Re: Trash-Bot

[Jim Thompson <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 13:19:02 -0500, Phil Hobbs
<pcdh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Bill Kearney wrote:
>
>> You could hack the brains out of one of those robotic lawn mowers.  I don't
>> recall them needing buried wire.  Likewise a radar sensor could deal with
>> unexpected obstructions.  Even machine vision would work. Since it's
>> following a regular track it'd be simple comparison against a known-clear
>> path, not actual pattern recognition.
>>
>> Dealing with someone stealing it isn't technological, but some sort of "I'm
>> too far from my base station, scream like a banshee" feature might be
>> entertaining.  Heh, have it scream "help, help, I've been stolen from..."
>> and start frantically running it's drive wheels.
>>
>> Hmmm, if they're cheap enough one of those robo-mowers might indeed be a
>> cool starting point.  Teach it to traverse a fake lawn path and then hack it
>> onto something with enough drive motor horsepower to move the weight.
>>
>> You could start the experiment by building the cart and using a radio
>> controlled car circuit to operate it manually.  Prove that the drive
>> hardware works and then cobble up the brain for doing it automagically.
>> Hmm, an R/C car design using a gas motor and some sort of battery operated
>> starter would probably get around the rather hefty battery requirements that
>> moving several cans of trash might require.
>>
>> -Bill Kearney
>>
>
>  C'mon, guys, all this stuff is _way_ too complicated.  It's not the
>_robot_ you need to place accurately, it's the _trash_.  I recommend
>using Kevlar-reinforced bags, an extra-heavy-duty trash can, a bit of
>silicon carbide and water, and a spark plug--ta-daa! the Trash Cannon.
>Measure the weight of the trash bag, and adjust the amount of carbide
>with a PIC controlling a small motorized hopper.  The metering curve
>would have to be calibrated experimentally.
>
>Alternatively, if local laws or jumpy neighbours render pyrotechnics
>inappropriate, you could use a Trash Trebuchet.  This would have the
>advantage of a much more predictable trajectory, since the initial
>velocity of the payload is more nearly constant than with a gun.
>
>Either of these would solve the navigation problem, since the relative
>positions of trash can and curb can be calibrated in advance, and both
>would be a bit big and nasty to steal.  (Control algorithm suggestions
>welcomed.)  A small CO2 laser (eye-safe!) could be used to shoo
>pedestrians out of the line of fire.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Phil Hobbs

I once toyed with the idea of trash cans sunken into the ground, walk
outside, step on foot-pedal to open lid.

On trash pickup day the cans would rise out of the ground so the
automated trucks could grab them and empty.

                                        ...Jim Thompson
--
|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
|  Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems  |    manus    |
|  Phoenix, Arizona            Voice:(480)460-2350  |             |
|  E-mail Address at Website     Fax:(480)460-2142  |  Brass Rat  |
|       http://www.analog-innovations.com           |    1962     |

     It's what you learn, after you know it all, that counts.