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Vertigo
This NXT robot was designed to climb up and down windows and is known as Vertigo. Using a vacuum system, Vertigo has four feet made of suction cups which are connected to a couple of mechanically driven miniature air bellows. One motor drives the feet system and a second motor runs the air control system. On glass type surfaces, Vertigo is capable of moving both forward and backwards and has an auto-reverse capability to keep moving even after bumping into a barrier. When the touch sensor is bumped, this causes a change in direction.

The original objective was to build a mobile NXT that could climb walls under its own power and then later was constrained to surfaces such as mirrors and windows. The primary obstacles were how to cope with the robot’s heavy weight and structural demands and also to find some suitable suction cup feet and a vacuum system that somehow could be made compatible with the NXT. After several repeated attempts, a working prototype was finally completed, that was mobile enough on horizontal surfaces, but was not very reliable on mirrors or windows without falling off. Finding a design approach that can truly handle vertical surfaces successfully is still an ongoing effort.

Perhaps other Mindstorms’ designers can come up with some better solutions.

The name “Verti-Go” originally seemed appropriate for this project, but given that the current prototype can’t stand heights, it made more sense at this juncture to leave out the dash in the name.

Two air bellows are linked together such that one side is stretched (to produce a vacuum) and the other side is compressed (to release the vacuum). One of the bellows is connected via flexible tubing to feet L1 and R2 while the other bellows is connected to R1 and L2. The action sequence is to apply a vacuum to L1 and R2 and move forward (backwards) the R1 and L2 feet. Then the vacuum is released (on L1 and R2) and is applied to R1 and L2. The feet L1 and R2 are then free to move forward (backwards) and the entire sequence is repeated until the touch sensor is bumped.

Suction cup hangers were easily located in stores. Drilling a small hole and inserting a short section of copper tubing (1/8 “ or ~3 mm diameter) along with some vinyl glue produced the feet that I used. For the air bellows, I first tried using some plastic syringes (hobby store glue dispensers). However, they required too much motor force to overcome the internal friction of the plunger when reversing direction. In addition, they were a bit ungainly. An internet search finally pointed to a “Climb@tron Vertibug” toy that contained two air bellows (~23 mm in diameter). I bought one of the toys, removed the air bellows, and designed a “worm gear slider” system using NXT parts to stretch and compress them. The vacuum system was then installed in Vertigo and has worked reasonably well.

I didn’t see an easy way to control the action sequence required with the bellows and to synchronize this with moving the feet by just using a single motor, and decided to use two separate motors instead. The motor on top controls the air bellows and the US sensor scan and the motor below controls the movement of the feet. Because of this arrangement, finding a suitable place for the NXT box was problematic and it ended up in front. As a result, Vertigo is a bit more front heavy than I really wanted. Finally, it was just a matter of experimenting with different sizes and types of suction cup feet to find out what worked best. As I say, the search for a better solution to climb windows (without using a tether or rope) is an ongoing challenge.

Posted by:

 TrilogyGlenIvy

Created:

 14 February 2007

Rate:

 

Tags:(?):

 vertigo, air, bellows, vacuum, suctioncups, climb, glass, windows, mirrors

Comments

10 most recent comments out of 20  [VIEW ALL]

  • sardobi

  • That. Is. AMAZING!!! Woah, can you put up a video? I wonder... Arent there lego bellows from the bionicle blasters, and larger ones in the mars mission sets? could these be more functional, while maintaining the lego spirit of only lego elements? Other than that, it looks sound to me!!! Keep up the good work!!!

  • Posted 1297 days and 9 hours ago


  • Grild

  • Awsome! great job! (please send ldd)thnkx

  • Posted 1296 days and 14 hours ago


  • NXTfan001

  • That is awesome. Please post a video. Thanks.

  • Posted 1296 days and 1 hour ago


  • NateoNXT

  • I have never seen such a cool project on the log. You went to great extents to do this. Please get a video ASAP!

  • Posted 1295 days and 18 hours ago


  • Tj3Bot

  • Wow. That's one of the best projects I've seen here. I made an attempt at a similar robot once, but it didn't work well... There were a few problems, mostly with the suction cups.

  • Posted 1294 days and 23 hours ago


  • Godlover97

  • Wow. Very nice. Very nice, indeed!

  • Posted 1293 days and 23 hours ago


  • sdharmon

  • Wow!!!
    You realy made it to climb windows.
    Cool!

  • Posted 1293 days and 0 hours ago



  • Sulfrixx

  • quite cool indeed

  • Posted 1288 days and 21 hours ago


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