Schlagwort: Robotic Tank

  • Bendy robotic tank steers by flexing

    Bendy robotic tank steers by flexing

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    James Bruton has become something of a YouTube sensation by experimenting with unusual drive mechanisms for his robots. While he does do other things, most of his projects seem to focus on designing, building, and evaluating drive types that are far outside of the norm. His newest project is no different. It is a single-track tank vehicle that steers itself by bending its entire body.

    Bruton got this idea after looking at the way conveyor belts work. Those belts, which tend to be a series of interconnected segments, are obviously flexible along their length, which is necessary for them to bend and loop back around. But they are also slightly flexible in the direction perpendicular to that, which is necessary for the conveyor belt to make a turn. Bruton figured that if he could make a tank track bend in a similar way, he could make the vehicle turn without the need for a second track.

    To test this idea, Burton 3D-printed almost the entirety of the vehicle. That includes the track itself, which is made of several rigid segments that link together. There is just enough movement in the connections to allow a segment to sit at an angle relative to its neighbors. Conventional motors in front and back units spin the track, and an Arduino Mega 2560 board controls them. Between the two units is a joint that pivots horizontally. A linear actuator arm controls the angle between the front and back units, forcing the track to bend.

    While the turning radius is massive, this vehicle can maneuver. It isn’t very good at clearing obstacles, but that is more due to Bruton’s design than the drive and steering system. That could be improved with additional design iterations, but this vehicle already proves that the concept works.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_keOPL12FQ?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post Bendy robotic tank steers by flexing appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • Building an experimental wave drive tank

    Building an experimental wave drive tank

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Arduino TeamSeptember 8th, 2022

    There are many ways to make a thing ambulatory beyond simply slapping on some wheels. James Bruton often experiments with these unique drive mechanisms, whether they are practical or not. In his newest video, he built what he calls a “wave drive” to propel a tank-like robot. This experimental wave drive tank features a 3D-printed body and remote Arduino-based control.

    This drive mechanism works using motion similar to someone doing the worm dance move, which is very much like how flatworms swim through water in nature. For a more technical visualization, imagine a spinning helix projected onto a 2D plane. The result looks like a sine wave, hence the name. The bottom of the wave makes contact with the ground and friction provides grip, letting the mechanism roll forward. That helix visualization also mirrors the physical implementation here, as a screw-shaped drive shaft guides tracks as it spins.

    Bruton 3D-printed almost every physical part of this robot, with the major exception being the helical metal rods. Those rods spin on bearings and an Arduino Mega 2560 controls their 12V DC motors through driver boards. As with more conventional tank tracks, forward or reverse movement occur when both motors spin in the same direction. To rotate the robot, the motors just need to spin in opposite directions. The Arduino can vector motor direction and speed according to throttle and steering inputs from Bruton’s custom remote control.

    As Bruton demonstrates in the video, this wave drive works – but it doesn’t work very well. It is slow, inefficient, difficult to control, and has a hard time overcoming obstacles. That makes sense, since this movement is better suited to ambulation in viscous fluid. Even so, it is great to see Bruton testing the real world practicality of another unconventional drive mechanism.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQqhVzmBNYU?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK