Zippy - 001 and 001a

ENTRY 6

Zippy started out in theory, as a robot that could "zip" quickly around the house using the US sensor to avoid obstacles. Well, in practice, what you get is a robot where "Zippy" is a name filled with irony. Because of the delayed reaction time of the US sensor, I had to find a happy balance between speed, and reactionary distance. I didn't want the distance threshold to be to far away, so Zippy wouldn't just spin in circles trying to avoid objects so far away that they were of no consequence to him at the time. At the same time I wanted him to be as fast as possible, while still having enough time to react to an objects presence rather than slamming straight into it.

I redesigned Zippy's construction after realizing that the gear ratio I had given Zippy-001 was no longer needed, since excessive speed wasn't a feasible option anymore. That and the single caster-wheel design sagged because of support issues.

Zippy-001a is much sturdier, with a double caster design. Zippy isn't as "zippy" anymore, so his body did'nt need to be set so low. Allowing for more stable construction, his body was redisigned. Although I'm still not completely happy with it.

There will probably someday be a "Zippy 3", but for right now I'm leaving the construction as it is. This bot is mainly for programming practice. I intend to have Zippy avoid obstacles(check), run from loud noises(working on it), and be afraid of the dark(working on that too). W.I.P.

When all objectives are completed, I'll post the code to the downloads section.

- FuseUnison

-Quote of the Post-

We don't live in a world of reality, we live in a world of perceptions.

Gerald J. Simmons