Ideas anyone?

[RedHookRusty]

Okay so I built the $50 robot, a Boe-Bot, and my AltoiBot(robot that fits entirely in an altoid tin no pics because it got squished by someone at my school ....so I cracked him in the head with a chair and they took it away and threw it in the trash ) anyway im out of ideas. So im in ISS and thinking of all sorts of cool things that I would like to do but they are just out of the question until I can make some more money. So on to the question "What should I do next?". I need something else to do, expand my knowledge of robotics. Please if anyone has any robots that they have designed that I could build or know of any other cool plans let me know.

[Somchaya]

Hmm, I'm not sure what exactly tasks you made the Boe-Bot and AltoiBot do, but usually line following is a nice task to do If you've done that, you can consider obstacle avoidance (look at Admin's Fuzzy robot).

Another thing you might want to consider is a BEAM robot (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEAM_robotics). I built a Symet some time ago, and it was pretty fun to watch the little thing run around in the sunlight. Best of all, they're made of (relatively) common parts and don't need batteries!

Here's a link to a Symet if you're wondering: http://www.smfr.org/robots/symet.html. Mine didn't look as cool, but it was great fun!

[RedHookRusty]

thats pretty cool I'll probably try it out. Also with the AltoiBot it ran around at (SUPER)high speeds and avoided walls with two simple IR sensors with the Boe-bot I did every thing i could think of.

Thanks again.
oh yeah so i dont have to make a new thread to ask this I bought some old R/C toys and i have a bunch of gear motors laying around anything cool i can do with them?

[polar bear6]

I have an idea what you can do with the gearmotors!
you can apply for the free Solidworks demo and get the 128mb flash drive free with it, and make a conveyor belt in front of your usb port, and  between the conveyor belt and the usb it is a spinning plate, so when the flash drive gets on it, it spinns 180 degrees and gets inserted into the usb! then of course you would have to put it the wrong way on the conveyor belt, but its still pretty cool!

or, you could check if you have 2 identical gearmotors and make a robotic base out of it, im trying to do that, but the problem is that i never find 2 identical gearmotors...  

if you ever run out of ideas (this is what i do) i think of robotics, or the subject i want to get ideas to, right before i go to sleep, and i have this little sketch book close to my bed, so when i wake up, i go back to half sleep, and i think of robotics, then i dream of robotics and  get these crazy ideas. IMPORTANT: you have to draw/write your ideas as soon as possible, because after about one hour you have forgot half of them, and at the end of the day you have forgotten all, and if you dreamt an everyday situation, the next time that situation happens, you get this crazy deja vu experience. its real freaky!

[RedHookRusty]

wow thats a good idea to keep a sketch pad close. I've been researching BEAM robots but it seems, like you, i cant find two identical gear motors. thanks for the ideas

[Admin]

IMPORTANT: you have to draw/write your ideas as soon as possible, because after about one hour you have forgot half of them, and at the end of the day you have forgotten all, and if you dreamt an everyday situation, the next time that situation happens, you get this crazy deja vu experience. its real freaky!

i knew this robotics professor that would occasionally call his answering machine at home to leave robot ideas on it . . .

[Brandon121233]

yeah I usually get my best ideas right before I fall asleep, I can think more clearly then

[Somchaya]

Hmm.. I get my best ideas while I'm sleeping.. that's why I go to sleep whenever I get stuck in something..

The unconscious mind is pretty amazing at solving problems I feel..