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S19
This walker started when I decided to build a robotic version of a model found
in the 8891 Idea book (available on Kevin Loch's
Brickshelf
site, pages 58-69). The central core of the robot actually IS
that model, but then I decided to give the robot the possibility to change
direction and avoid obstacles, and the result is an additional leg that
features a motorized wheel mounted orthogonally to the direction of motion.
The behaviour this robot
exhibits is very simple: it walks until one of the bumpers detects an obstacle,
then it walks back one step, lower the third wheeled leg, activates the wheel
to rotate itself, raise the leg again and resume walking. Warning, this
technique doesn't work on thick carpets!
This robot attended a game called "interactions" during the Italian Legofest on
Nov. 28 1999. See the
Events
section of the
ItLUG site
to find more details.
Left side view. The feet are interlaced, and a bit reinforced if compared to
the original model, just to provided better support for the increased weight.
In this picture you can see the rotation sensor I used to detect the phase of
the walking legs.
Rear view.
Rear right view. The touch sensor detects when the additional leg is in its up
or down position.
Rear left view. Again the rotation sensor is visible, and the motorized wheel
at the bottom of the additional leg.