Article Journal Post 9

This article is about a man who decided to build a robot. In the 90s, this man came up with a design for a robot. By 2008, the man had gained more experience in electronics and robotics. He decided to actually build the robot. He sketched a design and then sent some instructions off to a water-jet cutting company called The Big Blue Saw. The water-jet cutting is a little expensive, but it will save time in creating the detailed parts. The robot itself will have a square center and will run on 4 legs. It will be run by a Gumstix computer. It will also be powered by LiPo batteries. The next stage of building required him to file down the pieces and to then drill and tap holes in them for the screws. This was a very tedious process. He then assembled the center of the robot and 1 leg. He had to be careful to keep the wire under little tension but at the same time keep it out of the gears. Finally he filed and and assembled the last 3 legs, completing a rough structure of the robot, know as bert or Spyder, the Quadruped. The next stage was to install a GPS system for navigation. Finally he built and inserted the motor controls for the legs, however he still needed to code and install the Gumstix computer.

quadruped

This robot looks like it will run smoothly. It has for legs which will provide it with balance for walking. It also has a GPS system for navigation. The man put alot of effort into building the robot and fixing any errors with it as they arose. However, the assembly of this robot (2 years so far) is slow and impractical. The water jet cut parts take an enormous amount of effort to file down and are not always very precise. It is also very expensive to pay for the parts. The robot also needs to be able to move, which it cannot do yet, before it has any use. Finally while the robot is very cool, it should have some other purpose other than to just be able to walk.

A competition the man is thinking of entering the robot it. he states that bert i will be at a disadvantage over wheeled robots, but he will have a more accurate walking system.