Page 16 - Build a Remote Controlled Robot

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INTRODUCTION

FIGURE I-5. Showbots come in many shapes and sizes. (Courtesy of Ken Zaken,
Robots 4 Fun.)

showbot entertaining groups of fascinated people in shopping
malls or on TV as characters in movies. I even read about a
showbot delivering a speech at a college graduation. Showbots,
however, can be adapted for use in the home.
This book lays the groundwork to construct one such home
showbot, Questor. (See Figs. I-9 and I-10.) Questor was
designed to look like and function like a butler. There is a drink
dispenser built into his arm and a vacuum port in his mobile
platform. I felt these two functions are what most people
expect a robot servant to do. The arms, which help promote
Questor’s humanoid shape, are nonfunctional; they serve only
to hold the serving tray. The hands are made of two auto drink
holders. A button located on the wrist (the area above where
the hands are bolted on) controls the drink dispenser.
His head is a lamp, and there are two headlights on the front
of the mobile platform. These lights not only help the operator
guide the showbot at night, but they are very useful during
power blackouts. There is also a 12-volt direct current (dc) ciga-
rette lighter plug on the side of the base. This is used to run bat-
tery-powered appliances such as portable radios or TVs off the
robot’s batteries.