Watchdog Security Camera Robot

So, 

 my first concern is to create compartments that are resistant to weather. So I need to fill in all these holes. I taped off all the holes and I will do a couple layers of fiberglass. Hopefully I can get them thin enough the battery still slides in but all the holes are covered without any gaps all the way around.

First I tape the inside of the area up to make the enclosure....

Tada, it is just masking tape.

I started to disassemble the chassis , I can see there are certainly differences from the other one and I think I may swap the front end so I can easily find a place for headlights. The screws on the fender are badly rusted and I put some CLR in the hole to break it up.

I like the fascia and fenders so I may recycle them instead of making new ones. 3d printing could give me some custom options.  Phillips number 1 removed the body panels.

The chassis is getting naked and I still have issues with the screws on that fender. I have no use that I can think of for the front wheels, I tested a jazzy chassis in the yard and found they reduce maneuverability when it hits the edge of a sidewalk or incline. I will likely remove this wiring as it is VERY stiff and unforgiving, it looks like it is corroded even under the insulation.

If I cannot get these screws out cleanly I may just leave the fender in place, as it does look good.

These are the cams I settled on, first they have a adjustable lens and it is wide angle 130 degrees ,but without the fish eye distortion. They all have two 1 watt led for illumination at night and adjustable light sensor so they are not on all day.

I found this gps / alarm unit on ebay. In the sad event someone steals my robot I would hope to track it down QUICKLY. So I ordered one of these and I will see how well it works.  When I get it hooked up I will explain how it works.

Parts on the way ! 

OK shopping list so far for the build - 

shopping list

4x micro sd card , 32gb 

5x battery packs 10,000 or 15,000 mah ( $25-30 )

4x 130 degree lense , raspberry pi cam

1x ez cam (have them)

1x ez board ( have them)

4x raspberry Pi 3 B boards $35 (have them)

4x 2 ft long rpi cam cables

1x 12v voltage guage $16

4x motion sensors ( have them)

4x ultrasonic sensors ( have them)

4x WD eaststore/ ultra 1 tb hard drive $55 each ( have two)

1 x GPS geofencing and tracking device $30

Emergency cut off button $5

1x 10 amp H bridge ( have them)

1 x 50 watt 12v DC to 5v DC converter ( $12)

10 x Powerline short usb cables 1 ft ($10 per 4 cables)

1 x 7 port usb hub

Jazzy base, basically what we start with before modifications, in this picture the seat mount pole is not there, but I might actually use it.

Posted at 11/11/2017 11:13:13 AM

General Goals

- a mobile platform that can patrol a set routine

- Motion tracking , robot turns towards movement and tracks that object/ person

- 3-4 cameras recording 24 / 7

- run without outside power for at least 12 hours, but the goal is excess of 24 hours.

-Even in the even the robotic size of the electronics fails or the battery runs dead, there is a backup that keeps the cameras on and recording.

-Recording both locally on the robot itself and also wireless video sent to a recorder that I will probably setup with another raspberry pi.

- Live access to the cameras over the internet

- 1 tb hard drive dedicated to every camera, covers recording in HD for at least a rolling month. Recordings in 10 min intervals.

-Dual battery setup, one battery for the drive wheels , motor controller and ezb
Lithium battery 10,000 mah packs for each camera

-Safety Stop switch that cuts power to motor controller in the event of an emergency, but everything else still records.

-Create a water resistant area protected from spashing and weather for the electronics

-make some kind of seal where the panels come together

- Some kind of anti theft alarm, using geo location or other alarm to prevent theft

-GPS geofence alarm and active tracker

Posted at 11/11/2017 10:03:57 AM

I have picked up a few Jazzy power chairs and pulled the seats off of them. I will further remove stuff that I don't need. I have seen people hack the original motor controllers but I feel like I am better just selling the original on Ebay and buying one made for DIY building instead. My first power chair base project I used a Sabertooth 2x12 ,but I do have a couple other generic controllers I picked up that may work just fine. I will post some pictures, thoughts, goals and parts I have to work with so far. Any input is cool.