batteries would take up less space I think and would be cheaper.
I will keep these in mind though 
The thunder power batteries come in a full range of sizes from 500mAh to 8000mAh so not to large at all if you use a small one.
Try this type of battery:
www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXST62&P=7
The R/C guys have up to 4000mAh in this size of battery. You would need two in series. The more you pay the more capacity you get.
Yes, I understand but I don’t have unlimited money 
Length: 135mm
Width: 45mm
Height: 23mm
The battery is 5.3inches long. Too long to fit in my bot.
I want to try sticking to li-ion because it is much denser which allows it to hold more energy in a smaller amount of space.
Hey guys!!
I finished my work early (I actually did the assignment at home on thursday) friday at school (… uh… … yes I have summer school T_T Leave me alone! 
) so the teacher said we can do whatever we want. So I decided to draw a side view of the rover.
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6784/roversideviewqu8.jpg
Ta da! Sorry for the horrid hand writing >_< It sucks, I know.
A few words to go along with the picture so you can understand it in case it looks like gibberish to you 
Basically the rover will be in a shape of a circle, about 7" in diameter and a little over 3" tall. I have decided to make the bot out of “decks” which will basically be sheets of lexan with holes in them seperated by .75-1" standoffs.
There will be a deck on the very bottom which will hold the batteries (where it says “Battery” but looks like “Bottery”).
Above that will be another deck. This deck will hold all the custom electronics (where it says “USB Control Board” but looks like “USB CmtlolBoorD”… >_<’’).
The USB Control Board (I may also refer to it as “USB Interface Board”) will have my PIC18f4550 w/ on board USB. I will have the 6 IR sensors, Accelerometer and Gyroscope installed into it. I’m actually thinking about maybe getting a GPS unit too, or instead of the accel/gyro. I seen a few that can give you direction and speed. Very nifty. And it operates under TTL/serial I believe. The Accelerometer/Gyro/GPS would be located in the dead center of that deck. The PCB will be shaped like an H because I will have the motors on that deck level too. Speaking of motors, they will also be plugged into the USB Control Board. I am actually thinking of getting this motor instead:
Gear Head Motor - 12vdc 30:1 200rpm (6mm shaft) With Encoder
It has a little more power and the encoder is built into it. But I think I might have to make the rover 4" tall because these motors are around 1.5" in height 
The motors will be mounted to the lexan by either SES brackets or custom made brackets.
At the front of the USB control board deck will be the IR sensors and camera. And at the back there will be more IR sensors.
Anyways, the 3rd deck will be the motherboard deck. It will have the HDD attached under it in a little cage that will be custom made for it. I might buy like a 2.5" External HDD enclosure, take it apart, and use the mounting brackets from it. Not sure yet.
I am thinking of two options currently for the placement of the Nano-ITX board itself. I am thinking of either using 1/4" standoffs and attaching it to the 3rd deck and reduce the height of the 3rd deck… Or use 1/4" standoffs or so and attach it to the top deck. I want the I/O ports on it to be accessible from the top because I will make a little PCB that can be plugged into the top for development with the mouse, lan, video, etc connectors (Those connectors are represented by the 4 pins on the left side of the board). I will also have the Modular Expansion pins attached to the top deck. These will be pins that go into the USB Control Board. They are there so I can add more stuff later like a small 1.5" LCD, or a gripper or something else cool. They will most likely go into a 16-bit I/O expander.
Either at the top, bottom, or behind the battery section I will have a DC-Jack which I will use for recharging the rover.
And finally, the bottom and top deck will have holes every 90 degrees which will be used to screw the circular lexan to the decks. This way, I can easily take it off and work on the electronics.
Each deck will have special holes drilled in it. All but the top deck will have like a 4 x 1" section cut out on the left and right side for the wheel to fit. I will probably go with:
Neoprene Foam Tire - 3"D x 0.75"W (pair)
for my tires
Oh yea. Since the Nano-ITX board is 4.7 x 4.7" I will have about 1.15" on each side. I will use this space to route wires.
Hmm… This turned out to be a long post again >_< DOH!
Well, thats about it I think. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask =D
I will try to make some better quality images in photoshop so its easier to understand what I am talking about. I will also make a top down view for each deck, and later make a 3D CAD of it.
Cheers,
-robodude666
Don’t you mean 3’ high instead of 3" high? Four decks is going to be really cramped in 3"… 
I have been thinking about doing something similar for the new redesigned WALTER, since I still have four 12" x 12" sheets of the same PVC material his current body is made of. It’s pretty strong and yet still quite easy for me to work with.
I’d like to experiment with navigation such as they have to do in the DARPA Grand Challenge and Robo Magellan (mini-DARPA) competitions. I still think it should be possible to calculate a direct course from one cone to the next, since the GPS coordinates are give to the competitors about 30 minutes before the event starts. Try the direct course as far as possible, go around any obstacles, recalculate direct course and try again until the robot gets there. I just haven’t found any documentation for such calculations yet - at least none that doesn’t seem like all Greek to me.
8-Dale
well linuxguy, it is 3" tall, inknow that for a fact, but i do wonder how he is gonna fit everything within a 1" space, and he will either have to go into the other deck because of the motors, or he just has to expand them 
You need at least 1 7/8" plus a bit (I have 2 5/8" - 1 7/8" spacer + 3/4" spacer) of clearance between two decks to accomodate a bot stack with a mini-ABB, an SSC-32, and cabling. You can mount a servo sensor panner between two decks with a bit less space, but I had the spacers so used the same spacing. I know this because I had to raise the decks on WALTER to get extra clearance to mount things this way. My bot stack is still a bit cramped with this much clearance for mounting.
I didn’t want my electronics on the top deck, because my cat thinks WALTER is her best play toy . She thinks anything on the floor is hers, including my feet.
8-Dale
An after-project goal of mine is to use the made map for navigation. While at Brooklyn Collage, I read like 3-4 papers on navigation techniques and I have a few ideas of my own (I thought of them while playing WoW )
But no… I mean 3", as in three (3) inches. Not 3’ (feet). The 3" I used as an estimated number while drawing pictures in class since I had no numbers on me. After reviewing some numbers I think I will have to make it a minimum of 4.5", possibly 5" height.
The batteries will be less than 1" in height. The motor is about 1.5" in height and the Nano-ITX board w/ heatsink is about 33mm which is about 1.3" in height. Added together, thats 1 + 1.3 + 1.5 = 3.8" + 4 layers of 1/8" lexan = total of 4.3" And thats just minimum. I will have see what standoffs are available to me.
Ahhh, thats true… BUT, I am not using a mini-ABB, or SSC-32 =) I am building my own custom PCB which will use SMT parts and will be ultra slim. The motor controller will be built into it. If I do decide to use servos, I will either have the PIC control them, or use the extra space to cram one in. It’s not very large if I remember correctly.
Also: does the nano-ITX board you’re looking at mount a fan in the heatsink to aid cooling? If so, you’ll need to take that into account when figuring your deck height, or at the very least, bore a hole through the deck above it to allow for cooling air intake.
Just a thought.
Been taken into account!
The Nano-ITX line is all fanless. It just has one massively large heatsink.
There will be several holes on the top of the rover for the i/o ports to be accessed and my expansion holes. The i/o port hole will be like 5 x 2".
I was thinking about cooling a few minutes after I posted my first post. I could mount like a small 40mm fan on the back of the rover to exhaust air… but I don’t really want a fan or something large sticking out from the back… I might make a few extra holes and mount some 40mm fans on the very bottom to exhaust hot air.
I don’t recall reading about the board getting very hot. Actually, most enclosures for mini or nano-itx boards feature no fans at all. Just the fans on the mobo, if any.
Hey guys!
Don’t think I forgot about this project Sorry for no replies in a month I was busy with summer school and vacation and other crap.
I tried to get SketchUp to work, but it didn’t work right so I decided to get Alibre Design Xpress for free. Took a bit of time to learn it. It actually is much easier to Solidworks, and free. I’d suggest getting it if you need a free CAD program. I’m sure linuxguy can write you an essay on how much he loves Alibre Design =P
Anyhow, I made a prototype model of the 2nd deck. Its not finish, its just the lexan with holes. I will add standoffs, PCBs, sensors, and everything else. I will try to get the entire rover rendered. Its not a easy process! =P
Anyhow, here is the Deck 2 in Lynxmotion-Yellow (41kb).
As I said, its just the lexan with holes. I had to put the holes in that pattern because thats how they are on the Nano-ITX board. I’ll update you guys when I add the control board and motors.
Cheers,
-robodude666
Is there any particular reason why you retained the round outer “D” shapes outboard of the rectangular cutouts? Unless you plan to mount something to them, it seems that it would be a whole lot easier to just cut them all the way into the shape of the deck, rather than trying to leave tiny little bits of plastic to support them. Little bridges like those aren’t any fun to fabricate into a piece, or to work with afterwards; you’ve always got to be extra-careful not to apply too much stress to them, for fear of snapping them off.
Your talking about the rounded part near the wheel hole? They were left there for several reasons.
- I don’t know how to edit it out. I learned Alibre in like 15minutes and this is the first thing I made.
- I might plan to have a circular shell outside the rover to enclosure everything.
- A circular shape would mean it can bump into things. If there is a corner then it might get snagged in something. So its there to protect the wheels and to keep the rover from snagging on fabrics or corners.
I will also cut some other holes out near the front and back, in order to pass wires between decks.
Anyone know of any good CNC places? The place I was going to use went out of business Or got a new website =/
I think I might of found a battery for my bot!
A. C. Ryan MobiliT Universal Notebook External Battery
performance-pcs.com/catalog/ … s_id=22209
Its a $130 external battery for laptops. It can output 16v and 19v which is perfect and has 105Wh. The Nano-ITX uses up around 20W so it should last for a few hours. Its got a whole bunch of adapters, and an LED system for displaying battery % which I will mount onto the rover so I can keep track of battery. Since its a li-ion battery it already has all the charing circuitry. I just need to make a switch and get some DC-jack connectors so I can select if I want to power rover via DC, battery, or charge battery.
It is about 220 x 130mm which is a tad big for my needs, but it is only 15mm thick (.6") I can probably remove the enclosure and stack the batteries. Li-ion batteries come in cells of 3.6v (or 3.7) so there should be several cells in there.
What you guys think?
-robodude666
I was bored now so I decided to check out the RoboRealm website because Mike’s SSC32 post reminded me of RoboRealm. I check the site and I notice a number of new features!
stabilization
sample line
line corners
straight line
vanishing point
visual anchor
Wow, so many new features in a few months since I last visited. Best of all, all of these features can be used by my rover.
Stabilization is important because if the image moves too much, it will be hard to parse the image.
Sample Line, Straight line, line corners can help me outline the room the rover is in. For example, it can be used to detect turns and door ways.
Vanishing point is something else very cool. It wont be used much I guess, but it can be used to like find the end of the hall way. Then it can keep track of distance and know when it got to the end.
So nifty stuff. And best of all, all free!!!
I just started college yesterday so I am a poor college student now. haha. I have started to design to the parts for the robot but I’m not buying anything yet At least, not until I get a job.
-robodude666
Who, me?? Would I do that? Umm, maybe! Alibre Design isn’t perfect, but it certainly is much more affordable, and the free version does quite a lot. I am happy because I think my Alibre Design Expert is finally paid for in full! I’m calling to verify that on Monday. Version 10 is due for release this coming week, and I am sure an XPress version 10 will follow very soon! I would not have good 3D CAD if it weren’t for Alibre and their nice pay by the month plan.
Yes, there is a definite learning curve. You know I will be happy to help you out anyway I can. I have WALTER’s new decks designed and just need to get them cut out of the material I have. I will then start working on an updated 3D CAD model of WALTER.
This is very good. You are doing excellent so far! I believe you will do just fine with Alibre Design.
8-Dale
Of course nothing is perfect I find Alibre to be much easier than SolidWorks, even if everything is like 99% the same lol. The tutorial was almost the same too xD It was shorter though.
Yes. Pay per month is very nice. Much easier to pay $50-100/m or whatever than to drop a few grand.
In fact, I might buy Alibre Pro or Solidworks 2008 in December. I get my credit card in November (2 months till i’m 18, w00t!!!). Now now, I wont charge a few grand onto it. I’m not that stupid o.o!!! Begin a college student, you get a lot of nice purks. One of them is I can get up to like 80-95% off most software. SolidWorks 2008 is like $150, and Alibre Pro is $180. Lots of other 3D/CAD software like AutoCad, 3DS, C4D, etc is available too I am supposed to start my internship job in mid-late September which should pay around $15-17/hr for 20hr/wk. Fairly decent. Won’t become rich, but I will be able to pay off my loans slowly, pay for food and transportation (living at home. I will probably have to chip in $20-50/m or so for electrical/water/gas) and fund my computers/robotics addiction.
I can pretty much do the basics. The only thing I am having trouble with is the assembly stage. I cant get the parts to line up properly and attach to each other properly =/ This step was far easier in SW though. I would love if you could help out!!
Yes, I absolutely love the PDF Creator program. It is great. Instead of taking like 20-30 screen shots of different angles you can wait a few seconds (literally) and out comes a PDF file with the thing you just made. Featuring different angles, lighting, viewing, etc! Makes presenting stuff easy.
Tomorrow I will see if my mom could pay for my Nano-ITX board as my graduation present. Possibly some other stuff too. Maybe for my computer.
Cheers,
-robodude666
Yes, Grasshoppah, I can help.
The trick to getting things put together and staying together has two steps.
-
You need to ALIGN at least two holes for a standard non-flexible connection. For a flexible connection such as a servo horn to a bracket, you just need one hole aligned, which would be the point of rotation.
-
You need to MATE the two surfaces the aligned holes, edges, etc, are on. This step should lock everything in place and flexible joints should be movable using the rotate command icon.
8-Dale
I can’t mate anything. I only have the option to align stuff =/ >_<;; Do I need to align at two spots in order to mate?
Whenever I try to align at two spots it ignores the second spot. Like, it doesn’t rotate as needed.
In the tutorial, everything only took one align/mate. It was never this complicated.
=/,
-robodude666
You have to align two pairs of holes, edges, etc. That means holes or edges on a surface of two different parts or assemblies. After you have your alignments, you can mate the surfaces the aligned holes, edges, etc are on. This will lock things into place.
8-Dale
Ahhh, I see. I will give it a try!
EDIT: When I try to align anything, it either stays in the same spot its in or it gives me an error saying its interfering with another alignment. =/
P.S. If you have the time, could you come on YIM again? I want to talk to you about something. Erm, privately in realtime.