by Camille | Workshop Blog
Today, we completed an important part of our new Rover Challenge robot for the New York Hall of Science. The central focus of this robot’s design is the Main Plate. This is an intricate aluminum part that we designed on the CAD system and machined on the CNC. It’s 8″ x 15″ x .190″. It’s meant to hold all the servos, electronics, camera turret, and other components of the robot, so it’s the chassis, mounting plate, and wire organizer all at once. It took a while to design it, but we’re very happy with it so far. Keep your fingers crossed we haven’t forgotten anything!
by Camille | Robots, Workshop Blog
Snailbot is one of my favorite pet projects. 🙂 The idea is to build a robot inspired from a biological creature, in this case, a snail. The first challenge was to design and wire-up the electronics so that they would fit inside the limited space of the snail shell. The electronics include an Arduino Nano microcontroller, a motor controller, two tiny gear motors with wheels, a lithium-polymer battery, an xbee radio for data transmission and remote control, an SD card and sound module, a tiny speaker for sound effects, and two ultrasonic sensors that will serve as Snailbot’s eyes.
THE EYES OF THE ROBOT STICKING OUT OF THE SHELL PRIOR TO SCULPTING THE EYE STALKS
SNAILBOT SIDE VIEW PRIOR TO SCULPTING THE MOLLUSK PORTION OF THE ROBOT
SNAILBOT’S SHELL
THE ELECTRONICS IN THE SHELL
I’M MOLDING WET CLAY TO CREATE THE SOFT MOLLUSK PORTION OF SNAILBOT
SCULPTING THE EYE STALKS
Snailbot isn’t done yet, but I’ve made good progress.