Bump absorber?

[megaman935]

 I was thinking about making a basic 4 wheeled robot and I want it to be able to take on gravel, hills, etc. and to be able to absorb the shock. anybody know how I can do that?

[hgordon]

Consider starting with the chassis/drive of an electric R/C truck such as the E-Maxx - http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/emaxx/trx_emaxx.htm

[JesseWelling]

This is what I'm doing but I'm using a 1/18 scale....it's really to small to be convenient.
If have the cash http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/c/2659-Rack-and-Pinion-Steering.aspx looks like a good place to start.

But remember car steering is way harder to plan for than tank steering. do you research on non-holonomic vs holonomic robots. you don't have to grok all the math, just the concepts.

[megaman935]

Thanks and I'll take your advice Mr. Welling. I live in Florida so my backyard is all terrain so that's why I was wondering.

[Admin]

make sure your RC car has a nice motor and good gearing. make sure its designed for off-roading, and doesnt just look like it can off-road.

dont skimp for price, trust me! i learned this the hard way . . .

[Hal9000]

Hey, this might be a good book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-All-terrain-Robot-Robotics/dp/007143741X/sr=8-1/qid=1171273234/ref=sr_1_1/202-5371113-4289442?ie=UTF8&s=books

Also, I guess if you have springs/shock absorbers in a robot, you need to make sure you get the motors, wheels etc able to commuate properly since there may be some movement WITHIN the robot (depending on how you propose to construct it)

This, at least, was always the case when I played with lego and shock absorbers.

[ed1380]

Would somthing like this work? http://www.budgetrobotics.com/shop/?shop=1&cart=392729&cat=125& 

[JesseWelling]

I'd go for the 4wd Servo bots from Budget Robotics.
But don't skimp on the batteries, Servo's can really eat up batteries.