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RAS<strong>PI</strong>MOWER DALEK<br />
Projects<br />
RAS<strong>PI</strong>MOWER DALEK<br />
>STEP-01<br />
Raspimower base<br />
The base of the Raspimower Dalek<br />
is a frame to house a 12V battery and<br />
motors connected to the wheels<br />
via a V-belt system. It’s designed to<br />
work as a robotic lawnmower and is<br />
controlled by a Raspberry Pi.<br />
>STEP-02<br />
Dalek frame<br />
Turning the Raspimower base<br />
into a Dalek required a chipboard<br />
frame. This was constructed from<br />
¾-inch chipboard and ¼-inch<br />
sheeting left over from a shedbuilding<br />
project.<br />
“This was all left over from building<br />
a shed,” reveals Ron. One arm is a<br />
toilet plunger and the other is an<br />
aluminium pipe wrapped with wire,<br />
and the whole thing is painted over<br />
with glossy black paint.<br />
yard,” jokes Ron. Speaking of<br />
extermination, no Dalek would<br />
be complete without its famous<br />
voice command. “It has some<br />
old computer speakers inside<br />
that are very loud; they actually<br />
The old computer speakers<br />
inside are so loud, they actually<br />
vibrate the sides of the Dalek<br />
>STEP-03<br />
The Dalek<br />
A used bin, plunger, and aluminium pipe create the<br />
rest of the Dalek, and the whole thing is painted in<br />
glossy black paint.<br />
After the Dalek has done its<br />
Halloween duty, the base returns<br />
to being a robot lawnmower<br />
The Dalek was originally<br />
controlled with a wireless<br />
keyboard, but Ron has built a<br />
web interface to control the<br />
Raspimower Dalek. Ron has also<br />
bought an old Zappy mobility<br />
scooter for $60CND (around £40)<br />
and plans to use it to replace the<br />
12V motors. He explains that<br />
it's much more powerful and<br />
mechanically sound.<br />
“[The Dalek] is nowhere<br />
near completed and constantly<br />
changing, as I have lots of plans<br />
and want to make it autonomous<br />
so it will actually ‘exterminate’<br />
any long blades of grass in my<br />
vibrate the sides of the Dalek.<br />
It has about 15 sound clips from<br />
Doctor Who, but ‘exterminate’ is my<br />
favourite one!<br />
“It was a huge hit this<br />
Halloween, and as the kids would<br />
approach, I would turn on all<br />
the lights and rotate the robot<br />
towards them while belting out<br />
‘exterminate!’ or ‘destroy!’.<br />
Watching the kids react was so<br />
much fun; my favourite reaction<br />
came from a little girl who turned<br />
to her dad and matter-of-factly<br />
said, ‘Well, I guess we know<br />
which house we will never ever<br />
go to again!’ ”<br />
raspberrypi.org/magpi January 2016 39
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