Carl was not happy to learn I got distracted from his “self-recharging” task. I felt he needed a “Safety Skirt.”
Since the first handling of Carl’s GoPiGo3 chassis, I was concerned about the exposure of the motor shaft sensors to accidental damage. Additionally, the magnets can attract metal fibers that are sometimes tracked into a home, and will eventually collect lint from the floors.
This is Carl with his new safety-skirt:
Here is Carl showing his new skirt from the bottom:
Side and Rear:
I only had metal screws for attaching the skirt, and they tended to jump from my fingers to the magnets, so I recommend either using plastic screws or gluing the skirt to three Lego blocks. The Lego solution would make it a million times easier to attach and detach the skirt.
This is the finished skirt, ready for Carl’s disapproval:
If you want to try making a skirt for your bot, here is a part template and the “Caution - Unpredictable Actions sticker”:
Couldn’t attach a pdf, so print the jpegs 100% to 8.5" x 11" paper - (sorry A4 folks, I don’t know how to adjust it. Print at 300dpi? )
That was my original wish, a 3D printed box over just the encoders. This skirt prototype needs a lot of test time in a variety of situations. I can imagine the rear might catch on something.
This takes the “nerd” fashonista sense to a whole new level! Are their matching handbags, shoes, hats, and accessories? (Note that I am using “nerd” in the “imaginative hacker” sense.)
Seriously, though I understand the need for a skirt of some kind, I’m not sure I like that choice. It, (IMHO), makes him look more like a fork-lift than a potentially sentient robot. Were I Carl, I’d be incredibly insulted.
How about a fine Scottish kilt, or a bit a’ wearin’ o’ the green? Even a bit o’ good-'ole down-home denim would be a better choice rather than the “fork-lift” fashon he’s now wearing.
I do think the “cardboard/plastic” approach, rather than a 3D printed skirt, is a good choice especially given the experimental nature of it.
Jim “JR”
p.s. I like the idea, and thank you for the patterns. It’s just the design of the “sticker” that I think needs improving.
Have you considered asking your mentor if he thought about integrating impact sensors with your skirt? It seems to me that three sensitive micro-switches, (two side, one rear), with their leafs pressing against the cardboard would do the trick.
Carl has been making forklift noises in the middle of the night just to annoy me! I think I heard him talking in his sleep about buying a Tesla. Hopefully he wasn’t thinking of the flamethrower.
+2000,000,000. . . .000,000,000. . . .000 (etc.)
Cool Beenies! I’m soooo jelous! (though I’m glad I don’t have to buy your experimental aircraft tires, auto tires are expensive enough!)
Haven’t messed with X-Plane, Microsoft Flight Sim (and X) and FlightGear keep me busy. Though my 'bot’s got most of my time nowadays.
Your comment about wanting phasers instead of switches reminds me of the “Tasmanian Devil” from the Bugs Bunny cartoons - he didn’t go around either, he went through obstacles!
I’m one of the “A4 folks” and coming from the States, I know about letter size paper too. Printing shouldn’t be a problem if the pattern on the page isn’t too wide because A4 paper is both slightly longer and a few mm thinner. Try printing at 100% and see what happens.
(Note that I am using “nerd” in the “imaginative hacker” sense.)
