Chat Rover 9000

In the spring of 2007, I had a cool idea. "What if you could control robots through AIM?" I knew there had to be some way to interact with an Instant Messaging client. Half a year later, with a firm grasp of the Skype API and a slight understanding of the Lego NXT, I began designing a rover that could be controlled through Skype. I went through at least 15 designs for the frame before I found the one in the final design. The frame (made of K'Nex) had several challenges to face. 1) The frame had to support the total weight of the on-board laptop. 2) The frame had to be able to easily house several Lego modules 3) The frame had to prevent the robot from falling over. Once the frame was completed, I had to design the Lego modules that would live in the robot, move the robot, and manipulate things outside of the robot. These modules had to 1) have the power to move the robot, 2) fit within the K'Nex frame, and 3) have precise control over its movements to avoid damage to the frame. The hardest thing to accomplish throughout the whole process was steering. I had to have steering that wouldn't fall apart (which most of the early versions did). The final column-based, single-wheel steering was the sturdiest of all of the designs I tried, and even this one was still a little shaky on the day of the competition.

Attached is a zipped folder containing the source code for the program that ran on the on-board laptop and the notebook I made for the Tech Fair (includes project information).

No progress feed available.