Mark Hinkle had proposed a Centipede project different from that previously built by Brooks Coleman. Alas, the project page was only partially-captured by the Wayback Machine and I have no further knowledge of its successful completion.
The Centipede is a segmented insect-like robot. The segments are constructed such that they are removable and stackable. That is, the robot can be made almost any length you like.
Mark Hinkle (aka RoboMarkov)
I have been encountering some problems in the design definition stage. The big problem is that of knowing the turn angle. I would like to use a potentiometer for it but all the ones I have looked at have a high friction on the wiper. The robot is lightweight so this is unacceptable. If you know of a small, low-friction potentiometer, please drop me a line.
UPDATE (23MAR04): Some people that I have contact with through work are getting me the name of a manufacturer that makes 360 deg. pots. That is, the pot can turn infinite angles and has very low stiction. I’ll post contact info for the manufacturer as soon as I find out. It is exactly (almost … it is a bit large) what I have been looking for!
Failing that, I decided that a flex sensor would be a good choice. They only sense flexing in one direction so I would need two of them back to back. I figure they would have to be about one inch long. That means custom.
UPDATE: (23Sep2004) I have found a part that will do the trick! It is used on the nose-vane of the Predator UAV for attitude sensing. The part is made by the Dynamation Transducers Corporation.”
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