Page 21 - Build a Remote Controlled Robot

xx
INTRODUCTION
best strategy is to use as many off-the-shelf items as possible.
As your confidence and skill level grow, you can design and
build your own components. In addition, as you work with
different materials, such as wood, plastic, and metal, you will
learn the properties of each and how you can use them in
your own robot designs.
When I first started to design and build remote-controlled
robots I used a very simple motorized wheel assembly taken
out of a toy car and made bodies out of poster board and con-
struction paper. Figure I-11 shows the plans for one such
robot. I tried to make these robots life size, 3 to 4 feet tall.
They were fun to design and build and taught me a lot about
what would work without being expensive to construct. If you
are a first-time robot builder, I suggest that you try one of these
paper robots. Whether made of paper or wood and metal, all
my robot designs have four basic subsystems: a motorized base,
a remote control system, a power supply, and a body.

MOTORIZED BASE
The motorized base for your robot can be the most difficult
subsystem to design and build. You can save yourself a lot of
trouble if you design “around” this part of the robot. Instead
of designing the robot first and fitting the motorized base to
your design, design and build the base first and then fit your
robot body to it. The base generally holds all of the internal
parts or “guts” that make your robot work. In Questor, for
example, the base has the wheels mounted on it as well as the
batteries (which can be quite heavy) and the control system.
That is why he looks the way he does. The old saying “form
follows function” is true in robot design, too.
The most important part of the base is the motor-driven
wheels. This is where many (myself included) robot builders
have the most problems. Do yourself a favor and buy motor-
ized wheel units. A supplier is listed in the back of the book.
These units already have a motor mounted to a drive wheel
and usually the assembly is in a frame you can modify to
attach to your base. With Questor’s motorized wheels all I had
to do was design a way to mount them to the base. Figure I-12