Subject:
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Re: Are any other Photobot II pictures availalbe? Suctionbot?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Tue, 28 Sep 1999 14:02:52 GMT
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Original-From:
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The WordMeister <DWILCOX@spamlessWORDSMITHDIGITAL.COM>
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Viewed:
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680 times
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I've only subscribed to this robotics newsletter for a few days--and yours
is the first "low-end" question I've seen. I've just started digging into
the NQC stuff (not as difficult as I'd imagined, but I feel that it will be
a while before I need to know how to adapt the RCX output voltage to drive
5V relays.) So, with great trepidation and genuine humility I send this out
to the mailing list ...
I had similar frustrations with the "hand robot" pictured on the MindStorms
box. My 4-year-old son Isaac had an impossible-to-satiate obsession with it,
and I'd tried building it--but couldn't get it to work (despite 25 years of
Lego experience). Finally Lego published a more detailed step-by-step guide
on the MindStorms pages--and I discovered why I was failing--they added a
number of "doo-dads" that looked interesting but weren't part of the
functional design! Well, we finally got it built, and discovered that it (as
I'd expected) wasn't that much fun compared to our other designs, although
controlling it with a joystick via the RCX Command Center
(http://www.cs.uu.nl/people/markov/lego/) wasn't too boring.
I too have been fascinated by the suctionbot (as seen in the MindStorms
opening movie). It uses a somewhat intricate geared "walking" mechanism for
the suction-cup movement--I'd expect it would be quite a bit more
challenging than the photobot. After a number of tries (and hours), I
finally got a 6-legged walking mechanism to work. Everything I've built has
taught me something useful about design and engineering--even my very first
robot--which shook itself completely to pieces in less than 10 seconds.
I'll keep my eyes open for you for pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have a
digital camera myself, or I'd have some items (like the bumper) documented
for you. One of these days ...
A couple of hints I can give you that might work. The photobot "trigger"
mechanism would probably best be driven by a belt (elastic) drive; this
allows for "slippage" at each end of movement, preventing the motor from
ripping the mechanism apart--and preventing the movement mechanism from
requiring very precise timing. You could build the mechanism as a hook-like
assembly that moves the "hook" down for about a second (to press the
camera's button), and then reverses direction for another second.
Best of luck.
--Doug Wilcox
WordSmith Digital Document Services
403 VFW Drive
Rockland, MA 02370
781-871-6162
fax 781-871-6264
http://www.wordsmithdigital.com
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-----Original Message-----
From: Corbin Lee <game_tester@my-deja.com>
To: lego-robotics@crynwr.com <lego-robotics@crynwr.com>
Date: Monday, September 27, 1999 10:25 PM
Subject: Are any other Photobot II pictures availalbe? Suctionbot?
> I'm trying to build a Photobot II, and need higher resolution pictures to
> figure out:
>
> 1) how to correctly attach the front bumper
> 2) how to correctly attach the rear appendage
> 3) how to construct the top mechanism
>
> So far, my only references are the Lego Photobot II web page, and the
> downloadable TV Commercial. These two sources lack enough quality to • continue
> with the process of copying Photobot II's design.
>
> I would also like any available building data on the window-climbing
> Suctionbot that is depicted in some Lego promotional material (possibly on • the
> Mindstorms CD).
>
> Any help greatly appreciated!!
>
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