"My question is is this "custom segway" made from only kit parts...if so I think that is awsome and 122 needs to be posting a how to ;-) ;-)"
The 122 segway was a good pre-season project that
probably should be explained a bit. Our version was designed
to be as light as possible (31 lbs.) and as low in CG as possible,
(Plus cheap) There are currently three gear sets low, medium and fast. Low gear could pull a robot cart and rider no problem.
medium is easiest to ride, and fast is for hot doggin!
The gears and motor/wheel mounts are waterjetted aluminum.
The 1998/2001 window motors were selected because they are
thin and can be mounted with the lowest CG they are also a
little underpowered but you cant get everything sometimes.
The base is lightweight honeycomb aluminum sheet, the steering stalk and handlebars are PVC pipe and the battery case is Lexan
sheet. The wheels are cheap 12 inch diameter wheels with 1/2"
dia. bearings. larger Skyways would be better! (and they sponsor FIRST!) The standard robot battery at 17 lbs is the majority of the weight.
The controls are twist grip type PVC which acts on a set of Potentiometers through "O" ring contact.
The right grip is just like the throttle on a motorcycle so if you have "wheelie" experience you will feel at home. the left grip
steers the unit left or right. Once you get your balance
and spin left or right you can forget that you are turning and correct your balance with the right grip just as before. (This
feels great!) The pic chip handles the control mixing very well!
It is also set to interrupt steering in the event that you are fighting to regain your balance, which is very handy.
Until we get a site that has this Team 122 project on it you can
e-mail me at
fahringer@widomaker.com for additional info and closeup photos of any area of interest!
We could really use a donated/traded left and right hand set of window motors with harness also!
Dave Fahringer
Team 122
Engineering Tech. Mentor
NASA Langley/New Horizons