Thank you all for the moral support and interest in the project. I look forward to working with you.
The chassis is on its way to me from LA, and I am considering other parts. The web cams I like for this are expensive, and might have to wait.
The mock-up JPEG shows the basic skeleton with batteries. Note that there will have to be more bracing under that laptop and some wiring that is not shown. The two batteries shown are for the chassis, and I might want to build a shelf (probably canvas, plastic, or fabric on a wire frame) above them to hold a lightweight generator, another battery system for the laptop and peripherals, or something like that, but that can wait a while. The laptop battery will keep the face/brain alive for a certain amount of time. We can have a prototype rolling sooner, and push some problems into the future (integrated control systems, additional battery life/power systems) to be dealt with later.
This robot will be "skinnable" in a variety of ways, with the constraints that the skin needs to be removable for transport, fit in a car (collapsable is good, but I guess we can waive 'fit in a car' if there is a place for the thing to be stored), light, and prevent rather than encourage tipping. We could create paper-mache or cloth over wireframe skins in almost any shape. As in a 'skin' for an interface, the purpose is primarily esthetic. It's a costume. Underestimating the impact of appearance, though, would be a mistake. It could have cosmetic arms, legs, a head or heads, doesn't need to be a big square or dome. I was thinking stick-on lights, strings of LEDs, little mirrors (like a disco ball - or just lots of reflective stickers!) or some other robot bling -- maybe you have ideas. We could repurpose a large washtub, or bolt, glue, or tape together lightweight, preferably inexpensive parts -- bamboo spray-painted silver or gold might be neat. Solar panels would be wonderful, especially if they can be part of an auxilary power system for the laptop or webcam, but they're a bit expensive (did you read about Nicole Kuepper's "simple, cheap way of producing solar cells in a pizza oven"? I am in awe of this person.)
The mock-up JPEG shows the basic skeleton with batteries. Note that there will have to be more bracing under that laptop and some wiring that is not shown. The two batteries shown are for the chassis, and I might want to build a shelf (probably canvas, plastic, or fabric on a wire frame) above them to hold a lightweight generator, another battery system for the laptop and peripherals, or something like that, but that can wait a while. The laptop battery will keep the face/brain alive for a certain amount of time. We can have a prototype rolling sooner, and push some problems into the future (integrated control systems, additional battery life/power systems) to be dealt with later.
This robot will be "skinnable" in a variety of ways, with the constraints that the skin needs to be removable for transport, fit in a car (collapsable is good, but I guess we can waive 'fit in a car' if there is a place for the thing to be stored), light, and prevent rather than encourage tipping. We could create paper-mache or cloth over wireframe skins in almost any shape. As in a 'skin' for an interface, the purpose is primarily esthetic. It's a costume. Underestimating the impact of appearance, though, would be a mistake. It could have cosmetic arms, legs, a head or heads, doesn't need to be a big square or dome. I was thinking stick-on lights, strings of LEDs, little mirrors (like a disco ball - or just lots of reflective stickers!) or some other robot bling -- maybe you have ideas. We could repurpose a large washtub, or bolt, glue, or tape together lightweight, preferably inexpensive parts -- bamboo spray-painted silver or gold might be neat. Solar panels would be wonderful, especially if they can be part of an auxilary power system for the laptop or webcam, but they're a bit expensive (did you read about Nicole Kuepper's "simple, cheap way of producing solar cells in a pizza oven"? I am in awe of this person.)
The mock-up shows a really rough, vaguely Dalek-like skin, but I encourage you to use your imagination and think beyond traditional imagery. The skin could cover the laptop -- I could add a USB or wireless keyboard somewhere else -- leaving the screen exposed (or, for some experiments, not). One of my random thoughts had to do with using mirrors and light to project the display image from the laptop screen onto the inside of the visor/windscreen of a motorcycle helmet, and giving the robot a pleather jacket to wear, sort of an 'easy rider' look.
You could even use the Spore creature creator to design something -- why not? With chicken wire and paper mache, much is possible! And there's no reason our robot should have only one suit to wear. Tyrannosaurus ... R2D2... big talking head... your idea here...
The laptop, chassis, and platform are expensive, and I'll be covering those costs out of pocket. I don't know if I can get robot insurance yet ... interesting question ... (some combination of property loss and liability insurance products would probably cover it). So long as we're careful about the expensive parts, there are few limits!
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