R7-k8

[astromech_kuhns]

i know i have been gone for a while but that is all do to the little droid in my garage!:-x;)

countless times ill look and say "hey now that i have money i should buy my saber" and then i go "wow! yeah i should by this part/materials/paint/tools for my droid!"

gets me every time.

but im here to show you all the reason why i have not been here and still dont have a lightsaber!(it really just has not been my highest priority!)

like i said when i first came here i am building a droid! and his name is R7-K8. im not going to use this thread to post all my updates but when i do get some decent amount of progress i will drop a pic or two by here of my parts and droid up to that point, so without further ado, i present,

R7-K8

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2629/3880007382_4d9ae6aa08.jpg

[Sairon]

Nice, is it going to be rc powered or static? If I every get onto my astromech I'll post pics.

[cannibal869]

Cool beans! I'm sure you already know this, but there are actual forums dedicated to star wars droid building (usually the R2 type, but I've seen a few other designs as well).
:cool:

[Jedi-Loreen]

He knows about the droid building forums.

And he also said in the Shoutbox, when I asked him the same question, that it's going to be RC, not static.

[astromech_kuhns]

yep full on R/C droid! i already have some of the little electronics but nothing big yet.....

and yes i am apart of the R2 builders club. i have been a member on here for a while now and have planned to build a saber just have not got to it yet due to this droid. just figured id show you guys the updates here! (besides where do you think i got such big PVC, the periscope, templates for the body and dome?;))

sairon, it is very worth it to build a droid and i am loving it! there is lots of help on the forums!

[Barmic Rin]

Good work so far, though i've always been a fan of the R3 series, R7's just look abit sinister if you ask me...

Do keep us updated on this dude!!!

[astromech_kuhns]

yeah i know what you mean, the they do look a little like they work for the empire. the droids colors will be black and yellow.

[strengthofrage]

That is really cool!!! It looks like that is a lot of fun, has to be pretty difficult as well I would think. Keep us posted as you progress :)

EDIT: It took about 4 seconds for me to say ..."man, I wanna build a droid too"

[cardcollector]

Very Cool!

After you finish the droid you should build a saber to match!;)

[Darth Quin]

Nice work can't wait for more updates.

[Tenric Starkindler]

would it be possible to combine RC with some type of auto-avoidance sensors like in those vac-bots? the combination might make it able to follow you down the block on its own power.

very cool looking start!

[Nightwing]

would it be possible to combine RC with some type of auto-avoidance sensors like in those vac-bots? the combination might make it able to follow you down the block on its own power.


Maybe someone could gut the vac-bot and put its innards inside an R2?

[astromech_kuhns]

yeah that is a possibility but you don't want a 200 pound robot to start going off in its own direction at a convention and decide he wants to be like artoo in episode two and go down the stares:eek:

although i never have seen the vac bot, i don't know it would be a good idea with only sensors to guide a droid, although i will be looking into putting sensors on the feet so that if i do get to close to something they will override my remote so that it wont go in that direction.

i would very much like to have it moving as much on its own as possible wich is why i am looking into this horrendously! although with my micro controller i will be making the periscope come out of the top of the droid on my command and then spin around on its own and might look into the dome spinning on its own too.

Thanks Guys!

[Sairon]

Okay so here's my two cents (about one us cent:p) for controlling the droid.( I have planned to build one for awhile so I got a couple ideas) Either you get somone to sit somwhere with a screen to see where to go and control the droid, or you make a custom controller with small switches to move, beep ect.

[DJMoonbass]

why not use the irobot vacum stuff to make it sorta automated? man i would love to see a r2 unit as real as possible and that follows you around.

[Barmic Rin]

I've heard that some folks have a 'locator' on their belt that the droid can follow. Throw in an avoidance sensor as well, and theoretically it would appear automated.
Of course, i'd personally have a controller for it as well, we all know how busy Con halls can get.

Once I have this fanfilm under my belt, I do plan on starting an astromech, either an R3, or an R2 in white & green.

[strengthofrage]

Could someone point me to this droid forum that was mentioned? Google comes up with 3 - 4 different websites, I'd like to see the one used by the OP. Thanks :)

[Barmic Rin]

http://astromech.net/forums/index.php

You have to register to view it.

[ArkaiHalon]

dude, very nice. I like the r7 series myself. The sinister look is just awesome.

looking very much forward to the updates.

[astromech_kuhns]

THANK you guys!

yeah cons do get very busy! but every one moves out of the way when tons of these things go down CIV hallway!

www.astromech.net

theres the official site! come on down and build one!

[Scars Unseen]

I own a Roomba(one of those vacuuming robots) and I'd have to say that it would take a lot of reprogramming to be of use in an astromech droid. If you just tossed one in as is, you'd end up with a R2 unit that moves in circles and bumps into objects like it was drunk. Pretty effective as a vacuum, not very impressive as a droid.

[Scum_and_Villainy]

a R2 unit that moves in circles and bumps into objects like it was drunk.

I'm sold!

[Matt Thorn]

Oh, man. As if I don't sink enough of my money into sabersmithing, here's another incredibly cool hobby I never knew about, tempting me with its Siren call. ;)