TrakBot

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Autonomous Tiny Trak, a quick and dirty project adding simple autonomous function to one of my PilotTrak platforms. As always, no microcontrollers here, just a simple digital circuit. Sorry to disappoint, there's absolutely no tracking or mapping going on here, he's honestly got the intelligence of a rather bright potato. Easy to make though, all off-the-shelf circuits.

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Pathfinder Mini – Logic Gate Robot, no CPU!

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Based off my larger walker, the Pathfinder Mini is a cost-reduced version which requires far fewer parts, much less plastic, and is a bit more simple to build. I will be releasing the plans for it as soon as I can, and considering the reduced part count, I may be able to sell complete kits instead of my usual plans or plastic-only kits.

If it were economically feasible, I would also like to make a batch of circuit boards to include with the kit. As of right now, it's too complex to build in point-to-point wiring, but a PCB with proper traces would be nice. I'd have to ditch the LEDs as a cost saving measure though as well. Or, you know, I could just use a microcontroller like a sane person.

This circuit was really just a fun project to prove I could build this idea from my head into an actual working robot. It does work quite well, and schematics and an explanation of the design is listed below.

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AutoBB

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Ideas for a small BB shooter, possibly for a TinyTrak.
Integrated hopper, auto-feeding, uses single N20 GearMotor. Requires 8x3x4mm ball bearings and M3 screws.

Hopefully someone else can improve on this?

 

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PilotTrak V2 Mini

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While the PilotTrak V2 is a huge improvement over the original PilotTrak, it is quite a bit bigger. There’s something about the cuteness of an absolutely tiny tank-like vehicle, and it’s nice to be able to pocket it and go anywhere. Solution? PilotTrak V2 Mini.Continue reading→

PilotTrak V2

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Currently very close to a final version 2 of the Pilot Trak. This version is FAR more capable than the original. It has greater ground clearance, wider tracks, better cog mesh, a battery cover, more room for electronics, grippier tracks, and overall reduced cost due to removal of ball bearings. Pulling cable through drop-ceilings is now a piece of cake with these improvements!

Once released, I may discontinue the V1 to focus on improving the V2. While the V1 was good for moderately flat indoor ground, it has a tendency to tip and has very little room for electronics, making builds difficult.

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Posting from GeoWorks!

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Using my WiPi Modem (available from my site), I was able to get my Brother GeoBook, a low cost 386sx laptop from the late 90’s, online! Software availability is not great, as it only runs GEOS / GeoWorks Ensemble, but there is integrated TCP/IP support via a PPP connection, which my Modem supports.
The only useful applications on the GeoBook are Emailer (A very, very basic SMTP/Pop3 email client), Web Browser, and a fairly nice, though limited, IRC client. While not extremely useful in today’s age, it is able to get enough connectivity to post to my blog via the WordPress email post. The WiPi modem is also able to provide me with an SSH client via terminal emulator, so I regularly use the GeoBook to configure my webserver! This machine would definitely get a few strange looks if I ever started using it in a coffee shop 🙂

PS2 Modchip

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Modbo 5 Install complete! Nothing like dumping all your DVDs straight to a 500gb Internal HDD!