The "Green Weenie" NXT



Over the Thanksgiving holidays, my family wanted to build an NXT that bore no resemblance to anything, something that was just plain weird. The result: the "Green Weenie" NXT.

The little bugger is surprisingly agile and can turn on a dime, IF it's on a carpeted surface.

Has anyone else built something that bears no resemblance to any machine, humanoid, animal or anything else? If you have, send us a link so we can see it.

Comments

Anonymous said…
that is very cool and so green.
well the only thing i can think of that i made was "IT the Stix" a biped that is more like a slinky toy from long ago but not. at least for a monoped/biped? like biped it was the oddest thing i built, by mistake too. my wife thought it was oddest thing she has seen that worked programing it was a test of the nxt bricks ability to bounce off the floor as this thing fell many times as i went through the debugging part.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OViK1Z526aY
Unknown said…
Looks ... err ... interesting.
Do you have a video of it moving around?
Rick Rhodes said…
222doc,

ROTFL!!

Everyone, please check out doc's video if you haven't seen it.

Matthias,

Alas, no video of the "Green Weenie". At the time we built it, I had no access to a video camera. (Pity.)

Do you like the color coordination between the green wheels and the green shag carpet? The carpet is my mom's. (I'm compelled to tell you that it isn't mine).

Rick
Fay Rhodes said…
We had a lot of fun building the Green Weenie--and I think it may just be the most responsive robot I've ever built. Love those green wheels!
Anonymous said…
we had carpet that color back in the 70's lol but it was shag too and was so hip to have then ;)

man those wheels are alot bigger than i thought, even at s@h their picture does not do them justic. Steve's green monster thing was filmed outside and they looked smaller in that grass. but your pics they look huge. i must not buy more lego must not...
Super Cool! How 'no resemblance' of you guys! I bet we see more freaky looking NXT Greenies.

Chris
Anonymous said…
I just love the splay. Look how the liftarms lean out on the first picture. Nice
Rick Rhodes said…
The "splay" you refer to was difficult to minimize. Bringing the front wheels closer to the motor reduced the splay, but it negatively affected the maneuverability of the robot.

We could fix the problem by inventing a new LEGO part: the "WeeniePlug". We'll ask Lego R&D about it, but don't expect it anytime soon.

Rick
Anonymous said…
It still doesn't explain why your structures aren't braced. I love studless -- everyone thinks things are automatically strong.
Rick Rhodes said…
While we deeply appreciate your ANONYMOUS sarcasm and critiques, we think them to be a little immature and cowardly, don't you?

Sorry, but the next snide comment gets you the "boot".

RR
Anonymous said…
I too am a little concerned about the splay. Those big wheels and the long axle stick-out generates a large moment. Could this lead to early motor failure?

I insist that my daughter's FLL team support the wheels with structure on at least one side of the motor, perferrably both. They are using my kits and I want to protect my investment.

I lost 6 of the mini motors in the old RCX day. The axle would break when a kid dropped a robot that had the wheels directly attached to the motor. The problem is much less severe with the NXT motors, but I like to err on the conservative side.
Rick Rhodes said…
Dean,

Thanks for the comments. This model was thrown together as a Thanksgiving "lark", and, to be honest, not a lot of thought went into it.

But it's important to be reminded that other folks may try to build it and experience a structural failure.

Thanks for the constructive comment!

Rick
Anonymous said…
Re the comments about splaying.....

Because the Green wheels are so big, even the minimal splaying looks exagerated.

I found the same issue when I designed the Green Monster using the large wheels - even when you brace them the splay reduces - but it is still visible.
David Levy said…
Are there tires available for those large green wheels?

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