Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!ai-lab!mikec From: mikec@wheaties.ai.mit.edu (Mike E. Ciholas) Newsgroups: comp.robotics Subject: Re: Mobile robot systems for education and research Message-ID: <8726@wheat-chex.ai.mit.edu> Date: 25 May 90 14:31:54 GMT References: <8440@wheat-chex.ai.mit.edu> <1463@ssc-bee.ssc-vax.UUCP> <6535@lifia.imag.fr> <8643@rice-chex.ai.mit.edu> <18152@well.sf.ca.us> Reply-To: mikec@wheat-chex.ai.mit.edu (Mike E. Ciholas) Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Lines: 31 In article <18152@well.sf.ca.us> nagle@well.sf.ca.us (John Nagle) writes: > Cybermation does make a nice "Syncro-Drive" (tm) robot. They offer >a video of their robot, which is a heavy, solid machine. Their video shows >it towing a truck. How many people want to have something that can tow a truck in their lab? How about something you can pick up and doesn't remove walls? Or maybe carrying some sensors and computers isn't enough? I suggest Case, or maybe John Deere for heavier equipment... >Their "Synchro-Drive" is done with bevel gears and >concentric shafts; no wimpy belts like the RWI guys. We researched this very heavily. The belts give very little backlash, are inexpensive to provide and service, and don't require lubrication. Sometimes brute force engineering doesn't apply. We have never had any failures of the belts in service. The only mechanical failure we have had involves foreign object damage to a bevel gear on a wheel fork. >[other comments about options deleted] > Expensive, but looks like it would hold up well. > John Nagle RWI's base, inexpensive, but it does hold up well... Mike Ciholas email: mikec@ai.mit.edu snail: 289 Highland Ave, #108/Somerville, MA 02144 phone: (617) 623-3563 air: N1909C, 1954 Cessna 170B