[Hackupy-discuss] Aerial camera platform

[ian]

I thought about steering...  rather than having a steerable robot, it could
just orbit continuously around the pole as it drives up and down, like a
screw.  Then, aiming it is just a matter of driving it up or down a foot.

Looking at some poles today, I was also imagining something that has two
modes, turn around and go straight, and has a pole-clamp that doesn't reach
all the way around.  Such a device would have the ability to bypass some
signs attached to the pole, which would be helpful.

Magnetic wheels could be nice for something that doesn't have to wrap
around at all, but not all poles are steel...  around here at least, many
of them are concrete.

Solar could be handy...  remember, we'll use these in the daytime too.  We
don't have the same low-weight constraint as with a UAV, so options like
that (or a big fat battery) are conceivable.

-Ian

On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Tomm <tomm.fire at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Ian,
>
> I like it!  I designed pipe crawling robots long ago, and a challenge with
> them is that if the weight isn't distributed quite right, they tend to
> wander and this makes them hard to steer.  Putting most weight towards the
> bottom of the crawler will help keep it aligned.  We used differential
> (tank-like) driving.
>
> Magnetic wheels are great, but be careful when putting the robot on the
> pipe.  The really strong magnetic wheels are brittle, and I saw a number of
> shattered wheels over the years.  Spares highly recommended.  Also,
> magnetic wheels will leave marks on painted surfaces - just something to
> keep in mind, as coating the wheels would reduce the adhesion significantly.
>
> Here's an magnetic pipe crawler that shows a good aspect ratio for a pipe
> crawler:
> http://images.yourdictionary.**com/images/computer/_MAGPIE.**GIF<http://images.yourdictionary.com/images/computer/_MAGPIE.GIF>
>
> Since the robot will be on a light pole near a huge honkin' light, it
> might be a good idea to put a solar panel on the top of the unit.  Not only
> is it light shielding for the camera, but there's enough lux that you might
> get the rated panel output, and a 4" x 6" panel can deliver 100 mA.  That
> should be enough to drive a phone for several hours a day, and perhaps even
> most of the time.  Seems like a good idea for long-term occupations as
> you'd only have to install the robot once.
>
> http://www.jameco.com/webapp/**wcs/stores/servlet/Product_**
> 10001_10001_228072_-1<http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_228072_-1>
>
> Happy to meet in person,
>
>    Tomm
> (also just subscribed)
>
>
> On 11/19/11 12:06 PM, Ian Baker wrote:
>
>> Hey! Just subscribed. I've been thinking about this aerial camera
>> platform thing for a while... Helicopters, balloons, airplanes, etc.
>> Each machine has it's issues, along the lines of stability, cost, ease
>> of compromise, runtime, lack of anonymity for the person controlling
>> it, etc.
>>
>> What I want is a solution that's cheap, easily replicable, requires
>> little operator skill, holds the camera still, works in wind, runs for
>> a long time, is easy to aim, is easy to move to another location,
>> shields the camera operator from identification by police, and makes
>> the camera itself hard to capture. If it meets these goals, it could
>> be broadly scalable... Everybody could have one.
>>
>> Last night I think I figured it out: a simple robot that can climb
>> tapered metal poles, and carries a gimbaled camera platform. Clamp it
>> to a lightpost, drive it to the top, recover when
>> necessary/convenient.
>>
>> Not quite as hard to catch as a helicopter, but also more stealth.
>> Doesn't get quite as much altitude, but I don't think we need much.
>> Doesn't have any of the issues that balloons do. Runs all day, and I
>> bet it could be built for less money than the smartphone we strap to
>> it, from flat-pack laser-cut parts and bits of r/c car, in an
>> afternoon.
>>
>> My housemate and I are working on designs. Ideas, cad models, etc
>> welcome! :)
>>
>> -Ian
>>
>> The touch keyboard: ensouling wit since 2007.
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