Insomnia stinks.
I’m in the early planning stages of my next robot. Here’s the gist of what I want: it should be a capable outdoor robot that fixes the biggest mechanical problems with Johan, it should be able to serve as a flexible platform for future work, it should be built using all the best tools and techniques, it should have a composite outer shell… and it should have a fully aimable multi-rail rocket launching pod. I plan on using the same motors as I used on Johan, but the drivetrain and suspension will be made out of RC monster truck parts. The shell is currently planned to be Kevlar underneath for strength, and fiberglass on the outside for a nice(-ish) finish. I’d like to be able to take it out to a rocket launch, have it autonomously drive out to the pad, raise its launcher, and ripple-fire half a dozen small rockets into the air. A small pneumatic gun capable of shooting dried corn kernels or something would be cool too, but that may be a bit much for now. This robot will be…. expensive. It’ll also be really really cool. It’ll hopefully use a Gumstix computer as its main processor, with many AVRs scattered around to do the odd jobs.
In keeping with the trend (Fritz, Johan, Arnold), the names I’m considering are all Germanic: Gertrude (“spear of strength”), Brunhild (brun is “armor/protection”, hild is “battle”), Dieter (“warrior of the people”), Gunther (“army/warrior”), Hildebrand (“battle sword”) or Hildegard (“battle enclosure”). I’m currently leaning towards Hildebrand, I think.
UPDATE: his name is Gunther (pronounced “goontehr”).
