Hey Community , i really don't do enough fun projects. As you may notice many of my projects have a utility function. Squeegee mops, jarvis vacuums, smart marine fish tank is... well smart lol. So this is just for fun and I hope others enjoy it. I have already contemplated using it as a demonstration tool to get kids interested in technology. . Dang it! This is just for fun , ok I'll try not to get to serious with this. My friend Marty was talking about being able to drive the power wheels around while his kid was in it around the neighborhood. Or if his kid was driving and got to far he's just a button click away from stopping it. We found a free power wheels that had seen some rough years and we gave it a complete makeover. It looks better than new, new Gel cells from power sonic , smart charging and more. I gave it a cool high grass stripe camo.pattern and gave it to his son for his birthday. I'll post a couple pics. He's on the fence about doing the further mods so i searched craigslist.org for another power wheels that had been loved a little too hard. Searching for something with space and power I wanted I set my heart on a f150 , Toyota 4x or jeep 4x4. I didn't find a 4x4 model but f150 was the next best as it had dual gearboxes with rs585 motors. Also a good gel battery and charger was included. Here come some pics...
Other robots from Synthiam community
Jeffmorris's Homemade Biped Robot
Rgordon's Project Magnus On Hold
The utility concept I am proposing could be useful for anyone who goes outdoors. I am not opposed to building one for someone. Are they wanting one for a kid to still be able to ride, or instead a robot mule like we were just discussing? I can do whatever she wants. The best power wheels model, as a donor, is the Peg Perego John Deere Gator 348.99, which is my logical upgrade once I get the kinks worked out of everything. This is because there is more physical room on the gator and the bed can be removed and seats removed and a flat bed attached for more load space on top. Just let me know what she wants.
Or if she wants to stay with a Ford f150
Ok so I wanted to go over the general costs so far for this project in the event someone wants to duplicate it.
F150 power wheels (used $40) $349.99
Power HD 1501mg servo ( steering) $25.00
Servo City metal Gearbox 5:1 $ 80
4 Arnold 15" x 6.00 turf saver tires and wheels. $ 35 each x 4
EZB V4 99.99
Foscam pan and tilt $70
Ezb Camera $50
Hobby King speed controller $30
6 led lights for lighting $20
800 watt storm cat generator $129.99
Nice!
Thanks Bret!
Power system inspired by the Chevy Volt?
After you said that I felt the need to read more about the Chevy Volt , http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt
It looks like the Chevy volt has a planetary gearbox and clutch. It physically drives the car when the batteries die. So I can see my version has some similarities, but more simplistic.
Back to the generator position, put the weight over the drive wheels to help traction, this is what a lot of car manufacturers do (however more of them don't).
Mid positioned rear wheel drive cars such as the Toyota MR2 (AW11 & SW20), Lotus Europa, Esprit, Elise, Exige, Evora, McLaren F1, MP4, Pagani Zonda etc. etc. etc. have amazing traction because the engine is pretty much directly above the drive wheels. It's also means it's more efficient, improves acceleration, etc.
Ok so rear position for the generator is unanimous. I needed to hit the bearing with a Dremel as the edges were to narrow to slide onto the axle. Here is a picture. The next step is to mount in some way the drive hub. I want to bolt it in but I'm concerned I may cause a air leak in doing so.