Minnow: Mechanical Platform
We are using the Cye robot
as our underlying mechanical platform. The Cye has very good odometry
and can sense obstacles when it bumps into them.
It includes a differentially steered
motorized drive unit and a trailer. The trailer is
designed so that the drive unit can rotate in place underneath
it. Due to this design the planform of the robot
changes depending on the direction the front unit is pointed.
Cats love robots: Photo courtesy Probotics, Inc.
Here is the overall configuration of our design when viewed
from the top.
Here is the overall configuration of our design when viewed
from the side. The robot, with trailer is about 18cm high
(excluding camera mount).
The following are approximate dimensions of the Cye robot
when viewed from above:
In the normal configuration the robot covers approximately 2200 cm^2.
When the front is turned, the convex hull covers more area.