Zoopercar Caper

Jacob's a big fan of George Shrinks. Come to think of it, so am I. And I'm sure that Dylan will be a fan too. We've got all 40 episodes available on tap through our media centre/server. I suppose that should be the subject of another post.

George Shrinks (a lad of diminuitive stature) gets around using a delightful vehicle that he and his Dad made - the Zoopercar. There is no commercially available Zoopercar toy, so fittingly, Jacob and I set out to build on. We've become a little bogged down in the details, and other things are pressing, but here is the outline of what we're doing.

It all started with some interesting wheel motors that were in the surplus section of Princess Auto. They're great except that they are direct drive. So the Zoopercar will be super fast - if it can ever get started. We've got to lick that one problem before we move onto the control system.

Basically the Zoopercar platform is a lightweight model aircraft plywood base with the two wheel motors arranged for driving, and a castoring tailwheel at the back. Batteries and control electronics will be placed in the centre, and a fairing will be built to cover the whole thing.

Right now the control strategy will be Basic Stamp II controller connected to two Motor Mind B units to perform PWM control of the motors. A Linx radio unit will pickup the transmisions from a multi button keyfob remote that will be used to drive it. Ultimately, some sensors and intelligence should be built into the controller to allow semi-autonomous motion. We've got a Voice Direct 364 setup that we can integrate onto it as well, for all that voice activated goodness.

Unfortunately, I figure no matter how well it ultimately works, or how good it looks, Jacob will likely be dissapointed that it doesn't fly like a plane, hover like a helicopter, change into a dune buggy, snowmobile, submarine, or any of a number of other things that are so simple to do in animation, yet so diffiult in real life.