Chad brings us yet another use for the Wiimote: firefighting robot. The Wiimote acts as a communications gateway via bluetooth to a host PC. The IR sensor is used to detect the fire, and the commands from the host are passed along via the Wiimote expansion port. The robot is pretty basic, but the use of the Wiimote to relay bluetooth comms via I2C is a fantastic hack.
I watched the video and this thing is cool.
But the downside I think is that he used it to put out a match… If you are making a fire-fighting robot, shouldn’t you be prepared for bigger fires than a lit match? and how is a fan meant to PUT OUT A BIG FIRE??
Excellent hack though :)
Put that entire thing in an oven mitt, ( Except for the wheels and heat sensor)
and then take it outside and light a cracker jack box on fire, and see what it does after you turn it on.
Posted at 2:46 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by right side left place
I think its really more of a proof of concept than a top of the line bot.
Posted at 3:38 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by OldVamp
Would this work with only a nunchuck or do you need the whole wiimote?
Posted at 8:06 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by Ice9
james- “firefighting robot” is a term of art. it refers to a robot designed to autonomously:
.: navigate a series of rooms/hallways
.: identify the “fire”, which is a lit candle
.: stop the “fire”
.: (and maybe then gtfo)
the event itself was started by Trinity College (http://www.trincoll.edu/events/robot/) and has become something of a standard.
Posted at 8:21 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by josh
@ James.
This seems to just be proof of concept. The power to the motor could be used to control anything. Like a relay that would activate a pump.
Posted at 8:27 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by Bruno
This is probably the best hack here for a long time. It is a well implemented proof of concept of such a robot with an extraordinary way of achieving its goal. Of course you cant stop a fire with a fan, you will make it just bigger! but that is not the point.
Posted at 9:40 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by nom1
as josh said, this is a common goal used for robotics contests. i remember the robotics club in my college building one of these bots over 10 years ago. the contest winner ending up being a guy that worked at a major toy company (mattel i think). he built a wall following robot that moved pretty fast.
Posted at 1:57 pm on Sep 4th, 2007 by bodiby
>
You lack vision !
If it’s a larger fire you just add more wiimotes to the bot..d’uh ;-)
Posted at 5:57 pm on Sep 4th, 2007 by Marco
Wouldn’t the fan just ‘fan’ the fire so to speak? I’d probably add a mini-fire extinguisher.. it would only weigh a few extra ounces.
Posted at 9:40 am on Sep 6th, 2007 by Brian
yeah, i also find the use of a fan odd. Perhaps the ‘grown up’ version can use a can of compressed CO2.
Bodiby: it doesn’t matter which toy company he worked for, he probably works for mattel now ;)
Posted at 6:03 pm on Sep 10th, 2007 by guy
LOL! Won’t the propeller just fan the flames?
Posted at 1:47 pm on Sep 26th, 2007 by Sorcerer
Great Mod. I’ll soon writ an article bout it @ http://www.wiidata.net
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now add a flame thrower on it
Posted at 2:03 am on Sep 4th, 2007 by Alex McCown