India '98 - October 22th

Got the wings done on RoboFly II (see Oct. 20th). Now all I have to do is finish the wood base. Since I have that sort of out of the way I started working on my Autonomous Sumo Bot (ASB). I was going to use IR detectors to detect the edge of the ring but after a few tests I decided to use "Normaly-Closed" switches. I also discovered that i'll need to make the bot a few inches longer so when the bot turns it won't go off the edge...... Wait I just thought of something......10 minutes later......I just tested my idea and it worked. See Fig. 1. If I use separate H-bridges for each motor I can have one motor reverse and reduce the turning radius drastically, now i won't have to make ASB any longer. I'll see if I can figure out a timed delay tomorrow other wise the bot will just follow the edge of the ring making it vulnerable to attack. If you have any cool ideas I'd love to hear them. I'll have more details and schematics later.

Fig. 1 You can get the schematics for the Bicore & H-bridge here.

The motors are hobby servos with small model airplane wheels. There will be a scoop made out of sheet metal in the front.