Quote:
Originally Posted by z_beeblebrox
I'd love to see a little more about the self-righting works and how damage is avoided when the robot tips over (that's a lot of energy that has to be dissipated). How will this avoid problems with the rule about extending more than 15" beyond the frame perimeter?
A minor plywood suggestion: offset the screws in the tabs and slots so that one side of the nut is flush with the plate that it's pressed into. The change is insignificant structurally, but speeds up assembly, as a hammer can be used to install and align the nuts, rather than each having to be inserted and precisely centered with pliers.
|
Self righting would be done using a versaplanetary winding a strap to move an arm, one on each side of the robot. The arm would return to it's original position when the strap is let back out, using the magic of springs (more latex).
A damper to lessen the shock when falling over is a really good idea. I'm not sure where the best place to source parts for something like that would be. Some mountain bike spring/damper sets could be used, since they are lightweight by design. Maybe a simple low force gas strut could work, too.
The offset bolt position is a neat idea. You could probably accomplish something similar using centered bolt positions but putting a spacer under the plywood when you hammer in the nuts in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aren_Hill
I think you'll find the directional performance of that strafe wheel will be quite aggressive in one direction, and lackluster in the other.
Having the pivot off to one side results in the wheel trying to "drive under" the pivot when going towards it, and it lifting itself up when driving away from it.
I've seen this effect mitigated via using a linear up/down motion, or the fancy strafe module 148 used in 2014 that used this action to it's benefit.
Actuating it is another option, but has it's own downsides.
-Aren
|
That's a really good point. Using the toggling style of strafing mechanism is probably a much better application for this, since when it's not in use it leaves the full weight of the robot on the two outside wheels. (I believe this was first used on 148's 2014 robot?) You could probably spend a lot of time playing with the geometry to get it to work just right for a strafing segway robot, since the downforce is dependent on the geometry and how much torque the motor is applying. Would be a fun project!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman
The battery will be mounted at the top, correct? There can be no other way.
|
I make a point to ensure that the battery is always impossible to get to. It might be at the top of the robot, but you will need to unbolt a mechanism to change it.