My first robot!

[HardLiquor]

Here is my first Robot- built using an Arduino!  I have programmed it for object avoidance so far.  Robot building is lots of fun and I learned a ton from the various tutorials on this web site!  I gotta say, I love the look of my chassis which was built from nothing but scrap.  And you gotta dig my wheels...pill bottle caps (very large ones) that I was using in my garage to store nails.

A tip for anyone...plastic caps make perfect wheels for a budget conscious robot builder.  I used a few bits of folded sandpaper between the wheel and the horn to give it some added friction so they dont slip.  Used a piece of a coat hanger for the rear axle.  Overall not a terrible design but the rubber wheel I used for the back gets to much traction and it's difficult for the plastic wheels to overcome.  I'm going to look to replace those front wheels with some caps from aerosol starch...they are much wider and I have some left over adhesive 'gripper' type strips that I used in my boat while also replacing that rubber wheels with a smaller plastic cap that I can scrounge from somewhere..  I figure those strategically attached to the plastic caps should give me all the traction I need.  Though I have to say, I think those pill bottle caps just look straight up cool.

Just a quick rollup of main material costs:

Arduino startup Kit - ~$50
ProtoShield                $15
PING sensor               $30
Servos                      $20

Probably right close to $120 since those were rough estimates.

[SmAsH]

Well done mate, she looks awesome!
Got any videos of the robot in action?

[Soeren]

Hi,

And you gotta dig my wheels...pill bottle caps (very large ones) that I was using in my garage to store nails.

[...] I figure those strategically attached to the plastic caps should give me all the traction I need.  Though I have to say, I think those pill bottle caps just look straight up cool.

You could put some rubber bands on them to increase traction (and it would help to put a swivel on the trailing wheel or replace it with a nylon ball or similar).

If you have no rubber bands that'll fit, cut slices of an inner tube of the right size (from a mountain bike or a small motorcycle perhaps).
Use 2 or more layers to get it protrude more than the rim on the caps.

I just have to ask... What do you do with your nails now

[HardLiquor]

As requested, here's a video!

Having trouble embedding video.  Here's link:

Arduino robot

I ended up getting some proper wheels and a rear caster as well.  It operates much more smoothly now.

As for the nails, they are still in the bottles, but no cap.  LOL...guess I can put them back on now.

My plans now are to:

1) put the head on a servo so that it can swivel
2) upgrade the battery system
2) outfit with a wireless web cam.  Anyone know what the typical voltage requirements are of a web cam?

[z.s.tar.gz]

Very nice! Dog didn't seem too interested though...

[Soeren]

Hi,

Anyone know what the typical voltage requirements are of a web cam?

All the ones I have seen have been running from a 9V PP3 battery, some with an option to run from 12V.
In case you use 12V lead acid (around 12.6V to 13.5V running), a 4.7V zener in series with the camera supply would be an easy way to get a workable range. The wattage of the zener depends on the current needed by the cam (I_cam * 4.7V = nn W).