In early May it became clear that our attachment for Shepherds Pi wouldn’t work because the combined length of the robot and attachment was too much to permit a turn within the delivery pen. So, here is the new version: As you can see, this version can lift the sheep completely above the body ofContinue reading “Sheep-pen-ator Version 2.”
Tag Archives: PiWars 2022
Nature’s Bounty Update
There’s been some progress this week on Nature’s Bounty. The Apple picker has been printed and assembled, and the game play code has been written. After some (read “a lot of”) adjustments we managed to get a video of the robot picking 24 (of a possible 36) apples within the allowed 5 minutes. There’s stillContinue reading “Nature’s Bounty Update”
Arena Props
As you know (hopefully), we have made a big effort with the aesthetic aspects of our robot this year. However, we have also tried to make our arena and game pieces look the part too. Here are some details… The Arena There’s a slightly cartoon look to PJD, so we have carried that through intoContinue reading “Arena Props”
Ro-Bovinator Mk3
If you follow this blog, then you’ll know that there have been two designs for the Feed the Cattle mechanism; a hopper with doors and one based on an Archimedes’ screw. Well, now there’s a third (and can I say final?) version, which has been inspired by the work of a couple of other teamsContinue reading “Ro-Bovinator Mk3”
Good and Really Bad News
It’s been a mixed weekend. First the good news… The good news is that my test on an Archimedes’ screw-based cattle feed delivery system went well. I’m now printing the remaining parts (a hopper and a chute) to complete the build. (Actually, that would be half a build; I plan to use two of them.)Continue reading “Good and Really Bad News”
Sheep-pen-ator Fails
This is the sheep lift I built for Shepherds Pi. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work. The right-angle drive shown in the highlighted circle (which is made of Lego parts) is used to grip the top of the sheep. However, the shaft that carries the drive from the servo flexes when too much torque is applied. ThisContinue reading “Sheep-pen-ator Fails”
Thoughts on Hungry Cattle
I designed this hopper for the Hungry Cattle game. The door hinges are set at the correct pitch to allow synchronisation by a pair of Lego gears. A servo would be mounted at the back to drive the doors. Each hopper is 70mm wide and the plan would be to mount three of them acrossContinue reading “Thoughts on Hungry Cattle”
The Angle of Repose for Dry Rice
I did an experiment. I want to build a path for the cattle feed for Hungry Cattle. I wanted to know the minimum angle the rice path should have (from horizontal) so that the rice would flow reliably. I set up the experiment shown above. To start with the inclined plane (which is a 3DContinue reading “The Angle of Repose for Dry Rice”
Sheep-pen-ator 3000
After a great deal of thought, I have finally settled on the approach I’m going to try for Shepherds Pi. The problem for me has been that the layout of the arena favours the ability to approach the sheep sometimes from the side, and sometimes end-on. So I hope I have built a design thatContinue reading “Sheep-pen-ator 3000”
PJD is ready for the farm!
We’ve reached a major milestone. PJD is ready for the competition! Well, the base robot is ready, but none of the game specific parts or game specific software have been done yet. Take a look here to see more details. Getting that video wasn’t all that easy. We ended up writing software to keep DoofusContinue reading “PJD is ready for the farm!”