Building a robotic flower

[falcon9393]

I had a great idea one day when i was sick after watching Wall-e 4 times that it might be possible to build a robotic flower but im not sure where to order a kit from and i have no clue how to build it from scratch!

I am fairly new to robotics and have attempted in the past to program a robot at the WSU robotics lab and...total failure! It went backwards three inches hit a wall and fell apart! But aside from just building this robotic wonder i am not to sure on what it's function might be?

 

So any helpful websites or insights on this sticky situation would be great...

thanks ever so much!

[Sisyphus]

What do you mean by a robotic flower, exactly?

[insane_alien]

probably a light seeking robot where the stem bends to keep the flower part pointed at the sun.

[cameron marical]

I know that japan has actually done this,just recently, and it works as an air purifier. I beleive that it worked better than normal plants by a great degree in purification.

 

I think that it would be really cool if you or anyone here made something like this.

 

Maybe ill try it out.

[Sisyphus]

So it's a solar-powered air purifier that's designed to look like a plant? I dunno, I guess that's cool, but I think I'd rather have a real plant. It gives off oxygen in addition to purifying the air, repairs itself when damaged, will make copies of itself using only water, dirt, and sunshine, and there's no soldering required. Oh, and a lot of them are even edible.

 

Now, if the robot "flower" was also a motion-activated flamethrower nozzle, I might get on board.

Edited May 12, 2009 by Sisyphus

[BlondeEngineer]

We already have fake flowers (silk etc goto Michaels)

 

So what you are actually looking for is to mimic an actual flowering plant?

 

Plant grows, plant produces flowers to attract pollenators.

 

Flower dies, genetics material from pollenation creates seed with optional out fruit etc for distribution vehicle...

 

Way too compliacted a robot... So lets go with basic FLOWER stage...

 

A flower is photosensitive and will react to solar intensity... Let's assume day blooming not night blooming... This requires a small photocell or other light controlled device to trigger bloom...

 

A flower has a stem - need a rigid but flexible pole. Try a small corrugated tube with a fake pot as base (you can hide most electronics needed within pot...)

 

A flower blooms at first light, have a photo cell at base of flower or surface of pot for signal. Flower consistes of a small washer-shaped base with six hinges welded equidistant around outer edge. The six petals have mating hinges to affix them to that same edge. Each petal has a memory wire attached to underside approx halfway up petal with wire going vertically down along stem to be connected at base. All memory wires are hooked up to photocell at base of "plant". When energized, wires constrict until petals are pulled into a 180 degree plane from base of flower (must add physical stop mechanism to keep petal from being pulled too far back.) Make it look something like that green little frill at a base of a bud. note that it needs to be sturdy, those wires are going to impart a bit more stress... Bloom closes at night due to a smaller washer "floating" in center of bud with 6 springs hooked up along washer and connected to each petal at the same point on each petal so that the springs continually pull petals together into a 90 degree formation. Only with the opposing pull of the memory wires will the petals open.

 

 

A flower moves with light travel. Have each petal's photocell connected to that petal's memory wire.

 

Petal angles must be coplaner, sun is always at a tilt off this axis, the petals that receive more light produce more energy to their wires than those petals with less light. More energy contracts wire moving flower head in direction of sunlight, hence giving more light to opposing petals. This will cause flower to "wobble" for awhile before reaching an equilibrium.

 

This is an algorhythm for an automatice/robotic flower... But you still have to think about plenty of things - All this can only be accomplished if you add a few pullies, racers, etc to give you mechanical advantages... But if I give you everything, I might as well make it myself... Or pay me and I'll make you something you can sell....

[falcon9393]

What do you mean by a robotic flower, exactly?

 

Just for fun, i got lots of time on my hands!

[iNow]

That doesn't really help to answer the question, though, babe. What the hell is a "robotic flower?"

[Mr Skeptic]

There's certainly lots of plastic flowers. I suppose if you really wanted you could make a plastic flower that opens and closes into a bud.

[falcon9393]

That doesn't really help to answer the question, though, babe. What the hell is a "robotic flower?"

 

go check it out for yourself its pretty sweet if i do say so myself!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_robot

[iNow]

go check it out for yourself its pretty sweet if i do say so myself!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_robot

 

Lol... I have such a dirty mind. Thanks for sharing.

[idryanov]

I built this a couple of years ago:

 

 

It's a robotic flower that can bite down on objects. There are detailed instructions on how to build it here: (including parts etc)

 

www.terk.ri.cmu.edu/recipes/flower-overview.php

 

The wikipedia post that was posted here talks briefly about it - I designed it while I was working at Carnegie Mellon.

 

Hope this helps to get you started or at least gives you ideas.

 

Cheers

[AzurePhoenix]

i dunknow, i think a crystalline-lookin' techno-orchid that blooms and sways to to music like one of those IPOD-Pets might be cool.... with a flamethrower

[Theophrastus]

Aaahhhh. Flamethrowers...