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Thursday 15 September 2011

GRZR Robotic Lawnmower is Mobile

For the first time, our robotic lawnmower project has mobility and a modicum of intelligence. Two bump sensors dictate which way the robot should turn on impact with an obstacle. It's still early days.



The robot is powered by 4 AA cells via a boost regulator that gives us a constant 5V.  An Arduino does the thinking and drives 2 continuous rotation servos.

We also did a test today on the blades and motor.  Bottom line - it works well when there's not much grass to cut but the tiny motor soon gets bogged down and the blades lose speed.  We're going to need a MUCH more powerful motor and that will mean we need to re-think the power source for the whole robot.