Hovercraft Robots
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Overview
Basically the idea is to have semi-autonomous robots running around on hovercraft. Right now we are concentrating on creating the chassis.
Mark I Prototype
Complete failure but we did learn some valuable info on skirt size and stiffness. (Strages add your pics please)
Mark II prototype Significantly more successful. We added a much larger, lighter, and flexible skirt. We also added a cardboard platform to help distribute the weight. After adding reinforcements to the side and "cargo" the hovercraft attained the proper air cushion.
Mark III prototype
Used two fans. Also tried to make a large air pocket in the middle but this did not work very well.
Mark III.V prototype
An adaption of the Mark III. By tearing the envelope we created a large "skirt". Most successful one so far. From now on we will focus on using this new configuration.
Mark IV prototype The first actual BEAM bot sized chassis. Aproximately 2x2 inches its uses a chipset fan. Some work needs to be done of the skirt as it is too stiff to properly hold the air pressure.
Mark V prototype
Similar in size to the Mark IV, it uses an impeller salvaged from a laptop. Very powerful but still needs refining.
Current Status: After determining the best chassis, experiments for a power source were done. It was determined that our best source would be a capacitor however we found that any capacitor that we had that could power the machine was too heavy. It has been suggested that we use supercaps. The project is on hold for now.
