What is B2, and Why?
B2 is a fully custom robot that I decided to build with my kids. Its initial design goal was to create a hide & seek robot that will roam a single floor in a multi-room house looking for a person who is hiding. This goal was suggested by my elementary school-age kids when I was searching for a goal for which to build a robot from scratch.
My daughter picked the name B2. Prior to this robot, we build a light-follower robot partially following a design from the author of Robot Builder’s Bonanza. That first robot she named Beddo, from a scene in Despicable Me 2. Therefore she wanted this robot to be named B2.
This wiki will document my journey of designing, building, and modifying B2, as well as generally learning about robotics through this platform.
The Initial Design
First, I modeled the robot in Fusion 360. Doing so allowed me to quickly think through and experiment with many of the physical design ideas I had in my mind. It also allowed me to build a list of parts I would need. Many of the parts I was considering had existing CAD models that I could import into Fusion 360 such as the motors, wheels, and IR sensors, etc. The design changed many times as I worked on the model. For example, at first I forgot to include a battery. When I added a 7.2v R/C battery to the model, I realized I needed a 2nd level to have more room to place some of the components.
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| Initial Fusion 360 design |
With the initial design done, it was time to build the base.