Here is the main project page for the new "SweepBot" Project. As the robots design evolves I'll post updates here.
Project Description
This robot is being designed to fill a practical household need: To keep the bathroom floor swept clean of the cat litter that escapes from the cats litter box. It will live and work entirely within the bathroom, and using the knowledge gained in the entire PICbot Logic series, we will build on that knowledge to create a mostly self sufficient worker drone.
Robot Base:
Sweep bot consists of two parts, a motorized drive base which will carry the sweeping assembly around, avoid obstacles and dock with the charger. It is 14 inches in diameter, and currently contains the new generic robotics board, designed by myself for a master processor. The main processing is done by a PIC16F877a chip, a device with far more horsepower than is needed for this application. It will be used in some future robots as well, as I had 3 boards made up. So far, with no sensors yet, here is what I have:
The Sweeping Assembly:
Here is the mechanical assembly, consisting of a lexan housing for the sweeper brush, motor and belt pulley. Inside the housing is the catch box assembly, with the flexible ramp that leads from the brush to the catch box. What remains to be done mechanically is to add a hinge to the bottom plate of the catch box for dumping of contents.
