Whoever said robots can't take over the earth obviously doesn't know much about robots or computers. Between the two of them, there's much damage to be done. Transformers only captures a share of this damage.

  ro·bot (rō'bŏt') n. A machine or device that operates automatically or by remote control.

  Here's my remdition of a robot. No, it doesn't look like a human. It doesn't do human-like things (like grab a beverage from the refridgerator and bring it to the computer chair, or workbench...). It's not a human. It's an AIRT- Artificial (It's man-made) Intelligence (it's able to do things) Robotic (it's by remote control and automation) Transporter (it's can haul stuff...like said beverage).

As of last measurement, the specs are:

• Height: 19.25 inches (49.5 cm) max
• Width: 14.5 inches (30.2 cm)
• Length: 27 inches (75 cm) without wheels (chassis only)
    33.25 inches (83.2 cm) with wheels
• Weight: 34.7 pounds (76.5 Kilograms)
  
• Approach Angle: -124 degrees
   -2.16 Radians
• Departure Angle: -79 degrees
   -1.38 Radians

As of the week of December 23rd, 2007, I have purchased the radio system (72 MHz) and changed the cago bay from 14 inches (L) x 4 inches (H) x 11 inches (W) to 17 inches (L) x 6 inches (H) x 11 inches (W), almost doubling the volume capacity. It can now hold two fridge pack of beverage side by side with bay doors closed (barely) or a cube style 24 pack with the bay doors open. I have set January 16th as a goal to have the whole robot completed. In the fabrication department, everything is finished and assembled less the bay door supports (buying more #4 bolts today) and the hubs for the drive motors. The ECM (Electronic control module) box, which contains the 6 drive motor controls, has been mounted under the main chassis platform of AIRT, with wiring going from it to the UIM (user interface module) compartment between the cab and cargo area. The relocation of the ECM is what allowed the cargo area to be extended in length by three inches. The relocation of the ECM also allows improved wire management for the speed controls, with shorter motor leads as well. Also, strut/sway bars were added to all the swingarms, to control the toe in/out of the swingarms when turning and somewhat link the swingarms in suspension travel, though they are still mostly independant.

12-29-07- AIRT NOW MOVES! 4 of the 6 hubs needed have been manufactured and installed on AIRT- enough to make it move, however, it doesn't seem to want to turn on carpet, and the front wheels are only ones making ti turn on wood floor. Apparently one of the dead motors are in the passenger rear corner, so it can't really attribute to the turning abilities.

01-04-08- AIRT now has a 6 channel aircraft controller. It is already calibrated and ready to go. Today I went to put an ammeter on AIRT, come to find that the passenger side speed controls weren't recieving power- which explians the erratic behavior from before. However, once plugged in, I discovered (with the ammeter) that there was now an 8 ampere short- which is alot for a little plug. Upon looking again and removing nearly the entire power harness from AIRT, i discover that the connector which had come off had the positive and negative leads swapped around (see image on gallery page 7). Guess that answered the question of why i had popped a 20 amp fuse the first day of testing (and replaced it with a piece of paperclip until i could find another fuse). Once fixing that, On the test run right after fixing AIRT, I promptly lit up the entire hallway- now that all 6 ESC's were getting full direct power (as upposed to three), it turned that said piece of paperclip into a lightbulb filament! I have since re-ra it, this time with the ammeter across the fuse holder. That video is also on page 7 of the gallery. I have deemed that with 4 motors there is a 5.33 amp peak load (projected 8 amps with 6 motors) and that the projected run time with 6 motors will be 6.375 minutes, based off of 10 minutes at 852 mAH of draw with 4 motors.

1-10-08- Well, i got some lights for AIRT (on page 8) and am working on making the permanent wiring system for it. However, the sandisk card for my camera decided to die and i have 2nd degree burns on 3 of my fingers, so don't expect too much to go on for awhile...!

1-17-08- AIRT has been completed. I have made 3 exhibition runs and all seems to be as it should. Will finalize the wiring and record an amp draw reading today before buttoning it up. Depending on how the shelf looks, i may have enough paint to put a black base coat on it. Vibration is a big issue right now, I see some locktite bottles in the future.

2-8-08- DVD's have been made. I am only making 5 copies total so need the ones back that I distribute (unless plans are made otherwise). Let me know if you want to loan a copy.

12-10-08- LET THERE BE PAINT! pages 11, 12, and 13. all thats left is the insides of the wheels and undercarriage. Scheme is a jungle/temporate camouflauge color combination- black, forest green, light green, and earth brown.

09-22-08- A new design, effectively AIRT 1.1, has been compiled in Computer Aided Design. The new design, using predominantly metals (though some wood is retained), will allow the use of a 3 link suspension on all 3 axles, allow each of the 3 axles to steer (using low speed motors and limit switches), and increase the overall size or AIRT. Version 1.1 has been designed to use 12 inch diameter wheels instead of 10 (however, the 10's will likely be used for a good while while 12's are manufactured) and has an overall length of 38 inches from wheel to wheel. The actual frame length is increased by two inches, with much of this increase going to the cargo bay, while length is left along at exactly 12 inches. There will be a bulkhead to seperate the bay door servos from the rest of the bay, which will also help to reinforce the larger servo stops. Many of the metallic components will be fastened using 4-40 and 6-32 machine screws, while much of the steering system will be 8-32 bolts for shear strength. The few wooden components will be fastened using standard decking wood screwed which are 1.25 inches long. The weak and visually uneasthetic bay doors will be replaced with stronger versions, using a pair of 7x4 inch plexiglass windows per each surface, for 8 windows total. A cargo retention gate is undecided upon but will likely be the same as on the origional AIRT. While frame width will still be 12 inches, the front suspension support will be 14 inches wide, and inside wheel to inside wheel is expecting to be approximately 16 inches. For "blind" navigation, the onboard lighting will be greatly improved, and the wireless camera will be moved from under the chassis to a small servo-activated perch atop the robot. This perch will be able to raise and lower into a TBD location (either electronics bay, or cargo bay forward of protectant bulkhead) so as to be normally concealed. Being as V1.1 will not be skid steer, all 6 tires will now be wrapped in rubber for extra traction. The CAD images can be seen on page 13 of the AIRT gallery below.

  Bullet Connectors: 10.96
Battery Connectors: 12.93
Sheet Metal and PlexiGlass: 15.11
Wood Screws: 7.00
1x4 and hinges: 20.54
Radio: 67.81
Shocks: 40
Servos: 41.37
Servo Horns: 9.75
Y harnesses: 14.97
Set Collars: 23.80
Set Screws: 00.67
#10-24 Bolts and nuts: 4.19
Motors: Donated (Value: 6 @ 12ea = 72.00)
ESC's: Donated (Value: 6 @ 25ea = 150.00)

Total: 246.44 (Value: 468.44)

 
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