One of the features of the current iteration of XANDR is a quadcopter that can take off from the back of the spider and carry a hook into a tree. A small magnet allows the quadcopter to detach from the hook, and the larger spider can winch itself up the tree for branch trimming. During the first test of the system the quadcopter lost control, and took a hard dive into some nearby cement. It seems like the FPV camera was broken in the fall - hopefully the quad can be repaired without too many new parts, and the next test will be done on a tree with softer surroundings (this tree was chosen due to proximity to the shop, and thus ladders.
I didn't anticipate how difficult it would be to get the servos running off a 16 channel I2C servo board. For the requisite video it was easier to use default code than anything articulate - it is capable of doing push ups now, but has yet to walk.
Power coupling to the leg lift shaft is created by an oldham coupler created out of an old piece of oak flooring and glow-in-the-dark 3d printed plastic. Currently testing PLA.
Andrew Benson
