How to Make a Pet Robot

I've always wanted a pet robot - one that can run around and take care of itself, and a robot pet is a great choice.

The robot's maximum run time is about 11 minutes, but she starts looking for a charger after 4 minutes (using a Pixy camera and Arduino). Charging time is about two minutes. Because she is powered by supercapacitors, she can be charged and discharged tens of thousands of times (at up to any rate) without degrading the capacitors. The charging station is a 12" x 12" metal plate with a pole in the middle. The front bumper of the Roamer 2 touches the pole, and a spring (lowered by a servo motor) touches the metal plate. A benchtop power supply set to 12 volts (max) and 1.6 amps (max) provides energy.

Supplies

Boost Converter

500 Farad, 2.8 Volt Capacitor

Lever Switch, Momentary

Photoresistor

Arduino*2

Motor guard

Vacuum belt

Three ampere diode

4.7k resistor*4

Breadboard

Aluminum tape

Spring, 5.5 mm x 38 mm

Steel Plate

Benchtop Power Supply

Wire, solder, 3mm screws

3D printed parts (downloadable below)

gear

Servo Motor

Elf Camera

Ultrasonic module

Relay Module

Step 1:

The schematic is shown below. There are two Arduino processors. One manages the Pixy camera and ultrasonic transducer, sending the results to the motor control Arduino.

roamer2c_may.ino Click to download

left_right_ultrasonic.ino Click to download

Step 2: Print the 3D file

basea.f3d

basea.stl

charge pole tall.f3d

spring hold 2022.f3d

switch bar.f3d

switch bar.stl

switch holder.stl

slide switch.f3d

motor support.stl

charge pole tall.stl

motor support.f3d

spring hold 2022.stl

wheel.f3d

wheel.stl

slide switch.stl

Step 3: Mount the motor on the base

Step 4: Connect the Spring Powered Pickup to the Servo Motor

Step 5: Install the Servo Motor and Capacitor

Step 6: Install the tire (tubeless belt) on the wheel

Step 7: Attach the Switch to the Switch Bracket, Add the Bumper and Wheels to the Base

Step 8: Add Casters to the Rear of the Base

Step 9: Add Foil Tape to Front Bumper

Step 10: Add the Camera and Ultrasonic Transducer to the Body

Step 11: Detail adjustments

Step 12: Final setup