Monthly Meeting Recap – 7/17/11
Robot Show & Tell:
- Mike Dvorsky showed us his Fingertech Robotics mini sumo chassis he won at our April 2nd Bot Brawl competition. Mike plans to have this robot operational and ready in time for the Fall Chibotica competition which is held at the iHobby Expo. Mike also showed us the custom development board he’s building for the GPS that will be installed on our club’s RoboMagellan robot. Mike also demonstrated the GPS using an available application called GPSFox which shows the serial string, location and speed data, current satellite information, and more all in a very nice looking graphical user interface.
- Peter Campbell showed us the parts he’s been machining for the club’s Robomagellan robot. Peter use’s a Sherline CNC mill and lathe. Peter also brought the custom ultrasonic sensor mounts he built that orient the sensors at a slight upward angle in an attempt to prevent false object readings due to the sensor potentially seeing the ground in front of the robot.
- Dan Toborowski brought the version 2.0 RoboMagellan robot chassis which he has made several additions to including a hinged cover, main power switch, and a few improvements to the mechanical drive system intended to further improve performance. Dan also brought his SBU (self-balancing unicycle) which uses an electric motor, gyro sensors, and accelerometer feedback to automatically balance forward-backward. The unicycle essentially functions like a Segway with motion controlled by the rider leaning their weight forward or backward. Side to side balance however is handled entirely by the rider which requires a significant amount of practice to master. The SBU features a high-capacity lithium battery which provides ride times up to 2 hours or more and can reach a top speed of 10+ mph.
Announcements:
- CIRC was invited to the Rave Motion Pictures Theater during the “Transformers 3” premier weekend to demonstrate robotics to the theater patrons. Curt Boirum and Dan Toborowski volunteered to put together a display and man the table for more than 3 hours on Saturday and Curt hosted the display by himself on Sunday. This was a terrific opportunity for our club to reach out to the local community. Pictures have been posted to the club’s Facebook page.
- Our July 17th meeting was the first club meeting at our new location; the Peoria Public Library North Branch. The North Branch “Seminar Room” met our needs perfectly and is a very nice facility. All future club meetings will now take place at the North Branch until at least Spring 2012.
- The CIRC RoboMagellan Robot project is now officially sponsored by MaxBotix; a premier supplier of ultrasonic rangefinders for many industrial, academic, and hobby applications.
Upcoming Events:
- Chibots RoboMagellan Competition – August 6th, 2011
- Moraine Valley Community College
- ORC House of Robotic Destruction 2011 – Saturday, September 17th
- 1lb and 3lb combat robots
- Held at Classic RC Raceways in Akron, Ohio
Club Business:
- New Club Brochure Design/Printing
- In Process
- Online Club Library Directory
- In Process
- 2011 Boy Scout Jamboree – Saturday, September 10th
- Held at University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana Campus (approx. 1 hour 45 mins from peoria)
- Demonstrations scheduled for 2:30PM-6:00PM
- Volunteers needed to help with club display! Please reply ASAP if you’re available to help!
- Pictures from last year’s event
- Monthly Meeting Location
- Members agreed that Peoria Public Library North Branch location was acceptable for club meetings so request was submitted to reserve room for remainder of year
- Location will be reevaluated in spring 2012 when Lakeview Library branch reopens following renovations
July 17, 2011 at 12:03 pm | Monthly Meeting Recaps | No comment
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