Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!rml!jack
From: jack@rml.UUCP (jack hagerty)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: Re: Small Hovering Hobby Robots
Message-ID: <292@rml.UUCP>
Date: 9 Jun 91 20:02:18 GMT
References: <00949D78.A594B600@vms.csd.mu.edu>
Reply-To: jack@rml.UUCP (jack hagerty)
Organization: Robotic Midwives, Ltd.
Lines: 34

In article <00949D78.A594B600@vms.csd.mu.edu> 6843brooksj@vms.csd.mu.edu writes:
>Has anyone on here experimented with hovering robots?  I am considering
>trying to construct something that use three or four small ducted aimable
>electric fans.  Anyone ever try something like this?  My main concern
>is obviously getting fans small/light enough with thrust sufficent to
>lift the platform.  I have experiemented with a small ducted fan that
>could lift its own weight (and a little more) but I need something 
>quite a bit more powerful.  Any help would be greatly appreciated
>	Jack Brooks


Many years ago (around 1984, I think) the magazine _Robotics Age_, before
it became _Robotics Engineering_, did a short story on a hovering robot.
The experimenter was a bit more pragmatic and used a gasbag for lift and
thus could concentrate on a control system to simply steer. Went into the
problems of scaling a gasbag too (i.e. you loose useful lift as you scale 
them down. A 1/2 scale balloon has less than 1/2 the lift).

I could look this up if you want. Perhaps you could use the gasbag as a
"boost" to reduce the power required of your verticle thrusters but still
retain the ease of verticle movement without inflating/deflating the bag.

- Jack


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