pic: Suitcase Bot

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by yash101

Is it possible to apply for a TSA permit/license/background check or something else to allow a robot like this aboard a plane?

You could buy your own plane.


Also, I just thought of something nobody has talked about:

Customs

[MichaelBick]

Originally Posted by yash101

Is it possible to apply for a TSA permit/license/background check or something else to allow a robot like this aboard a plane?

Funnily enough, we had to do this when we went to the Israel FIRST competition last year. We brought our disassembled practice robot in a padded hard shell case and checked it. They obviously asked questions but let us through(El Al security is a lot tougher than most if not all airlines. As long as you explain your situation you should be fine)

[Tom Ore]

Originally Posted by MichaelBick

Funnily enough, we had to do this when we went to the Israel FIRST competition last year. We brought our disassembled practice robot in a padded hard shell case and checked it. They obviously asked questions but let us through(El Al security is a lot tougher than most if not all airlines. As long as you explain your situation you should be fine)

One of our mentors brought the suitcase bot to the airport a few days ago. TSA ran it through x-ray and was satisfied. When we get to the airport early Sunday we'll take it out of the suitcase, send it through x-ray, repack it in the suitcase and then check it in with AA. The TSA official that will be working Sunday was there and AA also knows it's coming so we should be okay.

We should also be okay getting through customs in Hong Kong and Shenzhen because this would be considered a personal item and not a commercial item. We'll have our invitation letter from DaDaLele and one from Cedar Falls Schools. We've been told it takes a while to get through customs and we have to do it twice!

[Tom Ore]

We made it! We just got settled into the hotel here in Shenzhen. (14 hour time difference so it's 11:18 PM Monday here.) No problem getting the suitcase bot here. We'll be starting the workshop first thing in the morning.

[Alpha Beta]

Originally Posted by Tom Ore

This is a render of our "Suitcase Bot." We plan on using it for our mentor workshop in China in late December. The goal is to have a drivebase that is FRC sized and has all the basic elements of the control system but can also have a small footprint for travel. We may bring a partial bumper to show bumper construction. We'll use it as a wide, 4 wheel tank drive and may demo with mecanum wheels if time permits. We'll add a gyro, light sensors, something to drive a pot., etc. It uses mini CIMs and standard Toughbox Nano dirve parts.

Tom, I'm always impressed by your renders and super excited to get to attend a regional with you guys again this year. We here at Team Titanium wish you all safe travels. I'd be hard pressed to think of a better ambassador for FIRST.

Noticed that 4830 recently joined the Central Illinois regional. We've got a couple of students brushing up on their Mandarin in anticipation.

[Tom Ore]

Originally Posted by Alpha Beta

Tom, I'm always impressed by your renders and super excited to get to attend a regional with you guys again this year. We here at Team Titanium wish you all safe travels. I'd be hard pressed to think of a better ambassador for FIRST.

Noticed that 4830 recently joined the Central Illinois regional. We've got a couple of students brushing up on their Mandarin in anticipation.

I believe the workshop will be at 4830's school. They'll need to ship their a few days early in order to get it to Central Illinois on time.

[Nemo]

I don't know... articulating frames weren't legal last year.

[Tom Ore]

Originally Posted by Nemo

I don't know... articulating frames weren't legal last year.

We're going to recommend that they build the kit bot. We'll make special T-shirts for the workshop and we joked about having "Build the kit bot" translated to Chinese and put on the back of the shirts. (We will spend some time going over the robot manual from last year - I'll be sure to point out R02.)

The two halves will be useful - since the frames were welded there will be a bit of distortion. We can oversize one set of holes to get the two sides aligned nicely when we bolt them together.

We'll point out other stuff that is unique to the suitcase bot and wouldn't be done in competition - like the bumpers are only 1" off the ground and the bumper corners aren't ideal.

[Nemo]

c'mon, Tom, you know I was joking.

Seriously, though, this is a sweet project. Packaging everything into that small of a box is a significant challenge, and hopefully you won't run into any snags building it in a short time frame.

Just remember not to put anything in there that makes a ticking sound.

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by Nemo

Just remember not to put anything in there that makes a ticking sound.

Or a sloshing sound.

[Tom Ore]

Originally Posted by Nemo

c'mon, Tom, you know I was joking.

Yes,of course. However, I actually thought about it a few days ago. The frame is rather stiff and the robot is light so it may not twist to make up for small waves in the floor. If that happens we would loosen the bolts a bit and use jam nuts to hold them. In that case, it would be an articulated frame and we'd need to explain that it isn't competition legal.

[BBray_T1296]

You should send the robot over in those crates we used to have to use when FedEx shipped the robots

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

You should send the robot over in those crates we used to have to use when FedEx shipped the robots

Every team potentially needs one of those crates. They are still required for shipment to and from the Championship event. But they're a whole lot bigger than necessary for a training/demo 'bot like this one.

[protoserge]

You might be able to squeeze that into a Pelican 1620 case and put it as checked baggage. I can get you the exact interior dimensions if you'd like.

On a TSA side note, I went to Costa Rica this summer with my Pelican 1510 camera case (covered with a few robot stickers) and was asked if I had a camera or a robot inside I don't want to know if the robot would have been a bad thing!

[Tom Ore]

Here are some videos of the suitcase bot.

Arcade Mode
Tank Mode
Mecanum Wheels
Using gyro and pot to hold direction