Richard Piotter

---

Home | Back to Member Index | Back to Robot Index

Richard Piotter
Web Site: http://richfiles.calc.org

Walkman Jr.

• Type: 2 motor 4 legged walker
• Purpose: Walk (with slight phototropism)
• Controller: 4 Nv Microcore oscilator loop
• Sensors: Photoresistors
• Power source: 9 volt battery
• Status: Complete (future photo response upgrades will be done)
• Height, width, lenth: 3-3/8 inch, 3-1/4 inch, 5 inch / 84 mm, 80 mm, 120 mm
• Weight: 7.5 oz / 210 g

BORIS

• Type: 6 Legged muscle wire (NiTi Shape Memory Alloy) based walker
• Purpose: Walk under manual control
• Controller: Manual switch box (tethered)
• Power source: 2 AAA batteries inside tethered control box
• Status: Works (want to build automatic controller & thinner tether)
• Height, width, lenth: 2-5/8 inch, 5-5/8 inch, 4-7/8 inch / 65 mm, 140 mm, 120 mm
• Weight Robot: 1.75 oz / 50 g
• Weight w/Tether: 7 oz / 200 g

Photovore

• Type: BEAM Photovore
• Purpose: Autonomous light seeking abilitys
• Controller: 1381 voltage triger based BEAM Solar Engine
• Power source: Solar cell
• Status: Failed for unknown reasons after construction
• Sensors: Photodiodes
• Height, body width, total width, lenth: 1 inch, 2-1/2 inch, 3-1/8 inch, 4-1/4 inch / 23 mm, 60 mm, 75 mm, 105 mm
• Weight: 2 oz / 55 g

Photopopper

• Type: Solarbotics Photopopper
• Purpose: Autonomous light seeking abilitys
• Controller: 1381 voltage triger based BEAM Solar Engine
• Power source: Solar cell
• Status: Intermittent opperation. Needs motors lowered and solder touchups
• Height, body width, lenth: 5/8 inch, 2-1/16 inch, 3 inch / 12 mm, 50 mm, 73 mm
• Wheel base, width w/tactile, lenth w/tactile: 4 inch, 5 inch, 4 inch / 100 mm, 125 mm, 100 mm,
• Weight: .9 oz / 20 g

SunEater

• Type: Solar Roller
• Purpose: Store solar energy to generate forward motion
• Controller: Sun Eater II solar engine
• Power source: Solar cell
• Status: Works, slight damage. Solar panel needs to be resoldered
• Height, width, lenth: 1.25 inch, 1.5 inch, 2.125 inch / 27 mm, 37 mm, 26 mm
• Weight: 1 oz / 25 g

Bronco

• Type: 3 motor 4 legged walker
• Purpose: Expiriment to generate a FAR more efficient walking gait than possible with a simple Microcore and a 2 motor walker
• Controller: 6 Nv branched Bicore (Consists of: a 2 Nv oscilator loop with a pair of inline Nvs on each unit. the first Nv of the branch has 1/2 delay and the others are 1 delay. This creates outputs ~90 degrees out of phase with the central oscilator.
• Speed: 1 foot in 5 seconds
• Power source: 9 volt battery
• Status: HIGHLY sucessful!!! Expiriment proved I can get full time thrust, with no pause for lift. Excelent gait! See my web page for details. Future plans, reverse and tactile sensors, photo response.
• Height, width, lenth: 4-3/8 inch, 3-1/2 inch, 4-5/8 inch / 107 mm, 90 mm, 117 mm
• Weight: 6oz / 170 g

Floor Monkey

• Type: Light seeking "head"
• Purpose: Aim itself in the direction that there is the most light
• Controller: BEAM 2 Nv Bicore oscilator loop
• Power source: 2 AA batteries
• Status: Incomplete. Soldered primary chip in backwards! Oops! : ) I may solarize this robot by adding a BEAM type solar engine.
• Height, width, lenth: 1-1/8 inch, 4-1/4 inch, 5-5/8 inch / 25 mm, 105 mm, 140 mm
• Weight: 3.5 oz / 100 g

Spyder

• Type: 4 legged 8 motor walker
• Purpose: Expiriment with complex mechanical arrangements and achieve a suitable walking gait
• Controller: 16 Nv net (4 Nv oscilator loop with inline branches extending off each unit).
• Power source: 4.8 volt rechargable battery pack (may change or be upgraded if this is insufficient power to operate the robot)
• Status: Incomplete. Preliminary tests can be done soon. Future controller will include a 4 way MUX and 2 Nv BEAM Bicore (a light seeking head drivien by the Bicore that will face light and physicaly change switches that reroute motor signals through MUX chips. This will give the robot a 4 direction turning ability (It will be able to move foreward, backward, right and left). Further expiriments may include analog controlled phototropism
• Height, width, lenth: 5-1/8 inch, 6-1/4 inch, 6-1/4 inch / 130 mm, 160 mm, 160 mm
• Weight: 15 oz / 430 g

Megavore

• Type: Photovore
• Purpose: Autonomous light seeking abilities
• Controller: BEAM Unicore or Bicore
• Power source: 9 volt 60 mA solar panel
• Status: Incomplete. Research is currently being done on the Unicore
• Front height, rear height, width, lenth: 3-1/8 inch, 3-7/8 inch, 6 inch, 6 inch / 77 mm, 95 mm, 150 mm, 150 mm
• Weight: 12 oz / 330 g

MECI IV M

• Type: 4 motor 4 legged walker
• Purpose: Create a phototropic walking robot that picks itself up when knocked over and includes an active balance system to keep it upright, even on side slopes.
• Controller: 4 Nv Microcore Oscilator loop for walking, multiple Nv chains and MUX circuits for balance and self righting capabilities.
• Power source: 9 volt battery (likely), or one or two rechargable packs.
• Status: Incomplete. Due to the complexity, I am saving it till I have fewer projects. Leg position sensing is non crucial, but would assist in the Nv net design. I have a working passive balance system that utilizes a motor's natural mechanical resistance when used like a generator to bias the balance of the system with NO power input, but due to the height of the robot, I wish to make an active balance system that can pump power into the balance motor if it is far off balance.
• Height, width, lenth, leg span: 4-5/8 inch, 2-5/8 inch 6-13/16 inch, 4-5/8 inch / 115 mm, 65 mm, 170 mm 115 mm
• Weight: 6 oz / 170 g (incomplete)

Turbot

• Type: Tumbling robot
• Purpose: Move by "tumbling"
• Controller: ??? BEAM Bicore, Photopopper engine, or possibly a Unicore?
• Power source: Solar (possible battery power?)
• Status: Only mechanics built. not much else.
• Triangle side lenth, thickness, long leg, short leg: 3-1/4 inch, 1-1/2 inch, 2-7/8 inch, 3-7/8 inch / 80 mm, 37 mm, 100 mm, 70 mm
• Weight: 3 oz / 80 g (incomplete)