Arduino Tank Robot on a budget

[Chuckt]

http://technabob.com/blog/2010/07/29/df ... t-arduino/

For $89.99, you can have a programmable tank robot on a budget. The way things are going, $90 dollars isn't such a bad deal unless you want to do it yourself. The Robotshop has it priced a little higher than the advertised price: $97.82. If you already have a microcontroller then adding a base for about $42 would be a cheaper way to go:

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/mechan ... 9_125.html

[brad]

What are those wireless devices for? To control the robot wirelessly?

[Chuckt]

What are those wireless devices for? To control the robot wirelessly?

They have bluetooth and rf wireless modules. This is where you have to have software or know how it works to program it. I imagine you can spend a lot of time on these things.

I found the track it runs on:

http://www.robotshop.ca/tamiya-track-an ... set-1.html

You would just have to add a motor / gearbox.

The chassis kit is here:

http://www.robotshop.ca/tracked-vehicle ... kit-2.html

[brad]

Are you looking to make a robot yourself? or are you already in the process of making one perhaps?

[Chuckt]

If I made one, I wouldn't know what to do with it other than to show it off. I spend some time figuring out how to make or do things.

[brad]

I guess that's what I keep wondering about with robots, what do people do with them in the end?

I have seen that people make them to battle other robots.

[Chuckt]

I've met a few people trying to make robotic prosthetics. I've talked to a few people who wanted to do something about protecting the military in Iraq against IEDs.

The useful uses are primarily when they take the place or job of people who work.

The problem is they are expensive and it is very involved. Some places like the Society of Robots and these other groups have a handle or an angle towards working with them.

I could build a robot for detecting methane gas but then where would I use it? It wouldn't be for me. It would be one thing if I had a contract with a plant that needed that sort of thing but I'm guessing they have hard wired sensors.

I could see a military angle for the A-Pod but then it might have to be six foot high, made of steel, and be pumping a lot of lead. I don't mean weights.

This is a hobby for someone who has a lot of time, money and time to build things. It is for someone who may have a metal or other type of shop to build things.

[brad]

I loved this comment:

made of steel, and be pumping a lot of lead. I don't mean weights.

Now that I think about it. I make my games because I enjoy doing it. It's not like I am doing it so everyone in the world will want one - it's a hobby. So the same goes for people who make robots. They enjoy doing it as a hobby and it really doesn't need to be anything more than that.