On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 6:50 AM, Jeff Jensen <jeffj...@gmail.com> wrote:
> How about fabricating the chassis with a longer and wider wheel base to
> reduce the tippy-ness?  Another source of low-COG ballast will be the
> batteries.  In this case some gel cell types may offer both capacity and
> weight.  For the facial display, the 7" carputer units are much lighter.

> To keep the unit from going into traffic or danger (3rd law of robotics?)
> we could either create the equivalent of an invisible fence system with a
> perimeter wire and spot transmitters, or a roomba virtual wall with IR.

> J

> On Tue, Nov 6, 2012 at 5:07 AM, Eric J. Kaplan <ekapla...@gmail.com>wrote:

>> This would be the aforementioned (in another thread) SkyCam.

>> Sent from Eric's iPhone

>> On Nov 6, 2012, at 12:06 AM, David Knaack <davidkna...@gmail.com> wrote:

>> We've discussed the possibility of a camera on an overhead wire connected
>> to three motorized spools such that it could move around the room under
>> user control and observe from approximately head-height.

>> That would probably be an easier build, but it's confined to a single
>> room, and there are some control complexities that would have to be worked
>> out. It's a neat project that would be easier to give to unknown remote
>> visitors, but doesn't have the same cool-factor that an independent robot
>> has.

>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 11:49 PM, Travis Smith <travi...@gmail.com> wrote:

>>> Or there's the old Red Dwarf model of simply having cameras and monitors
>>> everywhere to zip to.  I still like the robot model better, though.

>>> Travis

>>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 11:47 PM, Travis Smith <travi...@gmail.com>wrote:

>>>> We could put rails on the ceiling and extend a boom with the camera and
>>>> screen on it...

>>>> Travis

>>>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 11:44 PM, David Knaack <davidkna...@gmail.com>wrote:

>>>>> I'm assuming the design places a screen and camera at a
>>>>> height-above-floor of at least 1.2m so that the interaction is not just
>>>>> with a faceless camera-on-a-stick. Any monitors we might use for this are
>>>>> probably not going to be much lighter than an relatively modern laptop, and
>>>>> they are easier to power as well. With luck it might have a camera built
>>>>> in.

>>>>> While a low center of gravity makes it safer from falling over, but it
>>>>> doesn't do anything to mitigate the large angular shift a short wheelbase
>>>>> puts on the tall post where the camera is (in fact, I suppose it actually
>>>>> makes it worse by reducing the polar moment of inertia, but either way the
>>>>> shaky-cam effect would be worse than a Battlestar Galactica cameraman on
>>>>> his fifth cappuccino).

>>>>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 11:27 PM, Kevin Fusselman <ke...@fusselman.org>wrote:

>>>>>> You're probably right...

>>>>>> What says that the entire laptop needs to be on the "stick"? You
>>>>>> could save a lot of weight up top by carrying most of the laptop down low,
>>>>>> and carrying only the screen and camera high.

>>>>>> Ballast from the pile of SLAs we'd probably use could be
>>>>>> substantial...
>>>>>> On Nov 5, 2012 10:25 PM, "David Knaack" <davidkna...@gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:

>>>>>>> I am skeptical that anything we've got sitting around is going to be
>>>>>>> powerful and stable enough to safely hold a laptop at something approaching
>>>>>>> head height. I think that since reliable and robust mobility is kind of a
>>>>>>> make-or-break feature for a telepresence bot, that's probably an area where
>>>>>>> we should consider putting some money. Are there inexpensive
>>>>>>> off-the-shelf-ish robot platforms that would be suitable?

>>>>>>> Some pre-built motor controllers would probably be the best option
>>>>>>> for drive electronics. There will probably be plenty to go wrong without
>>>>>>> needing to develop our own drivers.

>>>>>>> Does Skype support stereo audio? An open mic in an environment as
>>>>>>> acoustically hostile as the Makery is probably going to be very difficult
>>>>>>> to get anything from. We would want a good quality stereo mic so the user
>>>>>>> can get useful sound.

>>>>>>> What about camera/image stabilization? A camera on a stick with a
>>>>>>> short wheelbase is going to jerk around a whole lot, which will make the
>>>>>>> picture unwatchable while the bot is moving. That's not very cool.

>>>>>>> Also, presumably the main camera is going to be looking up, so in
>>>>>>> order to drive around it's going to need at least one wide-angle camera
>>>>>>> with good low-light performance looking down at the base so the user can
>>>>>>> avoid driving into holes or 1800degF furnaces and such.

>>>>>>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 7:47 PM, Kevin Fusselman <ke...@fusselman.org
>>>>>>> > wrote:

>>>>>>>> Well, I can't promise "problem free", but I'm in for some labor.
>>>>>>>>  We probably have an appropriate "tank drive" RC chassis, and a laptop
>>>>>>>> around the space...An Arduino with a little twin-H-bridge board would get
>>>>>>>> the thing moving....

>>>>>>>> I'll check on materials on Wednesday.

>>>>>>>> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 7:41 PM, Travis Smith <travi...@gmail.com>wrote:

>>>>>>>>> OMGers,

>>>>>>>>> Hey, I'm moving to Japan, its happening.

>>>>>>>>> Completely due to self interest, I'm suddenly smitten with the
>>>>>>>>> idea of making a telepresence robot.  The basic plan would be to make one
>>>>>>>>> on the cheap using skype, a cheap laptop, a roomba, and some mechanism for
>>>>>>>>> changing the height of the laptop.  Usage would probably need to be limited
>>>>>>>>> to our members in absentsia, as I would want to enjoy consistent problem
>>>>>>>>> free use of the device, and random people on the internet lack
>>>>>>>>> stewardship.  For this right I'm willing to front the cash.

>>>>>>>>> The point?  While I won't be around, I wanna be around.  OMG and
>>>>>>>>> hanging out with you guys is pretty much my favorite part about Omaha.

>>>>>>>>> Patrick votes yes as well (just a guess).  Anyone want to get in
>>>>>>>>> on this project?  Deadline is February for a working model.  We can go easy
>>>>>>>>> and work with models already out there, or get creative and make our own
>>>>>>>>> monstrosity.

>>>>>>>>> Travis