Society of Robots - Robot Forum

General Misc => Misc => Topic started by: Admin on December 10, 2012, 01:24:14 PM

Title: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Admin on December 10, 2012, 01:24:14 PM
. . . is clearly in the prototyping stage . . .

Failed Robot Flight Tests (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9NICdPSiuA#)
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: MrWizard on December 10, 2012, 02:42:36 PM
Interesting concept... 1st thing comes to my mind is the neighbor kicking in your door, it's loud.  ;D
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: jwatte on December 10, 2012, 04:36:24 PM
Nice :-) Do you have any gyro feedback yet, or is it purely manual?

I'm thinking the tipping might either be because manual can't control for instability quickly enough, or because you're using a gyro but there's some bug.
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: waltr on December 10, 2012, 07:04:44 PM
Thanks for posting such early results.
I did get a few chuckles.

so "back to the drawing board"
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Soeren on December 10, 2012, 07:53:54 PM
Perhaps market it as a device for airing your bed sheets ;)
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Admin on December 10, 2012, 08:11:29 PM
Despite what I called the video, the tests were very informative.

I learned that:
- flexible plastic can really absorb a crash
- it is not mechanically stable
- it can actually fly
- it won't break despite using cheap components (saving me time/money)

Quote
Perhaps market it as a device for airing your bed sheets
lol . . . the soft sheets were intended to soften a crash . . . but instead they got sucked into the blades and were slightly scuffled up . . . if you look carefully, you'll see a cloud of haze come out of the fan as it crashed :-\

I'm thinking of making a ball-shaped wire frame around it so I won't be concerned about crashes during tests and such.
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Soeren on December 10, 2012, 10:12:53 PM
I'm thinking of making a ball-shaped wire frame around it so I won't be concerned about crashes during tests and such.
I recently saw a toy helicopter of sorts with a large plastic mesh ball around it (nearly bought it out of sheer curiosity :)) - wonder how it affects aerodynamics though.

I'd think that hanging it from a high ceiling in a thin bungie cord (climbing gear shop) would do for initial tests?
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: ballbreaker on December 11, 2012, 08:25:41 AM
what if u used the double blades design used in the toy rc helicopters maybe it could provide your desired lift
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: flokos on January 07, 2013, 05:04:59 PM
Holy crap , I had the same exact idea i mean the same . The whole box thing and the ducted fans on the sides a year ago but didnt had money.So whats my opinion ? thats is cool stuff .What you need to do to make it better is to put the fans away from the box make it look like small wings and the fans go in the ends . Also you might want to put some flaps with couple of servo moving them to get it stable enough to fly or  make the stand the box goes on bigger  and put 2 more fans . Thats what I thought and when i find money Ill try it .
Keep up the good work I will have an eye on this one .Do you have a blog or something ?

Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Admin on January 09, 2013, 09:45:44 PM
This forum thread is the closest I'll get to a 'blog' for it . . . but at some point I'll post up a tutorial on what I learned and how to make it.

And yea, this bot cost me $500 . . . I consider it an investment into my personal education :P
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: SmAsH on January 22, 2013, 08:28:56 AM
Few questions(assuming you designed and built it, not bought), this is incredibly intriguing as i am working on something slightly related.
-Why not opt for 4xrotors each pair with an opposite tilt direction? ie, one pair N-S and one E-W for omni directional control.
-Why have such a small wingspan? Obviously size is a large component, but stability seems to suffer :P
-What kind of battery and mah are you using? Those motors sound like they suck a fair bit of juice at higher RPM's
Cheers dude, looks like a really decent concept.
I'm thinking of making a ball-shaped wire frame around it so I won't be concerned about crashes during tests and such.
I recently saw a toy helicopter of sorts with a large plastic mesh ball around it (nearly bought it out of sheer curiosity :)) - wonder how it affects aerodynamics though.

I'd think that hanging it from a high ceiling in a thin bungie cord (climbing gear shop) would do for initial tests?

I used to own a helicopter with something like this, sort of an atom looking shield around it comprised of a very light but rigid plastic, didn't seem to affect aerodynamics much, unless at higher speeds. Damage was definitely saved at low altitudes, though.
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Admin on January 22, 2013, 09:51:55 AM
-Why not opt for 4xrotors each pair with an opposite tilt direction? ie, one pair N-S and one E-W for omni directional control.
Each rotor is ~$100, each with another battery ~$30, and each with another motor driver ~$30. Two more rotors would have cost me ~$300 more, so I wanted to save money. If I had a money tree, I would have gone with four rotors. :P


Quote
-Why have such a small wingspan? Obviously size is a large component, but stability seems to suffer :P
I am machining the frame with a CNC, so it unfortunately limits the frame size to ~15 inches long
.

Quote
-What kind of battery and mah are you using? Those motors sound like they suck a fair bit of juice at higher RPM's
45C 2000mAh 6s lipos:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16476__ZIPPY_Flightmax_2000mAh_6S1P_45C.html (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16476__ZIPPY_Flightmax_2000mAh_6S1P_45C.html)


Also, I've been really busy lately so it's been sitting collecting dust. Still working on the IMU + balance controller in software . . .
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: jwatte on January 22, 2013, 03:33:55 PM
Quote
I am machining the frame with a CNC, so it unfortunately limits the frame size to ~15 inches long

I would think it limits each piece of the frame to 15 inches. A couple of bolts would let you extend that ;-)
That being said, I would agree that the rigidity of a uniframe is nice!
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: SmAsH on January 22, 2013, 06:09:06 PM
-Why not opt for 4xrotors each pair with an opposite tilt direction? ie, one pair N-S and one E-W for omni directional control.
Each rotor is ~$100, each with another battery ~$30, and each with another motor driver ~$30. Two more rotors would have cost me ~$300 more, so I wanted to save money. If I had a money tree, I would have gone with four rotors. :P


Quote
-Why have such a small wingspan? Obviously size is a large component, but stability seems to suffer :P
I am machining the frame with a CNC, so it unfortunately limits the frame size to ~15 inches long
.

Quote
-What kind of battery and mah are you using? Those motors sound like they suck a fair bit of juice at higher RPM's
45C 2000mAh 6s lipos:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16476__ZIPPY_Flightmax_2000mAh_6S1P_45C.html (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16476__ZIPPY_Flightmax_2000mAh_6S1P_45C.html)


Also, I've been really busy lately so it's been sitting collecting dust. Still working on the IMU + balance controller in software . . .
Hmm, i see. Fair call then haha. Seems very well designed considering the limitations in that case. Good job :) Would be very interested if you ever do a write up, though
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: Razor Concepts on January 23, 2013, 02:40:39 PM
I think the tricky part for these avatar-gunship like crafts is the pitch direction. Yaw and roll are easy because the response is very fast, but pitch is like a slow pendulum which makes it a pain to stabilize
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: SRobotics on February 27, 2013, 01:15:50 AM
I like your idea with these maneuverable propellers, I like more than the parrot ar drone.
Title: Re: Admin's new flying robot
Post by: sohailsameja on March 10, 2013, 12:59:15 AM
are there picsures