I fully agree with Linus' two main points: 1) start small, 2) have a
specific goal.

Would there be any interest in competitions like what they do in the
States - at the high-end they have things like robo-magellan and the
trinity college fire-fighting content, then at the middle-ground
things comps like mini-sumo.

Organised comps give motivation, goals and foster both co-operation
and a healthy level of competition which I think hobby robotics
needs. (This is the connection to the topic at hand)

Just wanted to float it and see what folks thought.

Cheers,
Marcin

--- In robot_sig@yahoogroups.com, "Quinn" <quinn@...> wrote:
>
> Ok maybe it's a bit to much to start with, but I am wanting to do
something,
> I am sick of sitting around doing nothing.
>
>
>
> From: robot_sig@yahoogroups.com [mailto:robot_sig@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf
> Of Linus Dillon
> Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 9:11 AM
> To: Robot Sig
> Subject: {Definitely Spam?} {Disarmed} [robot_sig] Quinn's Project
>
>
>
> Hi Quinn,
>
>
>
> Thought it best to start a new thread to discuss your idea.
>
>
>
> First up (and don't take this as criticism), be careful biting off
too much
> initially. I know that's why I ended up dropping out from the
group. You may
> want to either aim for some smaller projects first, or ensure that
whatever
> you build can be done in smaller stages which themselves are
interesting.
>
>
>
> Having said that, I guess the first thing to work out about the
larger
> project is what you are aiming for. You say it will feature either
tracks or
> wheels, however those two architectures are very different, so you
will have
> to decide that before anything else. What do you want the robot to
DO? What
> problem do you want it to solve? What challenge would you like to
explore
> with it?
>
>
>
> You will then have to start thinking about what you will build it
from.
> Modified existing toy? Pre-designed kit? Lego? Meccano? Plastics?
Metal
> section? Wood? Ask yourself what skills do you already have with
respect to
> building stuff? How much can/will you spend? (note, that given your
> statement about it being 3 to 4 feet tall (AHH! metric please!
errr... about
> 1 metre tall) you will probably need to look at wood/metal section
for the
> skeleton for something that size).
>
>
>
> Obviously tracks would be easier (there are some tracked-vehicle
kits out
> there so you can get the basic components easily enough and them
adjust to
> the form you actually want), however tracked vehicles chew up a
fair bit of
> power and don't turn all that neatly on carpets. Bipeds are now
finally
> starting to take off, and you can even buy a simple one for $100
or so and
> then hack that if you wish (RoboSapien and RoboSapien V2), however
if you
> wish to build form the ground up there are also several servo-
based kits
> available now (although pricey), and building your own from
scratch is no
> longer impossible. However it will probably not be able to lift/do
too much
> else, and your looking at a VERY long project if you starting from
the group
> up.
>
>
>
> Have you considered the 'segway' style robots? I find these quite
> interesting, and people have even built basic models from LEGO
Mindstorms!
> You could view them as featuring some of the same issues as biped
(dynamic
> balance) with much simpler mechanics, lower power consumption, and
capable
> of bearing larger weights. I haven't seen too much PRACTICAL use
made of
> them as yet however, but I know the guys who did the RoboSapiens
are soon to
> release a robot with arms that has this style of locomotion.
>
>
>
> You may be interested in this:
http://www.msl.ri.cmu.edu/projects/ballbot/ -
> probably NOT what your after, but the idea of a robot balancing on
a ball is
> interesting.
>
>
>
> -Linus
>