Picking up Cigarette Butts?

[Taylor]

Flamethrower.
Cigarettes are flammable, rocks are not.
Don't overcomplicate things.

OR

Have a steady stream of water coming out the front of the robot. Trash tends to float; simply have a sieve at the bottom of the hill for all the trash to float into and the water to pass through.
(same effect can be reached with a leaf blower. 30 bonus points if you can blow the trash up 12 inches in the air.)

[KTorak]

Originally Posted by boiler

Flamethrower.
Cigarettes are flammable, rocks are not.
Don't overcomplicate things.

Best idea yet!

The vacuum may work, but the butts are sometimes embedded into the ground. The needles might be the next best option.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I was thinking exactly along the line of what Wayne had mentioned. The needles through the metal would be fairly simple.

The flamethrower would be ideal... in a desert. I like it, but I don't want to start a wildfire, that would be counterproductive.

[Greg Perkins]

go along the lines of a street sweeper. Have a mabuchi motor spin a brush and then have a collector where the butts are deposited.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Budda,
Vacuum, the little buggers are pretty light.

[colin340]

i was illiterate just thinking about this problem right before i got on cd to night i
think a curved needleis the way to go

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by Greg Perkins

go along the lines of a street sweeper. Have a mabuchi motor spin a brush and then have a collector where the butts are deposited.

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Budda,
Vacuum, the little buggers are pretty light.

The only thing I'm worried about with those suggestions is picking/kicking up the dust. If I were to do this, how would I resolve that issue?

The pickup system has also got to withstand multiple terrains, which poses the most problems with the street sweeper.

[Travis Hoffman]

How about.....

...you build a robot that promotes the cessation of smoking in your community?

Then as people start to quit as a result of your creation, the cigarette butts on the road will gradually fade away.

Perhaps a bit too altruistic (and unrealistic), but it's a nice thought.

[chris31]

Im thinking the needles might have issues on none flat ground. Obviuosly there are ways around this but a vacuum seems to be the easier method. I would prototype them both first and see which works better before I made any full scale models or final decisions.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

If you have a high poower blower and a strainer, the light stuff would be sucked up and the strainer would hold the butts and deposit everything else out the back. It might be a bit dusty but it could get the job done.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

If you have a high poower blower and a strainer, the light stuff would be sucked up and the strainer would hold the butts and deposit everything else out the back. It might be a bit dusty but it could get the job done.

I thought of this just a moment ago and this may be the best solution. If I were to periodically move a collection system under the vacuum and power it down, the butts and smaller debris would fall down into the sack. Thanks Al.

[mizitchell]

try a steam roller-esk thing covered with needles and on the topside have a rake that fits between the rows of spikes to get the cigarette butts of the spikes

i was thinking that you might have issues with fine dust or sand if you use a vaccum

[whytheheckme]

Originally Posted by mizitchell

try a steam roller-esk thing covered with needles and on the topside have a rake that fits between the rows of spikes to get the cigarette butts of the spikes

i was thinking that you might have issues with fine dust or sand if you use a vaccum

I like this steamroller idea. I could totally see this working... but you don't want it going haywire and start running over cars with sharp spikes....

And I love flamethrower idea

Jacob