Comments on: Hybrid robot http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/ Fresh hacks every day Sun, 12 Feb 2012 09:34:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: luke http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28498 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:56:20 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28498 i doubt he wanted to use propane to try and save some money on running his robot, probably because of the emissions compared to gasoline. if it ran on propane you might be able to use the thing indoors. just like warehouses usually have a propane forklift to use inside.

]]> By: Allison http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28497 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:38:36 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28497 Yes..this is just the way that everybody want

]]> By: static http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28496 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:08:06 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28496 Propane, a fossil fuel, why? The days of it being a lower cost alternative to gasoline for motor vehicles are over. The concept of an ICE directly driving an auto alternator is nothing new, but this implementation of is is close to art.

]]> By: strider_mt2k http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28495 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 01:40:23 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28495 This is a very interesting project!

I built a battery-powered wheeled rov that lasted over ten hours in the field with a 25ah battery.

the addition of a system like this could make for some very very long running times, but I agree the motor should have a starter on it so the engine can be stopped and started as needed.

The machining on that base is beautiful.

The guy works for parallax too, which is a great company for microcontrollers and some nice folks too.

very very cool

]]> By: terminalblue http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28494 Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:02:28 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28494 how hard would it be to make this feasibly powered by propane using this info?
http://home.earthlink.net/~lenyr/pplmwr.htm

]]> By: factor grimm http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28493 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 17:48:24 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28493 This can allow people to make bots like in the game Bioshock! Gas-powered machine-gun turrets and helicoptors (also with machine guns of course).

]]> By: smilr http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28492 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 04:35:36 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28492 Very nifty, though I shudder to think of the pollution your average small mower / weed eater / etc. gas engine produces…

]]> By: Computer_kid http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28491 Sun, 23 Sep 2007 04:06:02 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28491 It would be really cool if he ran that off propane or some other alternative fuel.

]]> By: MRE http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28490 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 22:39:58 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28490 It would require yet more heavy hardware, but would make the most sense to implement a starter. i mean, the whole idea is prolonging operational time. no sense running that engine while the robot is sitting around waiting on data. the average robot is not constantly moving. So, when the battery runs low, start up the motor, charge it pretty fast, then shut it off again.
15 minutes of battery life or 15 minutes of gasoline, is still only 15 minutes of run time! with an automatic starter and shut down, 15 minutes of gas and 15 minutes of battery is more like 25 minutes run time.

]]> By: adaminc http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28489 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 19:47:59 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28489 Very Efficient and Gas Motor don’t belong in the same sentence

]]> By: Wizzard http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28488 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:12:51 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28488 I’d bet that if a very effecient gas motor, coupled with a very effecient electric generator, could be used very keenly to replace even the largest of batteries in robots… If that gas motor was made to run at peak effeciency, and there was something like a large capaicitor in the mix… The possibilities could be endless!

I wonder what kind of output that provides, compared to a Li-Ion or SLA cell of equal weight :-D

]]> By: jim http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28487 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:39:30 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28487 it’s closer to ‘diesel electric’ than ‘hybrid’ – the ic engine isn’t connected to the transmission, just an alternator

‘campsite battery charger on wheels’ might be a little closer to it

]]> By: jeremiah http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28486 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 08:20:36 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28486 why isn’t a speed doubler used to get more RPMs into the alternator? Since its charging batteries and not directly responsible for the motor load, it shouldn’t suddenly increase or decrease load on the engine; it would be a pretty smooth curve that the engine could probably handle easily.

Alternators don’t really become useful until they reach a certain RPM, and they only gain efficiency until you reach the threshold of the voltage regulator.

]]> By: chupa http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28485 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 07:42:40 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28485 @ greg. i would figure this is a lot easier to implement then a mechanical. You don’t need to worry about a clutch or the like. With electrical motors on the wheels you can direct drive, eliminating extra axles and gears and whatnot. Also with electrical motors you can implement electrical breaking and avoid another mechanical component. Speed control would be simpler and more pierce. With motors on either side of the vehicle you don’t need a steer wheel when you control their speeds independently. As far a power, electrical motors have more torque at lower speeds than a conventional combustion engine.

Im not trying to be a jerk just giving my opinion. Also im an electrical guy so all this stuff sounds easy to me, and you may be a mechanical guy so maybe a pure mechanical system would be simpler for you.

]]> By: js http://hackaday.com/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/comment-page-1/#comment-28484 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 02:16:47 +0000 http://hackaday.iheartcashews.com:8181/2007/09/21/hybrid-robot/#comment-28484 Oh, and btw a Ryobi/Troy-Bilt four-stroke should work just as well, especially the new Robin-designed 29cc version.

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