Win a Raspberry Pi Media Center Kit - Winners Announced!

Dear Element 14,

If given a free raspberry pi I would be inclined to apply it as the primary microcontroller for a robot used to model and hopefully better understand the movement of semi-aquatic turtles. Specifically for this experiment the modeling will be based on yellow-bellied sliders. When in water the sliders are relatively fast and nimble, once on land they are forced to slow down considerably. The purpose of this project is to attempt to model their terrestrial movements as simply as possible.

The Sna-Pi Robot project or Solar Navigating (semi)Autonomous Pi Robot will begin with video analysis of the movement of yellow sliders on land and over a variety of terrains. Based on the skeletal /muscular structure of the turtle a simple robot will be designed using the raspberry pi as the primary microcontroller. Due to limitations in funding and expertise the leg articulation will have to be kept to a minimum, but even at a basic level it will be interesting to test the robot in the same way as the original subject.

In this project, as with any project, there are a number of different goals, some of witch will be obtained and some of witch will be found impossible or too difficult to accomplish. Here are some ideas: Preferably the robot would be waterproof and amphibious, this of course is in line with the original subject. To elongate experiment time the primary battery pack may be charged via a series of solar cells on the top of Sna-pi's shell. For simplicity sake the legs will be as simple as possible with little to no articulation. Later models could improve on this. The head could be a webcam that would capture pictures. These pictures could be used for navigational purposes or simply for interest. The robot will likely be equipped with an USB wireless dongle to connect to the Internet. Through a twitter account Sna-pi should also be able to tweet out pictures and CPU temperatures during a test run.

Practical applications could include the use of the robot as a camouflage surveillance rover. After all who would suspect a turtle for spying on you. The design certainly could be taken to a more intricate level and used for more experimentation and research regarding the movement patterns of semi aquatic turtles. Lastly if the design proves to be efficient in traversing difficult terrains perhaps the next mars rover will have four legs and a shell, you never know!

Thanks for the time and consideration,

Cary Chun

Dear Element 14,

If given a free raspberry pi I would be inclined to apply it as the primary microcontroller for a robot used to model and hopefully better understand the movement of semi-aquatic turtles. Specifically for this experiment the modeling will be based on yellow-bellied sliders. When in water the sliders are relatively fast and nimble, once on land they are forced to slow down considerably. The purpose of this project is to attempt to model their terrestrial movements as simply as possible.

The Sna-Pi Robot project or Solar Navigating (semi)Autonomous Pi Robot will begin with video analysis of the movement of yellow sliders on land and over a variety of terrains. Based on the skeletal /muscular structure of the turtle a simple robot will be designed using the raspberry pi as the primary microcontroller. Due to limitations in funding and expertise the leg articulation will have to be kept to a minimum, but even at a basic level it will be interesting to test the robot in the same way as the original subject.

In this project, as with any project, there are a number of different goals, some of witch will be obtained and some of witch will be found impossible or too difficult to accomplish. Here are some ideas: Preferably the robot would be waterproof and amphibious, this of course is in line with the original subject. To elongate experiment time the primary battery pack may be charged via a series of solar cells on the top of Sna-pi's shell. For simplicity sake the legs will be as simple as possible with little to no articulation. Later models could improve on this. The head could be a webcam that would capture pictures. These pictures could be used for navigational purposes or simply for interest. The robot will likely be equipped with an USB wireless dongle to connect to the Internet. Through a twitter account Sna-pi should also be able to tweet out pictures and CPU temperatures during a test run.

Practical applications could include the use of the robot as a camouflage surveillance rover. After all who would suspect a turtle for spying on you. The design certainly could be taken to a more intricate level and used for more experimentation and research regarding the movement patterns of semi aquatic turtles. Lastly if the design proves to be efficient in traversing difficult terrains perhaps the next mars rover will have four legs and a shell, you never know!

Thanks for the time and consideration,

Cary Chun