I'm hoping this is in the right place. If not maybe mechanics? Anyway, I am a volunteer at a local arboretum, and I want a helper. lol. I've built a lot of stuff, but not a robot. I bought a book, called Make a raspberry PI-controlled robot, by Wofram Donat. I've started reading it, and I have a few questions for anyone else who may have built this one.
Did you use the riding toy wheels? I'm worried about traction issues on what I want to use mine for. I was actually thinking of using large-diameter PVC pipe (6"+) with a plywood hub. For a tire, I was considering making a mold with a straight bar tread, using my tablesaw to cut the slots, then using silicone sealant to fill in, then using either more silicone to glue the resulting tread to the wheel or another adhesive to be determined in the future. I have molded silicone before, so I know the proper way to build a mold and release agents to use, etc.
I've got some other ideas on improving this design too, but that's for future posts.