| eniar.solarbotics.net |

on the creation of an autonomous,
                                walking being
***eniar.solarbotics.net/

These pages are currently under construction, as is Eniar. Check back often for changes.

These pages log my progress as I attempt to build an autonomous walking robot. I will be using both BEAM and conventional electronics to create a horse and rider style two motor walker that (hopefully) will be able to go most anywhere (including, with luck, up stairs). I have, previously, created both fully beam and fully microcontrolled robots, but have been unhappy with each, for different reasons. BEAM bots are very adaptable, but at the same time, dumb -- they cannot make higher level decisions: "That rock is to large to climb," or "It touched my sensor, but I can still make it over..." At the same time, a digital robot can only do precisely what you tell it to -- it displays none of the adaptability of a BEAM robot or an organic being. So, the goal is to create a robot that has the best of both worlds. I have also created both walking and rolling robots, but none of them with the capability to truly and totally navigate their environment. All those things being true, this robot has no goal but these two things:
  • Go everywhere
  • Surprize me
These pages, I hope, will help others, because I am writing these papers AS I am building, not afterwards. All my thoughts, mistakes, and successes will be here as they happen. They also shall help me, as I can now go back and see where I made a math error, or when a design flaw first came into being. I hope you enjoy watching Eniar take shape. Rmember, if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please contact me.

News:

6/21: Aarrghhharrhh!
Yeah, well, I failed to take into account several things when I was looking at the torque output of the motors, and the whole dynamic imbalance thing. I will do i=one of several things:
  • Make an attempt at a three motor walker
  • Use another system, i.e. perhaps tri-star wheels, or whegs.
  • Look into something new, like jumping, or flying.
Anyway, I will probably get back to updating this more regularly soon. Keep your eyes peeled for more info on why my first attempts failed.
-s

4/10: News/Sketches
New sections of News and Sketches are coming...

4/10: Front leg design, etc.
Papers on Front leg design, sensor design, and basic walker shape are online.

4/9: Site up and running
All the pages are now online. I'll be getting rid of typos for a while, but I can add to papers as I write them.

4/7: Site Created
I got this site from solarbotics.net. 50megs, dedicated to robotics, without ads. Great stuff!