Month: January 2001

Oscar, the Trash Can Robot

Oscar was created by Leon Hubby and Kevin Derichs

Oscar, the Trash Can Robot
Oscar, the Trash Can Robot.

Oscar – he’s our own trash can man. He is made from a standard metal trash can and a servo controlled robot hand.

Oscar puts trash in its place. An object placed in the robot hand will trigger the mechanism to retract the hand into the trash can and dispose of it properly

Animated GIF of Oscar, the Trash Can Robot performing his routine
Oscar, performing his routine for the kids.

Oscar could have been a great boon in the waste disposal industry. The kids at RoboFest certainly loved feeding him. When Oscar is around, floors remain pretty spotless.

[Images and text initially from http://www.robotgroup.org/projects/oscar.html]

PVC-frame Surveillance Robot

Bob Comer (and son, David) have been working on a surveillance robot with remote telepresence. The robot is constructed using a PVC frame and drive components (motor, gearbox, and wheels) scavenged from old kids’ electric ride-on toys.

The robot is equipped with

  • Imagine Tools Ethernet Starter Kit – Rabbit 3000 microprocessor with web server. Source : www.jameco.com
  • Robot Power Scorpion XL 2 channel speed controller. Source : www.robotmarketplace.com, www.robotpower.com
  • Linksys WRT54G wireless router. Source : Best Buy, CompUSA, Frys, etc.
  • Airlink AIC250 ethernet camera. Source : Frys, etc.

The robot is programmed in Dynamic C and has a web page as an interface. You can drive the robot from any computer with wireless networking and a web browser.

[Image and text originally from http://wiki.therobotgroup.org/wiki/RobertComer]