RoboChair

RoboChair 2.0

RoboChair 1.0 was created in 2006 between the months of April and May RoboChair 2.0 was created in 2006 between the months of September and October RoboChair 3.0 was created in 2008 in mid March

The recliner currently on RoboChair is what gives it the 3.0 instead of 1.0, because initialy we used a plastic school chair that was found by our school's dumpster. RoboChair was still cool and all, but nowhere near it's current cool factor. Now to tell you the short story behind that recliner. I had been wanting to put a reclining armchair on for a while and had looked around Davis many times looking for suitable abandoned chairs,and with little luck for about two and a half weeks. However, on my way downtown to get some air for my bike, I rode by a recliner in someone's pickup truck. I stopped and looked at it for a second, and I just knew "This is the chair I've been looking for". So I went to the front door and knocked, when I asked the guy, he said that I could have it but he said one more thing. He said that he was going to take it to the dump that day! I swear it blows your mind to find the exact thing you are looking for, when if I hadn't had a leaky inner tube that needed to be filled THAT DAY, I never would have gotten that chair. The aren't enough words to explain how well that chair fits the chassis!

It has two direct drive motors (chain driven), one for each of the two power wheels which are in the front. On the back are two casters to make it turnable. The joystick controller links to a programmed computer which interprets the joystick signal to send varying amounts of power (using Pulse-width modulation or PWM control) to each motor allowing the control of speed and turning (the wheels don't turn, the robochair turns by having the power wheels spin at different speeds), although because of the limitations of the code and the motor controllers and to some degree the laws of physics it is a bit tricky to get it to turn while moving forward although it has been gotten working pretty well. It also took a bit of code trickery to get it to turn well if at all while going full speed (still tricky).

Current Features of RoboChair

• Small turning radius
• It's a recliner on wheels, I mean Come on you can't beat that!
• Top speed of 7mph
• I made it for free!
• Its parts value is over $1500

Future Additions to RoboChair

• Auto Recline
• Integral electronics
• The ability to drive in a straight line on slanted surfaces
• Keyswitch deactivation
• Better made robotic chassis
• Custom built recliner
• Cathode ray tube lighting(Green)
• Larger battery(s)
• GPS Navigation?
• A top speed of around 10-15mph
• A top speed of around 25-30mph

RoboChair Outreach

We at the Robotics Club are always looking for money, and any money that you can donate to the club helps us a great deal. The annual FIRST Robotics Competition that we participate in every year, requires $6000 just for registration. You can send us money by mailing it to the Davis High School and specifically the Citrus Circuits Robotics. Thank You

Another similar chair managed to make international news when it was seized (and later auctioned off) when the... driver... was found to be drunk. Don't drink and ... err ... sit.

2007-01-20 20:38:39   How long does it smash for? And when it dies do the wheels lock? It looks frickin awesome. I love the duct tape, and the joystick —StevenDaubert

2007-01-20 21:29:21   ooh thats on DHS campus, I love how the devil logo thing still has that hole from the meteor. —StevenDaubert

2007-01-24 10:31:53   when the batteries get low it starts moving in jerks, but no they don't lock up. It will usually run 15 minutes straight on a 18 amp hour battery, which weighs 13 lbs BTW —DevinCastellucci

If you can make me a fleet of these for some funness, that would be totally awesome.. ~davepoole

2007-02-24 20:39:06   o_o That's pretty snazzy. I wonder if you need a liscense to drive it... —KokoSorensen

2007-02-25 14:37:43   well it isn't street legal, but we will be working on that eventually. Thankfully the cops don't really know what to make of it, so they gawk at it for a while then carry on. —DevinCastellucci

2007-05-10 08:17:29   As long as your in a bike lane, or on a sidewalk in a non business district I think the wouldn't trip... —StevenDaubert

2007-06-19 19:17:29   pretty much —DevinCastellucci

2007-06-21 13:21:26   Anyone want to see a robo-couch? or a cross country robo ride? solar panels would be nice too. —DavidPoole

2007-06-21 13:52:50   FUCK YES —GeoffJohnson

• To which query?

2007-08-11 12:24:17   nice —BaaaamBi

2008-01-20 19:57:51   Have you seen http://www.armchaircruisers.com? —JasonAller

2008-03-12 17:02:14   i spotted the chair today! —JackkiCox

2009-04-01 16:54:53   Far classier than a similar project from the state of Ohio: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29971638/ —TheAmazingLarry