Mar/Apr-Noob-Colto
 

Hey guys! I havent been around for a while due to my computer crashing and life getting busy. I am however back and ready for action! Sounds like a cool challenge this go round. I am gonna have to think about an idea for a robot. I definately want to animate it so I better keep that in mind. Hmm, maybe a robotic pet like Dog from Half-Life 2? Or a robot built to explore foreign worlds such as AMEE from Red Planet? But is this original enough? This is definately gonna take some thinking time! Get back to you guys soon!

FireRobot?
 

Ok so I have been brainstorming for a little while and thought about what real-life tasks could really use some really cool robot to make performing them easier. Well I saw a preview for the movie Ladder 49 on TV a second ago and thought hey, how about a better form of firefighting? So I am thinking of a monster transformer style robot that has a cannon that blast water with hoses and stuff all over his body for putting out fires.

Hmm, all this thinking of fire has reminded me of a book we read in school last year called Fahrenheit 451. In this book there is a mechanical hound that is capable of finding a criminal guilty, tracking/hunting him down, and lethally injecting him on the spot. It was the authors vision of the future form of capitol punishment. So now I am torn between the ideas of the firefighting robot, and the mechanical hound. Anyone out there think one sounds better than the other? I am gonna sleep on it and see if I can think up anything else.

lol. I like the ideas Colto! I think that the Firefighting robot is pretty cool:cool: U've gotta make it look nice and chunky, kinda like the fire trucks! :)... just my two cents toward ur idea :)

O yes I was thinking of making him very rectangular like the trucks actually are. I was thinking that his breastplate would look just like the front of the firetruck with the human firefighters behind the windsheild. I am definately leaning toward the firefighting one atm.

of the 2 ideas, the fire-fighting one is more original. :)

Ya i think so too

Hey if I where to inter the comp would I be able to make a mech?????

actually, I'd prefer not. I think I'll add that to the rules. :) I'm looking for functionality with this comp.

Does a motorilzed teethbrush classify as something robotic to be a robot? Or does this robot have to beable to do the job by itself with out any human contact? I'm confused with this, I way I'm to believe a robot is, is anything that moves to make a job easier for a human to do. So would a coffee machine be considered a robot?

Help.LOL

Try to ask questions in the guidelines thread rather than an entry thread. :)

Originality and the concept's functionality is a big judging point of this comp, so if you want to make an electric toothbrush, by all means, go ahead. Probably shouldn't expect to win though. ;)

Concept in words
 

OK so I am going to go with the fire-fighting idea. I do not have an actual concept sketch yet so I am going to try and explain my idea. The basic job of the robot is to perform the dangerous parts of fire-fighting and to do the task more effeciently than humans would have. The robot will be able to safely navigate itself to the scene of the fire, connect to local water sources(fire hydrants, lakes, etc.), suppress the fire, and save anyone inside.My robot will be very large( about the width of the street and slightly longer than a normal firetruck). It will appear very much like a normal truck while driving with the exception of the hoses and large tanks mounted on the back of it (while keeping this concept as original as possible I am also trying to achieve some sense of practicallity as you would never see a 3 story humanoid style robot trying to fight a fire ;) lol). The bot will have 6 large tires enabling it to navigate both roads and difficult terrain. Upon reaching the scene of the fire the truck will transform to its fire-fighting mode. The truck will first stop, then all 6 wheels will turn 90 degrees so that they lie flat on the street/ground and give the robot enough traction to counter the force that will later be created from the water cannon. Then the large water cannon will raise out of the back/top of the truck. As this is happening, a small scout connected to a hose will disconnect from either side of the truck. These scouts will then navigate themselves to the nearest water source(most likely a fire hydrant) and connect, giving the robot more water. Then the large turbine mounted between the cannon and the two large pressurized tanks on the truck will start. This turbine will be what propels the water out of the cannon. The cannon will activate and water will fly from it and onto the burning building. When the cannon begins firing the front of the truck will actually seperate from the main truck body. This will form the rescue pod and will contain the human firefighters inside. This rescue pod will be equipped with its own small tank for clearing a pathway through the fire for it to navigate. It will also have two large robotic arms that are controlled by the firefighters from inside the pod. The arms will be able to safely clear a pathway. The firefighters will be able to use this pod to clear debris, rescue anyone inside, and put out nearby fire with much more safety.
I know that this is a very long and confusing explanation but it will make much more sense when I show concepts(which I plan to do soon!). I am really trying to let my imagination loose on this one so there are sure to be plenty of crazy gadgets on this thing. As long as I can keep it original and do my best I know I will be happy. Please give any C & C you can if you can decipher my description. Concepts coming soon!

?????? **scratches his head for a while**

i like the concept. kinda hard to read but i think i seem to get it.
but to me it seems to be controled by human beings more than
robotic instincts IF you KNOW what I MEAN. I don't know????????????...........maybe I am just thinking too hard??????
could be................................................ ...........................................
MAybe you can give him arms and some simple eyes if you haven't already,...... just to give others the thought that it is a Robot instead of a Machine that is worked by man...
it seems pretty cool ..................I LIKE IT:tup:
i think you should just give yourself the thought that it is a Robot that fights a fire and transports FIRE FIGHTERS..........that would make it alot easier for the fire fighters instead of them having to control the BOT itself.....OR maybe i just wrote all of this for nothing because I misunderstood your consept:( ........LOL;)

i would like to see some sketches too

AND WHATS HAPPENING OVER HERE IT SEEMS LIKE NO ONE IS COMPETING here in Simply Lightwave......
COME ON PEOPLES!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the reply. I see what you are saying, and I agree! I have decided that it wont use human firefighters at all. The rescue pod and main body could be completely controlled by itself eliminating the risk of firemen being killed in the line of duty. As for the eyes and arms it will appear very much as if he has both. The scout robots that disconnect from either side of the robot will seem very much like arms with the hoses and the scouts themselves will seem like hands as the will attach to firehydrants almost as if grabbing them. It wont have eyes exactly but the wheels that fold down will look like legs. I can see how one can find it hard to "see" what I am trying to explain. Hope for concept sketches tomorrow!

And yes where is every1?

naw that's cool... i pretty much get your concept. But yeah some sketches would help.

NOT really a bad thing but it almost sounds like TRANSFORMERS...........I like the way your imagination works.

OH and another thing...I do not use the lighwave software.
I am a hichhiker that has come from the simply maya site
So i guess we are sort of competing since there will be two winning competents, one from both the newbie and the NORMAL class from all 3 simply sites.
I have two years experience with maya but i am hoping that i can start teaching myself some lightwave also.

Anyway i am also competing as a newbie so i guess it is me you and some more than 3-4 other dudes on the simplymaya site competing as noobs.

SO i wish you the best of luck. OR maybe you don't need luck?
I am making a military robot for this comp so hopefully I have a chance to win.

Good luck to you too! Yes I know my idea sounds somewhat like transformers but it will not be. It will really just be the back end raising up at an angle(kinda like those trucks that they launch those V2 rockets off of. Except instead of a rocket I have a water cannon and tanks.) and the wheels folding out. Then the rescue pod will just kinda seperate from the front. Mike what all will we be judged on? Just the modelling or lighting, textures, renders etc. also?

Here is what I meant by the back end raising up. It just wont raise up quite that far. Also my vehicle will be much wider with much larger wheels, a turbine, etc. But it is basically the same look if you can image that front cab seperating from the main body and having its own set of arms and legs. Plus the whole thing will be red!:p

http://www.army-technology.com/proje...ages/ws1b7.jpg

alright alright ...................

three words ..............................



GET!!! TO!!! WORK!!!

LOL.:D ;)

Started modelling this morning. First update in several hours.:D

Got my robot a name! I am calling it the S.T.R.A.F.E. (Simplylightwave's Tactical Rescue and Fire Extenguishing) Unit. Will have it painted on the side of the bot.

i like the name, kinda gives it a HULK sorta personality somehow!:tup:

ooo, i'm really tempted to join rite now but i think it might end up half incomplete again!:mad:

anyhoo, waiting for ur update dude!

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around lately. Schoolwork got really heavy for a little while and I have been re-designing my bot. After about an hour of modelling I noticed that my "robot" was looking too similar to a truck so I am making some design changes. The bot will no longer have wheels but rather 4 large industrial strength robotic legs that allow it to "run". These legs attach to a larger swivel that will act kinda like hips. The rest of the robot will remain relitively unchanged. I have also however thought of making a small searchbot that is fired out of two small side-mounted cannons on the bot. These are fired into the burning building where they search for victims and relay their positions to the main rescue pod. I will try and do some sketches tonight and finally get some concepts posted!

Hey guys! Long time no see. I got grounded this last week (yes I am still young enought to get grounded :( ) so I haven't been able to work on my bot. Got ungrounded today so I started modelling today. My scanner broke so I couldn't upload my sketches. They weren't very good anyway, I suck at drawing. Anyway, here is what I have so far. It is the beggining of the leg of my bot. It is basically two strong supported leg sections with a piece of flexible metal(acts as a knee) between them and hydraulic pistons to extend and contract(bend the "knee" ). I still need to model the foot, where the leg connects to the base, and all the wires, details, etc. C&C welcome as always.

and the other

WOW!!!:eek: okay, I really gotta pick up the slack to compete with this one!!! lol ;) Looks amazing man!:tup:

UPDATE
 

Update time! Ok I have almost finished the legs modelling wise. The rest of it will be added when I have finished the rest of the body. This is one monster 250,000 polygon beast! I already have 20 seperate materials on it lol. Here are some shots of it.

Here is a close-up of the hydraulics that run between the legs of the bot. These expand and contract to move the legs forward and backward.

last update for the legs. Time to start a body!

Looks very good on the modeling part! I have a question though about the movement of the legs. I can see the springs that would act as shocks for the legs to move up and down, but i can't see any joints that would allow the legs to move forward. Any insight on that?

The render is too dark to see it, but there is a pivot that the legs run into that allows it to move forward and backward.

Don't you think you are better placed in the normal category???

I don't really think so, this is my first time to take on a project like this and it is really tough. I am just trying to add as much detail as possible and it is taking a long time. But I am happy that you think that I am good enough because I have put alot of work into this thing! The legs will be the most detailed thing in the bot so it might be a little bit downhill from here, but I certainly hope not. Animating is gonna be uber-tough. If the mods insist that I move up I will, but I really am a noob. lol. I'm not trying to stay noob just to have a better shot at the grand prize. I really feel that I should be in the noob category.

Also does anyone have any crits on what I have so far?

wow colto that is pretty good. i also think you should try out for the norm catagory. it doesn't seems like the work of a newbie. but anyway that's your choice.
other than that it looks really good. keep up the good work

wait a minute... 250,000 poly's???? OMG! THAT'S INSANE DUDE!!!:eek: :eek: :eek: x 1000!!!

Looks smackin' good tho!:tup:

LOL yeah, but over half of that came from the springs lol. I gave them WAY to many segments when I did the lathe. I will redo them later to cut down on the polys. Also there are tons of cylinders and each one has 24 sides so thats 26 polys per cylinder, not counting if I cut it or extended it.

I guess I will wait till mid-April before I decide if I am going to get bumped up to Norm or not. I hope I don't. I am not nearly as good as some of the others. But it is all up to what category Mike wants me in.

I've been having alot of trouble getting my body to look right. I have re-started it 3 timeas already lol. I will post an update soon as I get a good body going on.

Took a quick break from the body to model the scout. Here is a rough model of it. It is the thing that shoots out of the side of my robot and attaches to fire-hydrants to get water for the robot.

...and with the hose and fire hydrant.