LEGO Mammoth MkII

LEGO Mammoth MkII (22/12/06)

		Made from: LEGO Mindstorm NXT Sony DSC T-50 Digital Camera Laser Specification: It can shoot rubberbands It has a laser as crosshair It will play a sound effect when it shoots *It can shoot only certain object with specific colours *It will retreat when it ran out of rubberbands (*see troubleshoot) Status: Dismantled Quantity of LEGO: 1x Ultrasonic Sensor 1x Touch Sensor 1x Intelligent Brick 1x Light Sensor 3x Servo Motors ... (not completed) Introduction: I named this robot based on the most powerful unit in Command and Conquer Tiberium Sun, the GDI's Mammoth MkII. How it should work: I wanted this robot be able to walk until it detects a certain colour. *When that happens, it will stop walking and start shooting the rubberband. *If it ran out of ammo (rubberband), it will reverse. While walking forward, after it reachs a dead end, it will stop. Program: I programmed the robot to stop if an object is detected within 7 cm. This is only for testing purposes. As for the light intensity, I randomly put a figure for testing purposes. Design: Toes & Heels: This is the most important part of the robot that will determine whether the robot will actually walk forward, or just moon walking or cat walking. To me, this is the best design that I have ever designed. *However, there are still some flaws. Legs: At first, I was thinking of building intelliman's robot. However, I want my robot to have 2 motors so that it can turn left or right. Because of that, I decided to build something like Spike, the scorpion. The legs should be arranged similiar to the NXT robot. Digital Camera: The LCD of the digital camera will allow the light sensor to detect the colour at far range. This camera will also enable the user to take a video of the cockpit view. Light Sensor: The light sensor should be located behind the digital camera facing towards the LCD screen. Touch Sensor: The touch sensor is located in front of the rubberband gun where the rubberband exits the gun. Rubberband gun: The robot will shoot once a certain colour is detected by the light sensor with the help of the digital camera. Laser: Fortunately, the laser fits nicely like LEGO pieces. Troubleshooting: This robot does not really shoot objects with certain colours. The probable cause is that it was not programmed properly. Other than that, it will shoot when the robot is in a bright area. Unfortunately, this robot mechanically cannot walk backwards even though the program is correct. When the motor rotates in the reverse direction, it will give the same effect as when the robot walks forward. Moveover, this robot does not really walk in a straight line. I suspect that the cause of this problem is that there are some flaws with the toes and the heels. There are some factors in which I believe to have caused that phenomenon. Among them is that the uneven weight applied onto each of the legs produce different friction between the toe and heel of each leg with the floor. The result is that the leg with more weight applied on it will eventually be harder to move. Therefore, the robot will travel at a certain direction. Another possible factor is the surface area of the contact between the toe and heel of each foot with the floor. More friction will be produced if the surface are is higher.
		Posted by:   bra888 Created:   22 Dec 2006 Tags:   wmd, shooter, gun, rubberband, ultrasonic, camera, light, touch, laser, 4legs, walker, legs, nxt200706

Design: Leg Figure 1: Legs on one side. Figure 2: (altayblahm , I hope this helps)

LEGO Mammoth MkII Solution: Light sensor may need calibration. The program should also be adjusted for now. Maybe I will reprogram the robot to shoot if an obstacle is detected in it's path. To improve the chances of the robot to walk straight, the weight applied on each leg should be even. Other than that, the area of each foot should also be even. Solution: I coated the toes and heels with a layer of sticky tape as preventive measures. As for now, the effectiveness of this method is inconclusive. In my future projects, I will consider this step as an important preventive measure. (*Videos of the cockpit are available and will be posted if possible) (This report is still under construction)

Design: Camera Holder, Navigator, & Gun Figure 1: Top view Figure 2: Side view

Instruction & Parts List (Incomplete) NOTICE: The green LEGO pieces are actually the small rubber pieces that LEGO NXT has Model: Left Torso (Left Torso.ldr) Step No. Color Part no. Part name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1 White 53787.dat Electric Mindstorms NXT Motor (Complete) 2 1 Light-Gray 48989.dat Technic Axle Joiner Perpendicular 1 x 3 x 3 with 4 Pins 2 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 4 1 Light-Gray 4459.DAT Technic Pin with Friction 4 4 Black 2780.DAT Technic Pin with Friction and Slots 5 1 White 32278.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 15 Straight 5 1 Dark-Gray 153.DAT Technic Liftarm 3 x 5 L Shape 6 2 Light-Gray 48989.dat Technic Axle Joiner Perpendicular 1 x 3 x 3 with 4 Pins 6 2 Dark-Gray 2780.DAT Technic Pin with Friction and Slots Model: Front Left Leg (Front Left Leg.ldr) Step No. Color Part no. Part name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1 White 41239.dat Technic Beam 13 1 1 Black 32136.DAT Technic Pin 3L Double 1 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 2 1 White 32278.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 15 Straight 3 1 White 32525.dat Technic Beam 11 3 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 4 1 Dark-Gray 32348.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 7 Bent 5 3 Light-Gray 4519.DAT Technic Axle 3 5 2 Light-Green 43857.DAT Technic Beam 2 6 1 Dark-Gray 32348.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 7 Bent Model: Back Left Leg (Back Left Leg.ldr) Step No. Color Part no. Part name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1 White 32525.dat Technic Beam 11 2 1 Black 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 2 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 3 1 White 32278.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 15 Straight 4 1 White 32524.dat Technic Beam 7 4 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 5 1 Dark-Gray 32348.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 7 Bent 6 4 Light-Gray 4519.DAT Technic Axle 3 6 2 Light-Green 43857.DAT Technic Beam 2 7 1 Dark-Gray 32348.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 7 Bent Model: Assembled Left Part (Assembled Left Part.ldr) Step No. Color Part no. Part name ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 1 White 53787.dat Electric Mindstorms NXT Motor (Complete) 2 1 Light-Gray 48989.dat Technic Axle Joiner Perpendicular 1 x 3 x 3 with 4 Pins 2 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 4 1 Light-Gray 4459.DAT Technic Pin with Friction 4 4 Black 2780.DAT Technic Pin with Friction and Slots 5 1 White 32278.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 15 Straight 5 1 Dark-Gray 153.DAT Technic Liftarm 3 x 5 L Shape 6 2 Light-Gray 48989.dat Technic Axle Joiner Perpendicular 1 x 3 x 3 with 4 Pins 6 2 Dark-Gray 2780.DAT Technic Pin with Friction and Slots 8 1 White 41239.dat Technic Beam 13 8 1 Black 32136.DAT Technic Pin 3L Double 8 1 Light-Gray 6558.DAT Technic Pin Long with Friction 9 1 White 32278.DAT Technic Liftarm 1 x 15 Straight 10 1 White 32525.dat Technic Beam 11 10 1

Design: Leg Figure 1: Legs on one side. Figure 2: (altayblahm , I hope this helps)

Design: Camera Holder, Navigator, & Gun Figure 1: Top view Figure 2: Side view

LEGO Mammoth MkII Solution: Light sensor may need calibration. The program should also be adjusted for now. Maybe I will reprogram the robot to shoot if an obstacle is detected in it's path. To improve the chances of the robot to walk straight, the weight applied on each leg should be even. Other than that, the area of each foot should also be even. Solution: I coated the toes and heels with a layer of sticky tape as preventive measures. As for now, the effectiveness of this method is inconclusive. In my future projects, I will consider this step as an important preventive measure. (*Videos of the cockpit are available and will be posted if possible) (This report is still under construction)

LEGO Damage Report: Solution Figure 1: I used sticky tape to create a protective layer to prevent additional frictional damage.

LEGO Damage Report: Location & Cause So far, there are some scratches detected on the sticker of the digital camera. I conclude that the cause of these scratches is due to the rough surface of the casing of the laser. After playing it for a while, and met with some accident, I discovered that this project does cause a lot of frictional damage. Most of the damages are located at the toes and heels. I conclude that the cause of this is the friction between the floor and the toes and heels. Weight of the entire robot can also be a factor to how serious the damage is. The heavier it is, the more damage it gets.

Program
		Here's the 'Shooting' Block