My all-terrain robot (surveillance) - Ideas apreciated ;)

[jklv]

Well Im planning to build an all terrain vehicle robot with the folowing features:

-Command and control from my PC
-All terrain Wheels!!
-Camera (so i can see what the robot "sees" directly to my PC)
-Top speed: 15kmh-25kmh
-Range: 300 meters

But it may be very complicated so at first im building the vehicle, than mount the camera.

Thanks.

Edit: Discarded gas engine and tracks
Keep it simple =)


-Edit:
I have finally named it! ATRCSV-1 (All Terrain Remote Controlled Surveillance Vehicle 1)

[maverick monk]

im going to guess your actualy thinking of a nitro/glow fuel rc engine... NO, theres a reason you dont see many nitro powered robots..

1 nitro engines are expencive, you need a engine, and a pipe tuned specificly for the type of driving/powerband you want ($175-300)

2 slow acceleration, the beutifull thing about the electric motor is that its an on or off thing, it dosent have to reach its rpm power band nitro/glow and small gasoline engines must "spool up"

3 nitro engines need to be broken in, they must be worn in, and if not done properly, the engine wont last long

4 support equipment, you need a glow igniter/ bumpstarter/ shaft starter, a fuel bottle, fuel (nitro fuel is very expencive and a nitro engine is not very fuel efficient) oil to put in after running, oil for the filter, and a glow plug, and a infrared thermometer

5 low run times, you can expect about a 10-15 minute run time on your average rc car sized tank of gas, much less if you dont tune properly

6 MESSY, untill you have worked on a nitro, you have no clue how horable they are, in less then 3 runs they can get so bad you cant see the bolts on the thing

7loud, a electric motor is fairly silent, a nitro motor is loud as hell , also they emit enourmus heat signatures, not very stealthy/hard to track

8 the motor must be replaced periodicly ( about every 2 to 13 gallons depending on how well you treat it

9 not needed, you want controlable, there is no need for a nitro motor to reach 25kmh, my friend has a fairly basic truck that reaches 100kmh easy

if you realy want to, go for it, but its going to be alot of work to be able to say... i have a nitro robot

for power might i suggest a differential drivepowered by 2, 540 can motors (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFBH5&P=7) best high torque, high speed motor i ever used.

now, the motors by themselves will not have much torque, look online for a electric rustler or stampede transmision. this will give you a nice gearing to get you easily to 25km,

as for treads or tracks, i dont know, wheels would be the easyest. and for the transmisions, youwill need to find a way to mount the wheels to the output shafts.

my brain hurts now, im going to go rest it, might ad/edit later

[jklv]

im going to guess your actualy thinking of a nitro/glow fuel rc engine... NO, theres a reason you dont see many nitro powered robots..

1 nitro engines are expencive, you need a engine, and a pipe tuned specificly for the type of driving/powerband you want ($175-300)

2 slow acceleration, the beutifull thing about the electric motor is that its an on or off thing, it dosent have to reach its rpm power band nitro/glow and small gasoline engines must "spool up"

3 nitro engines need to be broken in, they must be worn in, and if not done properly, the engine wont last long

4 support equipment, you need a glow igniter/ bumpstarter/ shaft starter, a fuel bottle, fuel (nitro fuel is very expencive and a nitro engine is not very fuel efficient) oil to put in after running, oil for the filter, and a glow plug, and a infrared thermometer

5 low run times, you can expect about a 10-15 minute run time on your average rc car sized tank of gas, much less if you dont tune properly

6 MESSY, untill you have worked on a nitro, you have no clue how horable they are, in less then 3 runs they can get so bad you cant see the bolts on the thing

7loud, a electric motor is fairly silent, a nitro motor is loud as hell , also they emit enourmus heat signatures, not very stealthy/hard to track

8 the motor must be replaced periodicly ( about every 2 to 13 gallons depending on how well you treat it

9 not needed, you want controlable, there is no need for a nitro motor to reach 25kmh, my friend has a fairly basic truck that reaches 100kmh easy

if you realy want to, go for it, but its going to be alot of work to be able to say... i have a nitro robot

for power might i suggest a differential drivepowered by 2, 540 can motors (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFBH5&P=7) best high torque, high speed motor i ever used.

now, the motors by themselves will not have much torque, look online for a electric rustler or stampede transmision. this will give you a nice gearing to get you easily to 25km,

as for treads or tracks, i dont know, wheels would be the easyest. and for the transmisions, youwill need to find a way to mount the wheels to the output shafts.

my brain hurts now, im going to go rest it, might ad/edit later

Thanks a lot!!!!
Imagine how mush $$$ i would have spent :S thanks for the advice

[ed1380]

what kind of terrain are you looking at?

tracks cause alot of friction.
4 wheels, bobcat style will be a little less friction
2 wheels segway style with a 3rd caster is the most efficient, but not cool looking

[jklv]

lol I know x3
I think I will go for the 3rd option, however it is my first robot so the main idea is to learn from it and from you guys =).
I don't mind if it looks cool or not x3 is it's functionality what really matters =D thanks.
But with 2 wheels will it be able to move trough sandy terrain, dirt, some rocks?

[jklv]

Is there another way to control my vehicle aprt from remote radio signals?
I was thinking like the signals from cellphone to cellphone or something x3, yeah I'm crazy!
I have heard that radio signals can be interfered or something.

[jklv]

And in the future I will create a surveillance helicopter! x3

[ed1380]

if its going to be off road mostly then I'd say tracks or 4 tires.

don't look at me with questions about digital stuff and programming 

[jklv]

if its going to be off road mostly then I'd say tracks or 4 tires.

don't look at me with questions about digital stuff and programming 

Don't worry I won't. I don't like to bother people. Everything here is volunteered, thanks for your help .

[jklv]

So i have come up to make my vehicle 4x4, so it would use 4 serbos . I know the batteries would not last long, also increasing vehicle volume and weight.
So the first part of the project will be:

-Build a R/C vehicle, with 4x4 capability. 300 meters of range (from my pc to the vehicle) and a speed of 15kmh (a running human average speed) and 30min (minimum) operational.

The material of the chassis will be plastic but, how do you cut it? I will do some research .

[jklv]

Well i have been thinking about it and yes, it will be 4x4, 4 tires because I think that tracks are difficult to find, so yep tires. I'm expecting to finnish this vehicle in 1 month or less.

[ed1380]

you'll need pretty strong servo's. and I bet you'll want ones with metal gears and bearings. those will cost a good penny.

what about cordless drill motors. I've seen some for sale, but don't remember where or how much

[maverick monk]

for the price of 4 high powerd servos you could probobly get 4 motors, maby gear head motors because on further evaluation. the 2 tranny idea is a bit complex
http://themachinelab.com/MMP-5.html
they have the type of robot your looking for, take a look at what they got, you might get some nice ideas.

if your doing wheels id stay away from most "robot" wheels, they do not preform well over rough terein

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJK62&P=ML youl want 2sets of these wheels (nice and cheap)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?&I=LXJH98&P=V 2 sets of these hex heads
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEXA3&P=7 and 2 sets of "2.2" tires, thats a nice set that gives traction on most any surface

the tricky part will be securing the hex heads to the drive shaft
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAW60&P=ML that black thing is the part that the wheel attaches to,if you have a lathe it would not be hard, but otherwize... you need a threaded rod with a colar, but the colar has a hole to put that pin through that the hex head rests on

[ed1380]

that thing is so awesome

[jklv]

Thanks a lot guys!
Wow that robot you showed me is awesome! Just what i had in mind.

[jklv]

I will only spend $150-200, i do have more money but i want to keep this simple

[jklv]

Well i have decided to cancel de devolopment and construction of ATRCSV-1 =(
Due to the fact of it's cost, complexity and lack of knowledge.
This thread may be closed =(

[ed1380]

you can always study up, and save money while doing so.
get a rc toy car that looks like those mmp-5 robot bases.

[maverick monk]

if you can start saving and wait till august, i am working on a tracked robot, its not exactly "all-terrein" but it should handle dirt, stones and such well, ill post up alternet parts to make it more of an rc car

[sotu]

Start with the 50$ turtorial, then you got some electronic knowledge and the chassis part and mechanic is my favorite..

[jklv]

Thanks for your support guys =)
I will be saving maverick thank you

[S. Karim]

wait wait, just how exactly do you plan to get the camera to work with a microcontroller, and then send it to the computer? im interested in this...

especially with your budget, im skeptical.

[jklv]

I've already cancelled this project

[S. Karim]

damn it, i hate when people quit because of money.

*sigh*, i really wanted someone to show me how to implement a camera onto a bot board.

[jklv]

Yep.
My idea was to first build a land vehicle, and "learn", than with the acquired knowledge build an helicopter. But I just did some research and found tha an helicopter is not as difficult as I thought. So instead of wasting money on a complex land vehicle, I will probably build the heli.

[cooldog]

i don't know if i't to late but i found some cheap alternatives to that chasi

motor controller
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/Sabertooth2X5RC.htm
motors
http://www.pololu.com/products/solbot/0188/

just find some wheels and make the chasi out of welded metel

this is how to hook the board to the motors:
http://www.dimensionengineering.com/appnotes/simple_robot/simple_robot.htm