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Here is the current look of this project, Super cool update, magpi magazine wants to feature this build with steps how it was done , !
By jstarne1
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Which one you will keep updating ?
- a mobile platform that can patrol a set routine
- Motion tracking , robot turns towards movement and tracks that object/ person
- 3-4 cameras recording 24 / 7
- run without outside power for at least 12 hours, but the goal is excess of 24 hours.
-Even in the even the robotic size of the electronics fails or the battery runs dead, there is a backup that keeps the cameras on and recording.
-Recording both locally on the robot itself and also wireless video sent to a recorder that I will probably setup with another raspberry pi.
- Live access to the cameras over the internet
- 1 tb hard drive dedicated to every camera, covers recording in HD for at least a rolling month. Recordings in 10 min intervals.
-Dual battery setup, one battery for the drive wheels , motor controller and ezb
Lithium battery 10,000 mah packs for each camera
-Safety Stop switch that cuts power to motor controller in the event of an emergency, but everything else still records.
-Create a water resistant area protected from spashing and weather for the electronics
-make some kind of seal where the panels come together
- Some kind of anti theft alarm, using geo location or other alarm to prevent theft
-GPS geofence alarm and active tracker
https://www.ebay.com/itm/232479396529
emergency stop for the wheels, in case of emergency
knobby
Lugs
shopping list
4x micro sd card , 32gb
5x battery packs 10,000 or 15,000 mah ( $25-30 )
4x 130 degree lense , raspberry pi cam
1x ez cam (have them)
1x ez board ( have them)
4x raspberry Pi 3 B boards $35 (have them)
4x 2 ft long rpi cam cables
1x 12v voltage guage $16
4x motion sensors ( have them)
4x ultrasonic sensors ( have them)
4x WD eaststore/ ultra 1 tb hard drive $55 each ( have two)
1 x GPS geofencing and tracking device $30
Emergency cut off button $5
1x 10 amp H bridge ( have them)
1 x 50 watt 12v DC to 5v DC converter ( $12)
10 x Powerline short usb cables 1 ft ($10 per 4 cables)
1 x 7 port usb hub
Also the ultra sonic with cam ?
Greetz,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/222285320765?var=521121618991
not sure what your mean by ultrasonic with cam through.
Alright , so I ordered 4 cameras specifically for recording and then the batteries , sd cards and usb cables needed to power the raspberry pi boards ( the pi are only for recording)
I still need to find a way to weather proof the motors , wiring and electronics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potting_(electronics)
Alan
Spray Dip a motherboard in white ! I might actually do that since I love white so much.
I started to disassemble the chassis , I can see there are certainly differences from the other one and I think I may swap the front end so I can easily find a place for headlights. The screws on the fender are badly rusted and I put some for in the hole to break it up.
I will need to fill this gap with something.... maybe fiberglass as s mount.
As you can see the battery is not able to slide in. I did not account for the taper of the battery rack is 1/4 tighter at the base than the top. Sooooo yeah, I hate failing and doing things twice ,but the more I work on Robotics the more I am learning mistakes and stepping stones to succcess , not failures.
I love the idea of black , but at the same time I would like to put decals that indicate the robots name and purpose , maybe even my address in the event it is stolen. In that case the gunmetal gray is a bit more appealing. What do you guys think?
Alan
I have 6 cans of the grey on the way , woop woop
Alan
T-RADD (Tactical Recon And Deterrent Droid)
viper / Directed 2 way alarm system ( reports back to a remote when a sensor is set off.
Tilt Sensors, physically arranged in 4 directions and mounted to the frame. Forward, backward and side to side.
Plunger sensors or magnetic
4, two on the from lid and two on the rear.
Magnetic sensor, one inside the lid of the sensor stalk.
Ok so 9 sensors there.
Lastly Maybe I could have something that senses the wheels are turning but not energized , or maybe the brake release could have a magnet sensor.
Basically I want something that is very undesirable to drag through my yard to steal.
I added the two IR leds to the camera which come on in low light and have an adjustable pot on each board. I will likely use clear epoxy to seal the sensors and plastidip to make the board water resistant. The plastidip peels off if needed.
Ultrasonic , pi cams, EZB cam. Pyro motion sensor
Pictures or it didn’t happen!
4 hole sets for the cameras and IR leds
8 hole sets for ultrasonic range finders
4 hole sets for Pyro Motion Detectors
1 EZ CAM hole
The dip is still wet , I misted 5 coats about 2 to 3 min close together under a 1000 watt lamp. I expect to have some texture but I’m checking out the color right now.
I installed the voltage meter on the front fairing and coated some sensors with plastidip to make them moisture resistant.
I also started coating the gram and motor parts with the plastidip too. Not only does it color match the frame , but the idea is that plastidip will help protect metal parts from rust.
It depends on your perspective. He was a folk hero as well.
I sprayed a couple coats of the grey plastidip on the frame both top and bottom , 2 to 3 more to com ,but the look will be the same just thicker.
here is a mock up of the main peices in place without any screws.
Of course I still will run a tube inside the tire.
As far as width it is going from 8.5 inches in diameter to 12 I believe.
I also took also took the time to mount the two knobby tires I picked up on amazon for 11 dollars. I will post pics of those once inflated and back on the chassis.
Are you running a Raspberry PI cluster on your bot ?
No ethernet hub ? or a Wireless router on your bot ?
If I want to backup / save the files from a day I just connect from the pc and download them wirelessly and delete the old ones.
Take a look!
Each sensor is glued all the way around to keep water out.
Here is the electronics just sitting inside, but nothing is mounted yet as I need to first make a large hole all the cables will pass through.
Pi was interesting approach for cameras but I think maybe look at the tech they use for drone racing next time. 5.8ghz VTX multi channel cameras and a receiver base station may have been another choice. Low cost, multichannel, High resolution, low powered and video is stored at base station.
Challenge you have with PI is if someone steals your bot they get the camera data and you have to keep unloading the memory cards. The problem with the VTX though is they are very easy to Jam.
I already tested out the spray on version of plastidip but if there are hard to reach areas it mak not Work. So I am trying the liquid version I can brush on. It works well and still removable by peeling off.
And second awesome is they want to put Nom-Nom the lawn mower project in 5 months for a warmer weather project!
A day of running power wires. I didn’t have any barrier strips so I improvised and used ring terminals around a screw for pos and negative posts.
I drilled out and added speed clips to the mounting points with new hot dipped screws that hopefully will not rust outside , I also swapped the other M4 10mm screws that hold many body parts together.
I robbed are parts jazzy for hub caps , Ha! My Robot has Rims!
The rear wheels where grey rubber stained sort of brownish . I used a tooth brush and gave them three good coats of rubber plastidip in black, we will see how that turns out tommorow as it has a 6 hour dry time.
Any ideas for correction are great.
If the reverse isn't moving the same speed, that is most likely power/motor/gearing related. The sabertooth receives the command and does its thing. Long as it is receiving the command correctly, it'll output the same voltage on both channels via pwm.
Slow speed movement is very much going to cause challenges due to the motors having different efficiency ratings. Slow speed is going to expose any of the differences across the two motors.
Slow speed movement is very much going to cause challenges due to the motors having different efficiency ratings. Slow speed is going to expose any of the differences across the two motors.
Edit : I see what you mean about the slower the Robot moves the more differences pop out.
Refurbished rear wheels , coated in thick rubber
90 percent full battery voltage
Nothing Is screwed down in case I need to quickly unplug anything
Forward view 800x600
Left view 800x600
Right view 800 x 600
Pardon the mess this is also the play room.
For today I am using the batteries from Nom Nom the mower. They are 2 x U1-3 lawn and garden lead acid batteries . 425 cca
The future batteries will be power sonic 12350 12v 35 AH SLA AGM non spillable.
He celebrated by climbing on top and demanding a ride around the room , NOPE mom would kill me.
Watchdog met it's first goal! 12 hours unmanned / no humans , I am checking Watchdog from remote desktop and it is still going strong, I started the first test at 11:30 pm last night. I cannot see the battery meter from here, but I will be able to check the battery around 5-6 pm. Hopefully Watchdog can make it to 11:30 tonight.
.6 volt loss since yesterday night!
I am very happy with the efficiency of the equipment. All cameras have been recording and the sabertooth and the 5 volt dc to dc converter are being used.
25.2 apparently is not 100 percent full, maybe these batteries were being broken in.
Excellent news ! After 24 hours runtime I still have battery life left.
24.6 volts from the 25.2 starting voltage. That is an average of .025 volts drop per hour.
Here is a reference chart I am comparing to for the battery capacity, take in mind I am running 24 volts.
after about 32 hours I was at 24 volts even but I wanted to see if I could make it to an even 48 hours. I pulled the plug on the battery for recharge at 42 hours.
Watchdog forward cam on initial boot
Watchdog right cam
Watchdog left
I forgot the Ip to the rear cam so I didn't grab a screen on that one.
You do amazing work.
-Sean
Ok tiny update , one raspberry pi keeps crashing after a few hours , only one is a problem so I bought a replacement that I will swap out. I also ordered 4 Pi zero W to see if I could use those instead to get the job done and gain some space as well as more battery life. I already received the permanent Power Sonic 12v 35ah batteries. I charged them overnight and just plugged them in. These are nearly twice as heavy as the old batteries! 10 pounds more each , 20 pounds more total.
Also I have 4 of the Pi W zero on the way and I will test them , if they do the job I will swap them to free up physical space and lower the overall current draw a couple amps. The pi zero is only 1ghz cpu, so it uses a bit less power.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi-issues/MagPi67.pdf