This is a compact robot that utilizes three omni-wheels to vector it in any direction.� By changing the speeds and directions of the motors the robot can drive in any direction without needing to turn.� This makes it very useful for navigating around the house.� It works on any indoor surface or outdoors in short grass, pavement, concrete, etc.� Below are the links to different parts you can add onto the robot platform to customize it to your needs.�

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To See a picture of the vectoring robot, see our general ATR page.

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It is recommended that you get an upper deck and All-Thread hardware package to hold the batteries, there is not much room for them on the lower deck with the controllers.

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The Omni wheels and shafts are also sold together as one unit.� The shaft comes with a bearing and lock collar that fit right into/onto the motors and motor mounts.� The wheels are 4" in diameter.� The traction wheels are made of durable urethane to help grip the floor.� These wheels also work outdoors.� The wheels are either single row wheels or double row wheels.� The double row wheels provide a little smoother operation, but both work great.� One thing to note with the omni wheels is if you run sideways to a hill, the wheels will side slip down the hill, but if the robot angles up the hill slightly it can overcome this.� If you are ordering omni wheels, you will need 3 individual shaft and wheel sets.

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For the Tri-Wheeled Robot, you will need a total of three independent motor controllers.� The MD22 and Magnevation drives are dual channel motor controllers, so only two are needed, leaving you a spare channel.� Ideally, three of our our single channel PWM controllers can be used.� See our speed controller comparison page to help you make your decision.�

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• Using the MD22 motor controller you can use an OOPic II, II+ or OOPic-R and control the motors various ways (PWM, I2C, servo pulse).� You can also use the RF04 CM04 combo to supply an RF link to your computer and have the computer control the robot.
• Using the Magnevation motor controllers�or the SuperDroid Robots PWM Motor Controller you can use any PIC such as (an OOPic II, II+ or OOPic-R) device that outputs a PWM (0-5V) signal and digital I/O for direction and brakes.�

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If you're familiar with our popular Trekker Robot kits, one thing to consider is you can use an OOPic II/II+ with and OOPic II Expansion board, or an OOPic-R with an OOPic-R Expansion board and drive the MD22s using the servo outputs or I2C and you get all the great features of the expansion boards and your robot will be just like a Trekker only bigger!� You can add all the sensors, etc that the expansion boards support and most of the programs for the Trekker will be applicable.� See our controller hook up page for more details.� These kits also provide you with battery trays for your controller power.

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24V is too much voltage for the PIC controllers, plus its best to have the instruments and controls on a separate source than the motors.� You can use either a 9.6V battery or a 7.2V battery. The OOPic controller or our expansion boards will regulate it to 5V.� The regulator typically needs at least 6V.� Either battery will go for a very long time depending on how many extra sensors are being used.� Again, the batteries we sell are NiMH batteries, so they won't form a memory and will last a long time.�� We recommend you get the connectors with them so you can easily unplug them and charge them or swap them out with a second set.� If you are going to use an expansion board, they come with battery holders, or you may prefer the battery packs.� We sell single AA NiMH batteries for the expansion board battery trays.

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We sell plain old transformers for chargers or you can get our automatic peak battery charger.� The peak charger will monitor you battery as it's being charged and shut off when it has reached it's peak charge.� These chargers are close to $200 when bought elsewhere, but we have developed our own charger that does the same thing at less than 1/2 the price.� You can also use a standard transformer and manually disconnect it when the battery has been charged, but you run the risk of destroying your batteries if you forget to take them off the charger.

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Finally, you will need some wire, fuses, and switches.� The kit we sell is simple and will allow you to turn you robot on and off and protect everything with fuses.

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Electric noise is one of the most frustrating issues when working on robots with DC motors.� The EMF coming from the motors will reek havoc on the microcontrollers, any RF equipment, or other sensitive electronic equipment.� We recommend you use the following kits to wire your motors.� These kits will provide the wiring from the speed/motor controller to the motors.� You will need one kit per motor.� Follow this link for more information on how to hook up the motors.

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You need to be able to hookup the controllers (OOPic or RF link) to the motor speed controllers (Magnevation controller, the SuperDroid PWM, or the MD22).� There are many ways this can be accomplished.� For selecting the best method for your application, see our motor controller page.

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This is an enclosure that acts as a Faraday cage helping to protect it from electronic noise.� With an optional fan it can also be used to help keep your controller cool.� It also protects your controller from physical harm.� This isn't typically a mandatory part, but just adds further protection.� It can always be added later if you find out you need it.� We like putting our motor controllers in them to help isolate electric noise and provide forced cooling on the electronics.

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It includes nuts, bolts washers, nylon spacers (for isolating your electronics and controller boards), cable ties, and cable hold downs.

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In order to make your robot autonomous, you will need to add sensors.� You can always add sensors later.� Be sure to use sensors that are best suited for the micro controller you have selected.� If you are using an OOPic, all are sensors can be bused on the controller with a little wiring.��We recommend using one of our expansion boards as discussed above, then all the Trekker sensors and LCDs, etc will plug directly into the expansion board.�� If you are using the RF04 CM02 Telemetry kit, you should only use sensors that are I2C, such as our SRF08 ultrasonic sensors.

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Nothing is better than a wireless camera to see what your robot sees.� We have a large variety of wireless camera including pan and tilt systems.

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