I built this robot as a final project before graduating. This is my first prototype based on Irobot's packbot to assist on EOD missions, HAZMAT, search-and-surveillance, hostage rescue, and other task for SWAT teams and militaries. The front flippers powered by an Electrak1 actuator are able to rotate +/- 45 degrees which makes it adaptable to any type of terrain, even stair climbing is smoother then packbot's. Powered by two 300W motors it can easely blast through a wall or a door. I made everything myself, from tracks to circuits. The circuits were made using Pads Powerlogic and Pads PowerPCB. The MCU is a 89C51 (4x 10 bit ADC + 3 PWM outputs) programmed in assembly language. The motor 1200W motor drivers (vnh3sp30) are surface mount 25mmx25mm and have over voltage, over currrent, under voltage protection, thermal shutdown, PWM input and are only 15$. The two 12V 12Ah have a minimum 2 hour batterie life (including stair climbing). Everything is controlled using a Logitech Wingman Extreme 3D joystick. Finding how the joystick worked was way too long so I made my own circuit and programm to read the joystick's switches and position. The data transmission is made using a 9 bit frame and if ever a loss of frame occurs the robot shutsdown and will only restart when it receives three complete frames.
Future plans are to add an IR pan/tilt camera with 2.4Ghz transmitter and receiver, a robotic arm or paintball gun, inclinometers proximity sensors and GPS. The second generation is on the way and will have improvements on design, weight and size. Videos of stair climbing are coming soon.
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