Drive:

• 8 Wheel Drive (2x4x4)- Heavily modified drill motors with custom machined components drive each side of the robot at varying speeds. Speed control is proportional to PWM radio signal. Twin Electronic speed controls vary the speed on each side. The chain drive is designed such that one chain on either side can fail completely and the robot should still operate normally.
• Fiberglass reinforced nylon wheels with thick rubber wheels are used for traction and to reduce weight. I have found these wheels to be durable and easy to work with in this application. The wheels can be quickly and easily replaced when damaged.
• Twin IFI reversible speed controls are used to control each side of the robot in skid-steer fashion. Channel mixing is performed at the transmitter for proportional manouvering with just one joystick. These reliable pulse width modulation controllers can safely output more than 80amps at 24vdc each.
• The drive sprockets are 8 tooth sprockets modified to fit #25 chain. The wheel sprockets are 19 tooth heavy duty bicycle sprockets mounted to custom fabricated aluminum hubs. Custom delrin tensioners ensure a reliable chain seating.
• Power is delivered via a custom 12v Nicad pack constructed of Sanyo high-current D size batteries. These batteries can souce tremendous current and provide ample run time for both the drive and control electronics. A custom charging solution automatically cuts power when battery temperature begins to rise using a thermocouple imbedded into the pack.
• The charger unit also is equipped with a serial port input connector used to load various weapon programs to the pneumatic computer.

Automatic charging & programming system