Minutes from the September 2003
Connceticut Robotics Society Meeting:
Total attendance: 15+
The meeting started with a 1/2 hour viewing of RoboSapians.
After that, Jake did the usual introductions. He also received an e-mail from
Scott (our former president) saying that all is well in college. His e-mail is
slb9471@rit.edu.
John then talked about robotic sumo competitions. He discussed the size limits
of regular sumo and mini sumo. He then talked about a new division...nano sumo.
He went over some of the hardware you need to build a sumo 'bot
(microprocessor, sensors, etc.). He also discussed some strategies that robots
use to win in a sumo competition.
Jeff was up next and he showed everyone his Lego robot. He built this robot for
reusiblity, meaning that he can quickly change the robot from a line follower
to a wall follower for example. Another cool feature of this 'bot is that it's
powered by a single drive motor in the front. This front wheel also has the
ability to rotate, causing the robot to turn. This drive system allows the
robot to drive nearly perfectly straight! Good job Jeff!
Jeff also pointed out a good website to buy Lego sensors (such as the rotation
sensor). That website is www.pitsco.com .
Jake then talked about the different tools he uses to build robots. In his talk
he explained that you don't need a big tool shop to build cool robots. He first
talked about the Dremel which is a small rotary tool that's capable of cutting
through wood, plastic, and even metal! He explained that the Dremel comes with
several attachments from cutting disks to grinding wheels. There are also
several larger attachments for the Dremel tool such as a drill press which will
turn your Dremel into a small drill press (good for drilling holes into a PCB).
There is also an attachment that will turn your Dremel into a small router.
Jake also talked about hot glue guns. He explained that there are different types
of glue guns from low temperature to small size (for more precise work) to the
normal guns. He also talked about several miter boxes that he has, one in
particular that he purchased from Home Depot for $10 that's able to lock onto
the piece you are cutting and lock onto the table! He then went over pop rivets
and how to use them to attach two pieces of metal. Thanks for this information
Jake!
Next up was the line following competition! The contestant was Mark W. (you can
guess who won). Even though he was the only contestant his robot performed
magnificently! As a prize he was able to choose from a box of parts or a tool
set (which is what he chose). Thanks John for donating that tool set!
The meeting adjourned around 3:30pm