SPIRIT rev. 2

Builder: Jan Malasek
All of my robot building schedules revolved around the school year, and after building SPIRIT my junior year, I needed to decide what to build for my senior year. Although the basic concept for a robot that followed me had been demonstrated, there was still a lot I needed to do to make it really work, so I decided to continue work toward the same goal.

Here we see where I was after a year of work on SPIRIT. Since the chassis was adequate and would require a lot of work to improve it in a meaningful way, I decided to stick with it. (I just spray painted the copper tubing to give it a new and cleaner look.)

Encoder and gearbox coupler.

Drive system with encoder.

SPIRIT electronics block diagram.

A new spinning sensor, with the spinning housing mounted directly to a motor for 1800 RPM operation.

Size and date reference.

Front view.

Top view. PCB is 16" x 12".

Side view shows suspension on drive wheel.

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