(...aka Squid-bot, Squid-goat, Trick-or-traitor)
We built this robot blimp for CTIN534 class. Here's a summary of our experience and some challenges we faced. For more info and documentations, check team members' blogs:
Ala' Diab
Lulu Cao
Taiyoung Ryu
The first set of challenges we faced were in dealing with assembling the electronics. This was the first time any of us had touched a soldering iron, and I have to say we did a decent job under the circumstances. The next challence was in dealing with such small delicate parts -- the wires were so thin, that in trying to strip them, I often ended up severing the actual wire before getting through the plastic sheath.
Once all the electronics were built and assembled, the next challenge came in testing the systems. This was a challenge mainly because we didn't know how the bot was really supposed to react. Our understanding was that it was supposed to be somewhat unpredictable, and animal-like, so we weren't sure if the reactions we got were truely intended. We could, however, verify thatall the sensors were recieving input, and all the output devices worked. If something went wrong in the connection between input and output, we couldn't tell.
For anyone else who wants to build a Blubberbot, here are some tips from our experience --
1. Prioritize - assembling the PCB is by far the most time consuming task. All the other components can be built independently.
2. Use the correct tools -- wire strippers might seem like an unnecessary luxury, but you'll need them. Make sure they'll work for this thin guage wire. Also a small tipped soldering iron will work best.
3. When filling the envelope, fill it almost completely with helium. The directions say to fill it half way with helium and half with air. We tried this and couldn't get it off the ground. Use more helium, you can always attach weight to balance it.
4. Use strong tape. The directions call for double-sided scotch. We used wide plastic electrical tape, and it barely lasted the day.
