Wow, that is an impressive project you have planned. I am sure you have checked out the Open Automation Project. http://oap.sourceforge.net They seem to have an interesting project also. With a functioning prototype.
I have been wanting to buy a VIA EPIA motherboard and toss linux on it to see how it performs, but just haven't had the cash. A few years back, www.robotcombat.com, sold a set of 'snow blower' tracks for about $200-300. They don't seem to carry them any more and can not find a vendor online that sells some for a reasonable price. I thought tracks would be a good base for a linux power robot. Looks like I will have to go wheels. ~Paul On Sat, 3 Dec 2005, Sebastian Smith wrote: > Here are some of the components I'm thinking of for The Open Robotic > Reference Platform (TORRP): > > The chassis for TORRP will be created out of extruded aluminum (or at > least the prototype will be) available from 80/20 Inc. I've chosen > extruded aluminum because of its strength, weight, and flexibility in > configuration. I'd like to final prototype to be fully reconfigurable and > scalable so that it can be retrofit into any research role -- think a > robotic erector set. > > Motors: > I'm currently interested in either NPC gear motors, MagMotors, or just the > standard NPC motors. These motors powered some of the most successful > Battlebots (for those who remember that show). I'm currently leaning > toward magmotors because of their excellent product reviews, but they are > a bit expensive and may be a bit more power than we need (3hp+). > > Motor Controller: > I'm still thinking about this component. It will depend primarily upon > which motors we purchase. Regardless, I'm currently leaning toward the > RoboteQ ax2550. > > Battery: > Our current robots have 3x 12V 7Amp/hr sealed lead acid batteries. They > can keep the robot moving for about 1.5hrs. I'd like at least a 55Amp/hr > SLA battery in the prototype. Not only should we be able to power it for > longer, but I'd also like enough juice for more sensors. > > Controller: > Pentium-M based Mini-itx. I need low-power computational horsepower! The > pentium-m architecture will be a huge step up from the pentium-III onboard > our current robots. With support for more sensors, and more available > compute horsepower we'll be able to run more complex algorithms > onboard. Since the chassis will be scalable, an onboard cluster of > mini-itx systems is also an option. TORRPs initial design will probably > demonstrate this capability. > > Sensors: > This is a very flexible area. Initial support will include basic sonar, > laser measurement systems (Sick LMS 200 or LMS 291), pan-tilt-zoom cameras > (currently using Sony Evid 70, but would like to go with a usb or firewire > option instead), and simple bump sensors. I'd like to add later support > for GPS, LADAR, RADAR, FLIR, stereo vision systems, and microphones. This > will depend on funding... of course. > > Those are most of the critical components. I'm expecting the overall > weight of the prototype to be 75-100lbs. Not the lightest vehicle, but it > has wheels and can drive itself! Most of the weight will be from > batteries, which can be removed if it needs to be moved around. > > There are some other key features I can go into if you'd like to hear > more. > > Most of the components (save the high end sensors) can be found at the > following site: > > http://www.robotcombat.com/store.html > > - Sebastian > > > On Sat, 3 Dec 2005, Paul Brower wrote: > > > > > > > On Fri, 2 Dec 2005, Sebastian Smith wrote: > > > > > If you're interested in the hardware I'm currently thinking of using > > >let me know and I'll send you some links. > > > > I would be interested in seeing what you have planned. > > > > Thank you, > > Paul > > > > _______________________________________________ RLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.rlug.org/mailman/listinfo/rlug
