Make it real !

The next step is to make Trevor real. We will use a 3D printer to turn the Solidworks model into a plastic prototype on which we will mount the Rooby kit.
We will then upload our program to the main board of Trevor and run test in order to adjust the program.
We will need a number of iterations in order to fine tune it.

Unfortunately, the 3D printer was broken and we have not been able to create our prototype.

Hopefully we will find a way to make it real ...

When Trevor met Rooby...

... a love story started...
We need to bring some intelligence in this fabulous rover ;-)
In order to achieve this, we will use an electronic kit from Rooby that is made of a main board, 2 motors, a battery case and 2 sensors.
The main board can be easily programmed using a software provided by Rooby: Rooby Pilot.
The program is created like a puzzle, putting together a series of actions and sensors.
The program can be tested virtually in Rooby Pilot. Once finalized, it can be sent to the main board via a USB cable.

Here's our program:

Its logic is "move backward and change direction"

• Trevor moves forward (driving motor on)
• IF one of the 2 sensors of Trevor hits a wall (or a corner) THEN
• the driving motor is inverted, Trevor goes reverse for x seconds
• the driving motor stops
• the direction motor rotates the front wheel of x degrees clockwise
• the direction motor stops
• the driving motor goes reverse for x seconds
• the direction motor rotates the front wheel of x degrees anti-clockwise (back straight)
• the driving motor goes forward
• Trevor changed direction and moves forward again till it hits a wall again and re-applies the same logic (move backwards and change direction)
• ELSE Trevor continues to move forward

Remark :

• We equipped Trevor with 2 sensors (right and left) in order to run different actions depending which sensor is activated. When the left sensor is hit first, the direction will run anti-clockwise in order to move Trevor away from the wall. The opposite action runs when the right sensors is hit first.

Building a 3D model

We designed the new version of Trevor using a 3D modeling software (CAD: Computer-Aided Design). We used "Solidworks" to achieve this task. Solidworks is a very intuitive and easy to use software. We 3D-drew all the parts of Trevor then we assembled them (virtually).
The result of this work is:

The main parts of Trevor are:

• a chassis - this is Trevor's skeleton
• 3 wheels - 1 front (motion and direction), 2 rear (stability)
• 2 front sensors - switches - when one of the 2 sensors hits the wall, this launches a specific series of actions
• 2 motors - the first one is use to get the front wheel in rotation, the second one rotates the front wheel (direction)
• a main board - to program Trevor's conditional actions
• a battery case - to provide electric energy to Trevor (motors and main board)
• electric cables to connect them all ...

Some news !

We have entered the next phase of our exploration. Now we are designing our next prototype using a 3D modeling software: Solidworks. We are progressing with this 3D modeling. Stay tuned, we'll share the result with you very soon ...

So what's next now...

Stay tuned, there will be new versions of Trevor...
We plan to equip it with a special board ... check it here: http://www.espace-rooby.fr/

Adding a brain to Trevor...

Improving the Solar Panel stand

The solar panel can't be adjusted. Let's improve the solar panel stand so that we can adjust it to catch a maximum of light.
Here's the new stand:

A detailed view:

And the stand in action:

Here's Trevor V5 ! Test and report

We positioned the switch at the front of Trevor and equipped it with an horizontal bar so that it can easily be activated even when hitting a corner.
Here's how it looks like now:

We also added an extra wheel at the back to stabilize Trevor when moving backward.

Let's test it now:

Objective reached, it works!

We can be very proud of Trevor (and of us... :-))

Conclusions:

• Trevor is greatly improved now with the addition of the reverse switch
• The basic frame of Trevor is simple, robust and light
• We can think about new improvements now, the first one being an adjustable solar panel stand