Machine Control Challenge

[agrip]

Machine Challenge
This is no doubt outside of the home shop budget, but it should be of interest to those who are into making machine control stuff. (And big dog folks)

http://www.bostondynamics.com/conten...section=BigDog

Ag

[rockrat]

Slick. The Ohio State University made a walker that the driver could sit in quite a while back. edit The OSU machine was not autonomous and needed a driver to guide it. I think that they were studying hydraulics and proportioning valves for balance.



While it was similar in concept, the machine in agrip's link is quite lovely. Almost alike to an electric horse (or dog...big dog ).

I do like seeing the fellow kick the thing and watching how it rights itself. Watch the leg fly out to the side and dance as it recovers.

Slick, thats all I can say.

rock~

[hornluv]

It is pretty slick, but I have to wonder about the noise it makes. It isn't exactly stealthy, is it? Imagine the conversation between Osama and his pals.

Osama: What's that sound?
Pal 1: Oh that's just the lawn guy and his hedge trimmer.
Pal 2: Nah, I think it's his weed wacker.
Pal 1: Hedge trimmer!
Pal 2: WEED WACKER!!!
Osama: Whatever. Just make sure he does a good job. I want to win that steak dinner for having the best lawn.

[smiller6912]

Makes me think, what kind of fun could I have this time of year with one of those and an old deer hide.................

[lazlo]

It is pretty slick, but I have to wonder about the noise it makes. It isn't exactly stealthy, is it?

"BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system."

Took engineers 200 years to re-invent the horse

[jkilroy]

Actually it didn't take them 200 years to reinvent the horse because they haven't got nearly that far along. And lets not even get into a good mule, this things at least 100 years from being anywhere as good as a good mule.

[Dawai]

Makes me think, what kind of fun could I have this time of year with one of those and an old deer hide

As someone who crawled thickets with a 44 pistol I can tell you sometimes it is safest being in the "animal hide"

Those people in the woods with guns, some have never shot the rifle they "expect" to knock out the heart the size of a softball with. They say the gun was bore sighted by the dealer.. if they miss, it was not poor training, it was the "gun"..

Rule 1#, always blame the gun.

It takes muscle to hold a gun on target, once you get older, you need a prop.. Still it takes practice to hit what you aim at.

BIG DOG: Okay.. I posted that about two years ago? now they have a couple the size of tarantulas.. Using the same developed motion software.. One day perhaps they will have lil surgeons they inject into your artery to fix things. Probably not in our lifetime thou, there is too many of "US" for this planet to sustain. THE actual videos, it is a weedeater engine that runs the thing and really loud.. it climbs mountains, carries packs..

THE highly modified two wheeled medic is one that really had me interested.. Looked like one of them strange beasts the cops were riding in crowd control.. except it could scoop up a wounded soldier and carry him to a ambulance un-minded..

THE spiders, well those are in everyone's grasp here.. they are servos in each joint of the leg.. cheap.. a few hundred dollars to play with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFQRF92EtE0 Spider style..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7iF8LUt3yA Snake robot.. pretty cool..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO9oseiCTdk Fish robot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDLwBgZjkJU&NR=1 PAN AND TILT for small camera.. I had two of these tied into a basic stamp.. one had a sonar range finder.. ($45) and the other had a camera-laser led.. it was pretty neat.. if anything "moved" the other one put the dot on it.. and the RF sonar kept tracking.. THEY are simple RC servos that take a voltage on one leg, and "degree" position comes from the frequency signal you send to the "other leg".. very easy to position. THE walking spider bot works the same way.. If you want to spend more money and "they last longer" get metal gears in the servos.. cost twice as much.. but last ten times longer. POSITIONING a big motor like a windscreen wiper motor? use a follower with limit switches to track it.. let the limits control the big motor.. the lil weak servo puts the big one in place..