Episode 40 - DIY Combat Robot [Discussion]

[marilee]

Command the respect and admiration of others and build a robot.... that destroys other robots!

View the show notes and full episode here! (http://revision3.com/systm/robots/)

[will_stutler]

were is the finished painted laptop that he promised us two weeks ago

[daikun]

You guys goofed on the H.264 links. The large and small videos are incorrectly labeled.

I'm subscribed to the large H.264, and when the video showed up as small on the RSS feed, I basically said, "What?" So, I checked the small H.264 link on Rev3, and sure enough...

[toadx]

Great episode! Keep them coming!

[jno]

Everyone who liked this episode and likes robots (especially kids still in High School) should check out FIRST Robotics (usfirst.org), I've been building 120 pound robots with a team of students for four years now and its lead me to studying Engineering in University. These robots are the real deal check out this match from last weekend!
http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/match.php?matchid=5365

[cam_86]

were is the finished painted laptop that he promised us two weeks ago

No kidding. Its prob. annoying having the fans pester him about this every week, but common... this project was started before he was even a member of the rev.3 staff. We need some closure!

[pcpat67]

I am also involved with the FIRST Robotics Competition and was on a team for all four years of high school and am now pursuing a degree in engineering. If you are in high school, check to see if there is a team at your school and join it.

See www.usfirst.org for details and to find a competition happening near you! And best of all, this is the start of the competition season, which means there are competitions every weekend all across the country (US, Canada, Brazil, Israel) through mid April! The events are free and open to the public to watch (They are family friendly, bring the kids and grandma!). If this episode of Systm at all interests you, I highly recommend going to a FIRST Robotics event!

[fogdogg]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

[tjpeople]

You guys goofed on the H.264 links. The large and small videos are incorrectly labeled.

I'm subscribed to the large H.264, and when the video showed up as small on the RSS feed, I basically said, "What?" So, I checked the small H.264 link on Rev3, and sure enough...

you might wanna fix that :) same thing happened to be.

[blazes816]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

That's what I was gonna say. But I still really liked him. I'd like for him to be on again in the future.

[sgregory416]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

man i know got so anoying what ever tho hes a teacher right? thats what they do

[tjpeople]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

YES! once i noticed it became really anoying!

[rbaile28]

So the links in the show notes are pretty fubar and the robogames site is pretty much the epitome of poorly designed navigation. Anyone find one ounce of the kit that they were talking about? I have cut lexan before and it is one of the most frustrating and time consuming processes besides cutting MDF. The robots seemed pretty cool but from the looks of it they were the "hockey" robots and not built for "combat". Seems like it would be fairly easy to fit with a camera and arm for instant "Beer-getting Hockey-playing Combat Robot".

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the kit tho...

[computoman]

I remember when they had the robot wars games from england on pbs. I really enjoyed that. I think they started it here in the us but the popularity on tv died. I would like to see more of that otherwise. As for the repetition, you got the point. oh well. One thing am curious about is that I wonder if one could take an off the shelf remote control car and adapt it for the same duties and save a few bucks. It might be nice just to have a robot even if it was not bulletproof to have one at work in the warehouse to make things easier to automate materials movement or whatever. I would love to hook a wireless camera to one of those babies. I think this is already being done in major businesses. I could see a robot becoming a food server in a restaurant or a order picker in a store for the use of the handicapped. Might be a chance for a small business to create their own robots without costing a fortune so they can stay competitive. Possibilities!!!!!

[maynza]

Best systm episode ever.

[Depressium]

man i know got so anoying what ever tho hes a teacher right? thats what they do

Some people just think out loud. They ensure they are answering the question correctly by repeating it to themselves.

[partsguy74]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

Randolph does that too. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. I hate it.

[zipper]

Lots of good stuff here, keep up the good work!

[neutrino15]

Great to see so many other FIRST members here! I kept thinking about how we use the same victors, the same wheels, the same de-walt gear boxes to make our 120lb robots!

If you are in high school and want to build robots, definitely check out http://usfirst.org (http://usfirst.org/what/frc/default.aspx?id=366). Its great to be with people who have similar interests to yourself. Definitely come to an event if you are interested. It's competition season!

I was somewhat disappointed at the lack of micro controller on that robot. I guess as a battle-bot it doesn't need to have an autonomous capability, but it would have been cool.

A uProcessor board that seems to be very popular right now is the Arduino. It's open source, uses USB to be programmed, has a bunch of inputs and outputs.. A good multi-purpose board.

This was one of the more enjoyable episodes, but I agree, the repetition was a bit annoying.

[tetfsu]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

@FOGDOGG
You hit this one on the head. I enjoyed the episode, but I had to stop listening numerous times because I felt like I was listening in a freakin ECHO chamber. It was highly annoying, no matter how interesting the subject matter.

[tetfsu]

Randolph does that too. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. I hate it.

Yeah he does it too, but in a limited since compared to this. This was finger nails on a chalk board. Randolph is more like a since slap on the hind quarters... wait, what? ;-)

[eugeneo]

Hi guys, just finished watching the DIY Robotics episode. Anyways I was thinking for a speed controller http://roboteq.com/ax500-folder.html. That is the speed controller I was contemplating on buying. Any feedback about it?

[neutrino15]

Hi guys, just finished watching the DIY Robotics episode. Anyways I was thinking for a speed controller http://roboteq.com/ax500-folder.html. That is the speed controller I was contemplating on buying. Any feedback about it?

All I know is that IFI victors are supposed to be the best.

[shinku]

Say, I wonder if Rev3 would consider a Robot Wars style show...


Great episode though, possibly one of the best as far as content, as a long time fan of robot combat (ok, Robot Wars specifically) it was very interesting to see the guts of a basic robot in detail.

[ddreier]

Great Episode Guys!

This was very interesting, and I think I'm gonna have to go get some more cheap Harbor Freight drills.

[kardall]

Honestly, I found this to be one of my favorite episodes.

I'm not a big fan of the robot destructo-derby's that you see on tv, but I think this pointed out a lot of awesome tech tips on machining.

Personally, I know nothing. Learning about thread types was just excellent news. I had no idea really... i'm not being sarcastic, I actually dropped out of mechanics in highschool cause it was lame. I'd rather be pwning n00bs in the comp. lab.

Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm waiting to see some pics of the M.A.M.E. at work lol I want to see this bad boi!!! HAI2U MAME MACHINE OF D00M!!!!

[lordbyron]

I was glad to see a FULL length complete episode! Wow people give this Dave guy a break. He knew what he was talking about very well, maybe it was his first time on TV. Or maybe it is just part of his personality. We all have some sort of traits that others may not like. Like for example, one of my habits is that when I am explaining something I say "You Know". bla bla bla you know. Dives my wife nuts at times. Remember people in glass house should not throw stones.

[billfred]

Long-time viewer, first-time poster.

I'm also a FIRSTer, currently in the fifth season. It is the real deal, but folks have already beaten that to death.

Some notes from the five robots I've had a hand in:
-Victor speed controllers are rock-solid, though I've never run them unprotected. A fuse or circuit breaker would be good cheap protection, though you're also less likely to stall motors (which increases your current draw) with non-grippy scooter wheels. (The scooter wheels will slip easier, slipping wheels turn fast, fast-running motors draw fewer amps.) Also, make sure that you protect the Victors from metal shavings while working on the robot; shorting the FETs under the fan will blow them out.

-If you're looking at the video and saying "Hey, I can use acrylic and save some bucks!", don't. Acrylic loves to fracture. (Of course, if you're running crazy slow in a bubble-wrapped room...)

-I would warn that the Victor 884s shown on the video are rated for 12-15V. How that works with an 18V is unknown to me, but don't say I didn't warn you. (The Victor 883 is rated for 60A at 24V, and runs $150.)

-If you're looking for a slightly-grippier wheel on the cheap, our 120-pound FRC robot has rolled quite nicely on AndyMark (http://andymark.biz/wheels.html) FIRST Wheels for two seasons. We rivet on similar tread to that seen in the episode, which is incline conveyor belting (search McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com)), but you can run them stock and be rolling quite nicely. The 2007 wheel is a bit grippier than the 2008 wheel, but the 2008 wheel has more reinforcement. Both are dirt cheap ($18 with bearings, $9-10 without), and have means to mount either a sprocket or a keyed shaft. Of course, a robot designed to run outdoors in the dirt is going to want to choose sealed bearings instead of the open ones that come with the AndyMark wheels; dirt in bearings = bad. (AndyMark makes a lot of great products geared towards 120-pound FRC robots; you'll have to evaluate for yourself how applicable they are to a 30-pounder.)

-If you want to leave the door open to programming down the road, consider a Vex kit. Vex (yet another IFI product) is an Erector-esque system for smaller robots, but the $300 starter set (http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robotics-design-system.shtml) gets you a heck of a lot of hardware, a programmable robot controller that works fine out of the box, and a radio/transmitter combo that'll do some of the easy mixing for you. The controller runs about $150 by itself, and the radio runs $130 from IFI--but poke around on the internet a bit, as I have seen sites sell the radio for far less (http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=JS-6&type=store&review=all). (For the piecemealers who just want RC for now, you may want to try the Vex Signal Splitter (http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robotics-signal-splitter.shtml), which eliminates the robot controller and just gives you the straight speed controller outputs for $20.) Vex is a pretty nice system, and a steal considering it provides a fair amount (though certainly not all) of the functionality of IFI's full-size robot controllers.

There's a lot to learn about robots in general; as one old FRC team had as its motto, fail often to succeed faster.

[kichigaimentat]

The High Definition version is screwed up. Not like Rev3 shows were in the past (that is, crappy video quality) but rather part of the way through my XBox started complaining and refused to play the video at all, so something seems to be wrong with it.

[spiri]

The High Definition version is screwed up. Not like Rev3 shows were in the past (that is, crappy video quality) but rather part of the way through my XBox started complaining and refused to play the video at all, so something seems to be wrong with it.
My PS3 played it fine after a passthrough conversion to mp4.

[s7thomp]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

100% agitated

Other then the constant repetition, I thought he was interesting as well. It's one of the best System episodes, and I'd like to see more guests on the show.

[minion4hire]

Great episode. Epic even. And a nice hefty length at that! What more could a geek ask for?!

But please, stop the hate on David. Most of the time Patrick finished David's sentences, to which David either agreed with him by repeating what he said - and thereby stressing the point - or corrected him with the right information. It just so happened that Patrick was right more often than not, so David ended up completing his thought with Patrick's words. I don't see why so many are so irritated by such an innocent thing.

[mrlahey]

Great episode! Loved it. Made me want to build a robot.

[hadees]

I know other people have said it but man that guy repeating everything was soooooo annoying. I feel like they should have stopped filming for a second and tell him to stop doing that. I would love to see David in an episode again provided he doesn't repeat everything. If he did that again I don't think I could watch it with out poking my eyes out.

[lordbyron]

I know other people have said it but man that guy repeating everything was soooooo annoying.

Wow!! Take your own advice....look who is doing the repeating now? Yea you are right it is soooooo annoying.

[hadees]

Wow!! Take your own advice....look who is doing the repeating now? Yea you are right it is soooooo annoying.

Well mine wasn't word for word and I'm not producing a Video Podcast meant to entertain.

[artofwar420]

I actually haven't seen any eps. in a while, but Combat Robots! Hell yes! You reeled me in.

[lordbyron]

I'm not producing a Video Podcast meant to entertain.

That is a good thing for everyone! ;)

[allanbutton]

-If you want to leave the door open to programming down the road, consider a Vex kit. Vex (yet another IFI product) is an Erector-esque system for smaller robots, but the $300 starter set (http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robotics-design-system.shtml) gets you a heck of a lot of hardware, a programmable robot controller that works fine out of the box, and a radio/transmitter combo that'll do some of the easy mixing for you. The controller runs about $150 by itself, and the radio runs $130 from IFI--but poke around on the internet a bit, as I have seen sites sell the radio for far less (http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=JS-6&type=store&review=all). (For the piecemealers who just want RC for now, you may want to try the Vex Signal Splitter (http://www.vexlabs.com/vex-robotics-signal-splitter.shtml), which eliminates the robot controller and just gives you the straight speed controller outputs for $20.) Vex is a pretty nice system, and a steal considering it provides a fair amount (though certainly not all) of the functionality of IFI's full-size robot controllers.

There's a lot to learn about robots in general; as one old FRC team had as its motto, fail often to succeed faster.


Hey Billfred, thanks for the links. I purchased the transmitter/receiver, but when I went to buy the '20' dollar signal splitter, they want an extra 70 bucks to ship to canada, bringing the total to 90 dollars.

You know anywhere else to get that signal splitter? I've googled around everywhere.


Im planning on building my 'robot' out of two electric scooters. A local shop sells them for 60 bucks. I've worked with electric scooter innards before, so I know this will get me 2 decent push motors ( can move a 200 pound person when geared right ). 4 x 12v batterys, and 4 wheels, and 2 controller boards, which could most likely interface directly to signal splitter.

I'll post some info and send some pics/vid to systm when I do it.

- Allan Button

[pyrofenix]

I thought this was a great episode and really informative. I'd love to build something that size as just an r/c vehicle.

[quantomus]

I quit watching this episode just because of the continued repeating of everything Patrick said by David that everyone is talking about. Just couldn’t take it anymore.

You guys now have me wanting to go back and finish it just to see how the robot turns out.

[melta]

Really interesting episode, but it was annoying as hell how David repeated every single comment Pat made throughout the entire show...

Any one else notice that?

Oh my god, yes. Very very Annoying.

Pat has the patience of a saint, either that or he had he's fist primed in he's pocket.

[edyalex]

Does anybody know what model of remote did they use for the robot? Thank you.

[abnormanomaly]

I found a site that seems to have a large amount of the parts needed, if you decide to not go with the low end drill option.

[abnormanomaly]

I may have acctually wanted to pot the link too http://www.robotshop.us/

[computoman]

Bought a clock chip and a crystal. Might try this one.