[ale] robots

[Pete Hardie]

Jeff Hubbs wrote:
> 
> Depending on how the blades are shaped, I think it could be designed
> such that you would have to try really hard to get a finger caught,
> i.e., pick it up, jam a finger into the cutter, and wait a few seconds.

I just remember that Cabbage Patch doll that was supposed to 'eat' plastic
food, and it turned out to be possible to get a finger caught in the
mechanism.

> 
> Jam correction would be very important because, whereas I think it is
> reasonable that you should clear 1/2"- to 1"-thick branches out of your
> yard by hand, I don't think it's reasonable to take that down to the
> twig level.  My intuition tells me that a little twig would go into the
> cutter just like grass would but would be too tough for the moving blade
> to get through.  If the blade is a turning blade like I described
> earlier, its motion could be easily detected and its motor could be made
> to reverse for 1/2-1 rev.  The blades could be shaped such that when the
> rotation is reversed, anything that's due to get cut will just get
> ejected.  Follow that up with a bit of a maneuver to back away from the
> offending object and resume operation and you have some robustness
> there.

Actually, getting the twigs out sounds like a great task for another bot -
with a much simpler design, since it needs only rake and area, and have a 
'home base' to rake the debris to.

-- 
Pete Hardie                   |   Goalie, DVSG Dart Team
    posting from, but not     |
	speaking for:             |
Scientific Atlanta, Digital Video Services Group


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