h a l f b a k e r yFaster than a stationary bullet.
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absolutely. the ceiling is the most underutilized space in the home. i wish i could put half my belongings on the ceiling. |
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the half that i dont use during the day, and which arent too sharp. |
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Sort of like an overhead crane? |
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But that's true of all ceiling items, including lights, acoustic tiles, smoke detectors, etc. There's no reason that it can't be a sturdy track. |
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I saw a really stupid movie about this where a smart house ran a bunch of robots (some were arms running on tracks on the ceiling) and it went nuts and started chasing people with scissors. I know this wouldn't happen but I bet I'd still end up hitting my head on them. So it doesn't really stop the bumping into problem... |
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We sure do need to find ways to use more of the upper part of the room. Just think about how much they fit into the tiny capsules of space stations because they can use all the walls and ceilings. |
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I like it. If you are really intuitive, you can program the robot arm so that, in the throes of romantic/physical contact, it will assist in the de-clothing and "wARMing up." |
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On a track, the robot will either be restricted to some parts of the room or have to have very long, obstructive arms; and it will also block the passage of other robots. Maybe you could tile the ceiling with material covered in a grid of tiny inverted hooks and it could crawl along that. Or use electromagnetic tiles which it can activate individually as needed (although, yes, in a power failure it would fall on your baby). |
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I was attempting to post this on your listing, but created a new one by accident- dumb me. |
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At any rate, I was thinking perhaps having a wireless camera connected to two garage door tracks. The wheels would be metal- so it's like a bumper car, propelled by the power supplied by the track. Each track has a polarity on the garage door track- one being positive and the other negative. On the wall there is a device that controls the amount of voltage being sent, and which direction the polarties are going... so the motor will run both forward and backwards. Think of like those pizza places with the animatronic characters that bring your pizza. |
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The entire unit could be connected to a video input card on a the computer with face recognition software to identify who is an acceptable guest- whose not.. etc. . etc... |
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On the ceiling walls (on the sides), there will be perhaps laser or infared detection strips to identify certain points on the track at which it should stop at. |
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I don't know about any of you, but I have taken apart alot of electronics in my day, and if you should take apart a "Billy Bass"- or whatever the hell generic fish toy like that, their mouths and bodies make excellent robotic hands. |
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In addition to this, it needs to have a remote control to the front door to let people in. Just something simple enough to not only greet people, but also if you should be sitting down, it can take, say for example a note or something, to a family member somewhere else. |
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P.S.: Remember- it shouldn't be able to run extensively through the house. Doorways are not only created for privacy, but also to slow the progression of a fire spreading throughout the house!!!.. anyway, I hope all this turns out for my first posting. Hope it all makes sense. Perhaps I will work on a prototype.. heheh.. 'eh...prowlee not.. |
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In addition to the one I linked, I'm "planning" to build such a
robot for Protospace, to be named after the one I linked. |
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Given the cheapness and power of rare-earth magnets these
days, just have a steel-plate ceiling and strong magnets in
the robot. It will still run on wheels, giving the magnets a
small clearance from the ceiling, but will no longer fall into
your bathtub in the event of a power outage. |
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To release the robot from the ceiling (for instance, for
maintenance), either (a) momentarily activate an opposing
electromagnet (like magnetic door locks) or (b) have the
robot push itself away from the ceiling with a jack, until the
magnetic attraction is less than the weight of the robot. |
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That robot won't be setting any ceiling speed records… |
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Why not? If the ceiling is a uniform sheet of steel, it'll be no
different from a regular wheeled vehicle using gravity to stick
to the floor. |
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It will be different. Gravity does not generate eddy currents. |
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Consider a device composed of an extremely rigid chassis, with three or more castors or rollers at its perimeter. These rollers keep the array of powerful magnets attached to the chassis at a fixed, very small distance from the ferrous ceiling. |
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The castors themselves can be powered, or other wherls with high friction rims can provide propulsion. |
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But as the device moves over the sheet, the magnets induce a current in the metal; this is unavoidable. Even segregating the sheet into a very large number of tiny individually insulated modules will not greatly reduce the effect. This requires additional energy over and above that required to overcome the rolling resistance of the wheels. |
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If the module size is significantly smaller than the magnet, I
think the resistance due to eddy currents will be quite small. |
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I have a marvellous proof of this, but sadly this annotation box
is too small to contain it. |
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Using magnets to stick the robot to the ceiling sounds like
a good idea to me. I have a toy car with magnets in the
base. It is currently parked on the side of the fridge. It
works upside down as well. |
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As for eddy currents, I don't think it will be a serious
problem for reasonable robot speeds. I've run the fun
little experiment where you drop some foil through the
gap in a pair of hard drive magnets, and it falls
dramatically slowly, but that's because the foil is so light.
I can hardly feel the force when I pull it through by hand.
I predict that if you compare a continuous sheet steel
ceiling to a ceiling made of small pieces of steel to
reduce the eddy currents, you will find that there is a
measurable increase in energy required to move the
robot, but that the additional cost for a larger battery
(and energy usage of its lifetime) is less than the
increased cost for the ceiling made of small pieces. |
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A slight enhancement to a magnetically supported robot:
Make the suspension height adjustable. If the robot is going
to do some heavy lifting, reduce the suspension height so
the robot "bottoms out" touching the magnet to the ceiling.
For moving with a somewhat heavy load, have the
suspension somewhat lowered. When the robot isn't
carrying anything, increase the suspension height allowing
faster speeds with less eddy current. |
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Two sets of magnets; one at a fixed spacing to support the mass of the ribot, and a second array that can be moved closer when heavy loads are involved. |
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Electromagnets would be best but the energy penalty would be prohibitive. |
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Why not use a steel frame house? As long as it isn't a massive robot then you could run along the framing like tracks. 3/4inch drywall wouldn't block much if you use a wireless power supply. As for a power supply, why not use a matching robot like Lockheed designed for their blimps? Then the power cable is attached to the above ceiling robot and runs through the attic. |
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Ceiling robot arms is an awesome idea because it could pick up dishes in living room and deliver to kitchen sink. Which is where the under cabinet arms could either wash them or put them in the dishwasher. |
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