This guy is a bit bigger

my second order of motors arrived today. here's a comparison of the new robot size to the old one.. he's 1/2 billy scale.

here's a closeup of the ankle assembly so far..

it uses a construction method that i used for the breast pump motor assembly (yeah, i need to post that). i enhanced it a bit this time by compositing it with 1/8in steel keystock to increase the stiffness. this makes it easy to work with (plastic vs metal) and lightweight. i'm also using commidity skateboard bearings mainly because i have them on hand and it is easy to find more, but also because bearings can be incredibly expensive.

i also received my order of electronics (and the scope from my dad) so i can finally get to work on the motor controller. the plan is to drive it with my sweet msp430 microcontroller with an opto-isolator in between so i don't have to worry about it frying the it or my puter.