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Hi all,
I'd like to share a video I just took of my full size Lost in Space B9 robot that's controlled by two EZ-B controller boards. Right now they are controlling limited movement and voice response of a few motors, lights and sound files played from a Sparkfun MP3 Trigger board. Although I'm just starting with the animation and have more building on the actual robot the result (mostly thanks to the EZ Robot controller board) is shocking. Please have a look at this (4 minute) You Tube vid and enjoy.
Please excuse some Technical camera lighting and sound issues. This is the first time I'd made and posted a vid online.
EDIT 8/2/13: Just realized I have no good pictures of how my B9 will look when complete. Here's one of the actual TV robots from the 60's TZ show Lost in Space and one recent shot of where I'm at with my build over 1 1/2 year after I started. Enjoy:
Thanks, Dave Schulpius
Other robots from Synthiam community
Jeffmorris's Homemade Biped Robot
Nyapaysolo's Jo Zero Moving To Synthiam Soon
Those shoulders wont fail! Looks like they will last a long time.
I have always thought B9 was (and still is) the coolest robot ever dreamed up. I have always wanted to own one but, the cost is just to high for a ready made version. So I set out thinking I could build one by ordering parts from the B9 Builders Club....but, once again the cost of parts was just to astronomical. So I thought I would build as much from scratch as I could. Finally decided I would build a slightly different version of him based on stuff I had laying around. Well the clothes dryer drum turned out to be a very bad idea. Not only was it hard to modify, it was also heavy and blocks R/C signals
Watching your build really inspires me Dave. Your work is museum quality. Maybe one day I will resurrect Magnus but, for now I will stick to smaller bots. My problem is I over think everything and try to incorporate to much into my designs. Which means the build never gets to a point where the robot is finished enough to be useful. The only robot I ever got to a point where it was actually moving around and behaving like a real robot is Questor. I learned a lot from that build. Now I have plans for a new robot that will be a just a little bit larger. Only problem is I will need most all of Questor's parts to do it.
Dave I am still trying to come up with ideas for a working B9 arm. Sketching can only get me so far due to unknown scaling problems...so I am gathering parts together to start doing some test mockups. Hopefully I can come up with a useful idea or two. Biggest problem is there is no real way I can see that you would be able to remove the arms without being able to get to them from some other direction, other than the arm hole itself. From all the pictures of other arms I have been looking at, I don't understand how they can remove them and still be able to get the torso off. The real problem for me is; I don't have a real B9 torso to work with.
I will do the best I can with what I have and all the measurements and recommendations you and others provide.
Happy New Year to you and your family good sir.
@mcsdaver thanks for your kind words....LOL they are kinda beefy aren't they
The motors I found for $65 dollars at a surplus place. They have 400 in/lbs of torque. eek
The motors were originally used to unwind and retract the awning covers on RV campers.
Dave check out this video. He is just using servos for claw and wrist and elbow. Are your B9 rubber arms as flexible as the one in the video? This moves nice and fast. Would not be very strong but the effect is nice.
@Rex, The arms in the vid are made by the same person that made my arms. The material is the same and they are just as supple and flexible. In fact the arm setup in the vid are made by a member of this forum and I thank you for reminding me about this. I have a tape of a B9 build off from a few years ago that this was filmed at. I think I'll contact Will and see if he can share any info about construction of this joint.
Don't put yourself through to much stress over this design. You've already helped more then you know. I think in the end what I cone up with will be a conglomerate of many designs. Isn't that the way things that are worth wile always end up in the end anyway?
Take care, thanks for all the ideas and have a great New Year!
Your friend, Dave Schulpius
@Dave Hope you are doing fine in the new year. How is the arm design coming along? I have not had time to get back to tinkering on it. To much going on with family matters. tired Have you heard anything from the gentlemen you were talking about that used the servo design? That looked really great.
Contact me via email when you get the chance: [email protected]
HI Rex,
I'll copy this to your email;
Thanks for checking in. I haven't had a lot of time either. Same as you; there has been lots going on on the home front. Trying to finish up some other non robot projects around here.
I did contact the guy with the design and he's more then willing to share what he has. However he's out of the country right now. When he gets back from China next week he's going to send me all his designs and animations. So things are looking up and I'll probably start gathering hardware soon. I'll keep you posted on how things are coming along when they start moving.