Outdoor Robot

[Kevin Selavko]

Our team is planing on building a tennis ball shooting robot for our host organization. It is going to have to go through camping conditions, dirt, mud, sand, and alital bit of water . It will have people with limited to no robotics experience operate and maintain it.
I want it to have a super simple electronics and battery interface so that it can be charged/change batteries super easily. It also needs to have fail safes because it will be in operation near kids and were trying to incourage them to join our team, not fear us.

Could you tell me any of your suggestions?

[PAR_WIG1350]

Put the electronics in surplus military ammunition boxes, the lids can be removed for operating and they have a watertight seal. Also, they are easy to come by, surplus center almost always has them.

Edit: these are a bit wider, and I have first hand experience with them and know that they are good boxes. The ones I linked to before are only 4 inches wide and look rather thin compared to the .50 cal boxes

[JonathanZur1836]

You don't want dirt & mud in your transmission, so I suggest building something with minimal chain & protected gearboxes. Also, if your motors are going to be running constantly, you may want to find some way to cool them.

[Conor Ryan]

Remember, weight doesn't work against you too much in this design.
Keep it simple, keep it safe.

Maybe use some RC Car parts to keep the electronics cost/complexity down?

[Kevin Selavko]

I was planing on using a vex cortex with joystick and partner joystick. For motor controllers I was thinking of using victors and vex spin controllers. Anything better than this that you can think of? And is there a good alternate to CIMs for drive-train?
Also thanks for the suggestion for the ammo box, what would be the best way to waterproof any holes for wires, hotglue? And any ideas on keeping the battery away from derbies without putting it in a metal box ,dont want it shortcircuting.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Kevin Selavko

I was planing on using a vex cortex with joystick and partner joystick. For motor controllers I was thinking of using victors and vex spin controllers. Anything better than this that you can think of? And is there a good alternate to CIMs for drive-train?
Also thanks for the suggestion for the ammo box, what would be the best way to waterproof any holes for wires, hotglue? And any ideas on keeping the battery away from derbies without putting it in a metal box ,dont want it shortcircuting.

When I used them for a similar purpose I cut a piece of plywood that fit in the bottom of the box and attached foam-core board on the four sides to create a box within a box. Unfortunately I never finished them (maybe I will this summer) so I have no photos for reference. For wires I would recommend a silicone based sealant . Your local boating supply shop should have something suitable. If the silicone proves to be too weak, you can try polyurethane instead, but then you sacrifice the convenience of soap and water clean-up. Blends of the two are also available.

[DominickC]

Something similar to this would work well for electronics, and you can find one to mount the battery within. I would use caulking to waterproof any holes you might need to cut.

These cases are meant to be exposed to the conditions you described, and come in nearly any size you can imagine.

[R2D2DOC]

Consider competitions such as IGVC as a resource: www.igvc.org This is a university level competition that is run outside on a grassy field rain or shine.

[pathew100]

Originally Posted by PAR_WIG1350

For wires I would recommend a silicone based sealant . Your local boating supply shop should have something suitable. If the silicone proves to be too weak, you can try polyurethane instead, but then you sacrifice the convenience of soap and water clean-up. Blends of the two are also available.

Please use silicone sealant that is rated for use in an electronics environment. The stuff you normally get at boating shop and your local hardware big box store
are not. The sealant off-gases acidic compounds as it dries and hardens and this will corrode electronics.

[Mongai]

Originally Posted by Conor Ryan

Maybe use some RC Car parts to keep the electronics cost/complexity down?

This. Use RC for the controls system, if you can. From what I hear, almost no programming is required. It's all about frequencies.

[Boe]

if you want to go all out you could make one of these for the electronics.

http://imgur.com/a/wX5Dz (this is not my work)

if you do post pictures, actually you should post pics whatever you do.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Mongai

This. Use RC for the controls system, if you can. From what I hear, almost no programming is required. It's all about frequencies.

RC is a good suggestion, as receivers are tiny and anything 2.4 ghz is very safe, reliable, and plug & play. A v-tail mixer sold for airplanes is also a "tank drive mixer" for arcade style driving.

Traxxas brand RC cars have waterproof housings for receivers that can be had on ebay for $5, very useful guys.

I'd recommend you take a good look at things that require grease/lubrication and try to minimize them. Exposed chain on this will be a dealbreaker in the long run.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by pathew100

Please use silicone sealant that is rated for use in an electronics environment. The stuff you normally get at boating shop and your local hardware big box store
are not. The sealant off-gases acidic compounds as it dries and hardens and this will corrode electronics.

This.*


Also, I would like to change my recommendation to Sugru. Not only is it designed to be compatible with electronics, but it also molds like playdough and comes in green (and red and blue and...)








*[I assumed that it would be done with the electronics out of the boxes, but I shouldn't assume things]

[Peck]

little kids+nobody around that knows robots well+pinch points=lost body parts. Lets face it, the kids you want to recrut are the ones that will take the chaingaurd off to watch the chain and those same kids will likely forget to put it back...

to put it nicely: if there is something dangerous you can get to, kids WILL get to it sooner or latter. chains and gears have to be accessible so they can be greased. chains and belts have to be accessible so they can be put back on if they come off or break. If you have to have these things, bolts with unusual heads (and maby a lock washer or lock nut or both) is a good idea to slow kids down.

also, stay away from small bolts as the heads strip faster the smaller they are and don't have wires within drill length of bolts... we don't want someone thinking they are being smart and drilling out a striped bolt and accidentally electrocuting themselves/shorting it out/ stopping the robot from working.

[PAR_WIG1350]

Originally Posted by Peck

little kids+nobody around that knows robots well+pinch points=lost body parts. Lets face it, the kids you want to recrut are the ones that will take the chaingaurd off to watch the chain and those same kids will likely forget to put it back...

to put it nicely: if there is something dangerous you can get to, kids WILL get to it sooner or latter. chains and gears have to be accessible so they can be greased. chains and belts have to be accessible so they can be put back on if they come off or break. If you have to have these things, bolts with unusual heads (and maby a lock washer or lock nut or both) is a good idea to slow kids down.

also, stay away from small bolts as the heads strip faster the smaller they are and don't have wires within drill length of bolts... we don't want someone thinking they are being smart and drilling out a striped bolt and accidentally electrocuting themselves/shorting it out/ stopping the robot from working.

if you run the chain through aluminum box tubing then there is no way to get to it without making it un-dangerous