I've started hoarding - Robots!

17 Mar 2020

At present I am not panicking but recently I was given a refund for a robot I ordered two months ago, because the company no longer had any stock due to the effects of the Corona virus. As the idea of not having robots to study in a serious and scientific way (otherwise known as playing) caused me some concern, I ordered several more from a source that had them in stock - with the added bonus that they were cheaper than the original one.

I now have plenty of robots to put-together as part of my master plan of creating a herd of walking robots and then subsequently, taking over the world. Still, it wouldn't hurt to have a couple more.

Dubbie

Top Comments

beacon_dave over 5 years ago in reply to dubbie

The mecanum wheels are strange but yet fascinating to watch in action.

The 3D printed results in that video looked quite impressive, but I suspect they would wear out quite quickly if you tried to use them for anything serious.

The maker ones available to buy tend to be quite expensive and it is not clear as to how long they would typically last beyond light experimentation use either.

I recall someone was using them for prototype wheelchair designs, which would have to be a much more durable product given the widely varying surfaces encountered on a daily basis, plus the load carrying ability. Still a bit large for many projects however.
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dubbie over 5 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

Dave,

If I hadn't seen the video I would never have believed the fifth wheel car existed. A bit of an overkill solution but looks great.

I haven't really thought of using mecanum wheels as for some reason I just didn't like them, but the video was interesting and I might be up for trying to 3D print my own - that would be interesting.

Dubbie
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beacon_dave over 5 years ago in reply to dubbie

There was the 1930's Brooks Walker 'park-car' design which may be of interest.
It re-used the spare wheel in the boot as a parking assist device, but it never caught on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omoAp42Mk8g

Mecanum wheels would be an easier option for a robot though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83tVkgT89dM
They have started to appear on equipment such as forklifts and moving dollies.
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Fred27 over 5 years ago in reply to phoenixcomm

My boys were given one of those (in blue) by a friend. It didn't hold their attention for too long after they got bored of it farting and falling over. (That does take longer than you'd think.)
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dubbie over 5 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

Dave,

A great set of videos with some interesting ideas of how to park. I didn't see one that just turned all four wheels through 90 degrees and moved sideways. I wonder if that is not allowed.

Dubie
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