RiverCleanser! The RC water-going, trash-collecting robot!

[Crtlego]

So its been a while.. but here's what I've been up to! ...I present to you.. the RiverCleanser!

WARNING TO PURISTS : THIS MOC CONTAINS 8 WATER BOTTLES...

As you can see, it is quite different.. to say the least

Its purpose is to clean trash from the surface of lakes and rivers (hench the name). This is possible thanks to the eight water bottles mounted underneath (not your standard legos pieces I know..) -they allow the model to float above the water with ease. It moves around via the rotation of two paddle wheels mounted on suspended arms on either side of it. The arm mounted above can rotate and raise, and the claw attached to it can also rotate and grab/release (there really should be a better word for this) - all this allows it to collect water bottles, crunched up paper, and other trash of this sort from bodies of water. After doing so, it can drop the trash off into the unfolding tray in the front - it can then continue to collect more trash before returning to shore...

More details are available on my site http://www.kayrus.co...s/rivercleanser .. but feel free to ask any questions

..but in the meantime, I've produced a few videos of it.

The first is a short trailer of it themed to the latest James Bond film Skyfall. Specifically, it was made to the likes of the "Skyfall Teaser Trailer"

The second is an overview and demonstration of all the RiverCleanser's functions..

The last is a video of it picking up some things indoors (if you didn't notice from the picture, there is a stand I built specifically to hold the robot indoors.. its not built to rest on the bottles except for when nits in the water).

Lastly, there are some 250ish additional pictures of it on flickr (soon to be on Brickshelf)

Looking forward to any and all comments you guys have

[Alasdair Ryan]

I am surprised it still floats looking at the size of it.

nice moc.

[Crtlego]

Thanks Alasdair! I too was surprised the first time I set this thing off in my bathtub! In fact, I originally did so with less and smaller bottles.. and to make matters worse, the bracing for the bottles was also not as reinforced at that time as it is in the final version..

You can imagine how traumatizing this must have been to put so many pricey electronic pieces on the line like that. Thankfully, it floats remarkably well, and the positioning of the bottles and their "angling" has made it so that it is extremely difficult to flip over. When its actually on the water though, it is much higher than I would have liked (by an inch or two -any more and the XL motor and M motor for the tray and winch would be submerged or at risk) -the way to get around this would have been to weigh the bottles down with water or sand (or legos!) but I didn't exactly want to sink it or make it any heavier (its already a workout to transport this thing!)

[DLuders]

@ Crtlego: What river in the USA do you want to cleanse with this? The Cayahoga River in Akron, Ohio?

[Boxerlego]

This is cool. Looks fun to play with off or on the water. I like how you attached the bottles. Very Lego friendly Overall it is very well made, outstanding that it was built for floating on top of water and cleaning it as well.

[Crtlego]

@Boxerlego: Thanks! Attaching the bottles was probably one of the hardest parts. There was a lot of reinforcing that I had to do to make sure it wouldn't just collapse on the bottles due to its massive weight. And it certainly is a joy to use in the water.. but that feeling comes more from its not sinking than anything else

@DLuders: Cuyahoga would certainly be a good place to start -that river's a mess!! ..although I'm not sure it would be messy enough for the RiverCleanser

Perhaps it is better suited to the waters of Legoland..

[Porty]

@Crtlego: Indeed, I love your style of building! It's amazing that you would risk so many parts and electronics, but by looking at it, it looks to be very safe and sturdy!

[Phantom59]

Looking at the bottles, would it have been better to make a raft

[Gene]

Like the industrial looking machine!