Overview
The camera robot is the largest and most useful robot I have ever created. At it's core is a Raspberry PI Zero. The robot is equipped with a front distance sensor, gps, IMU and camera. The robot is controlled by an app I developed using the Unity Game engine in conjunction with mapbox.
Conception
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The idea to build a camera robot was inspired by the fact that each year I had to crawl under my house to turn the sprinkler system on or off. I wanted a robot that could explore the route before I did. Ironically I moved to a new home before I had the opportunity to use the robot for this.
This was not my first attempt to develop a robot like this. I had a lot of trouble finding a suitable chassis that could support the weight of all the required components. |
Chassis Selection
Originally I had the idea to use an old RC car to support the electronics. This proved problematic. The front suspension of the RC car was weighed down too much by the battery and electronics. This made it difficult for the steering system to turn the wheels.
Eventually I made the decision to purchase a robot chassis. The new robot chassis proved to be far more robust than the old RC card. Another advantage was the chassis came with mecanum wheels. Initially I didn't know what these wheels were capable of, but once I found out I was extremely excited that my new robot could drive in any direction I wanted including sideways.
Eventually I made the decision to purchase a robot chassis. The new robot chassis proved to be far more robust than the old RC card. Another advantage was the chassis came with mecanum wheels. Initially I didn't know what these wheels were capable of, but once I found out I was extremely excited that my new robot could drive in any direction I wanted including sideways.
Status and Future
The app that I developed to drive the robot also has a mapping function. The ultimate goal of the robot is to allow it to autonomously navigate around an area. While this may be further into the future; many of the required systems are already in place for automatic navigation. Below is a screenshot of the automatic navigation part of the app.