Fun Projects for your LEGO^® MINDSTORMS^® NXT!

Home     Projects     Help     Contacts

Use the Dog_Sled program for your Dog Sled Team.  This is a simple program that just runs all three motors at full power.

• Try the sled by itself without the dogs attached.  It's a magic sled!

• Try some different dog designs.  For example, point the orange ears upwards for a Doberman.

• Even on smooth carpet, I was not able to get the dogs to drag the NXT on skis without adding the hidden motor.  Although the two dog motors can generate plenty of power, traction is the problem.  There is not enough weight over the front legs of the dogs for them to grip the ground.  Using the same technique to measure the weight balance as that shown here for the Puppy and other projects, I found that only about 10% of the total weight of the sled + dogs is over the front legs of the dogs.  Can you find a solution to the traction problem somehow?  Here are some possible ideas:

  • Is there a better paw design that will get more mechanical grip?  I had little hooks at one point that dug into the carpet, but they also got snagged on the carpet loops.  How do real dogs get enough grip?

  • Get all four legs on the dog to move.

  • Power the back legs instead of the front legs (with the heavier part of the motor over the driven legs).

  • Design a more effective walking/crawling technique, such as maybe using both the left and right legs at the same time rather than alternating left and right (Bunny Sled Team?)

  • Make a rigid connection between the sled and the dogs that transfers some of the weight of the sled to the dogs.

  • Three dogs?

Home     Projects     Help     Contacts

Copyright © 2007-2011 by Dave Parker.  All rights reserved. 
All project designs, images, and programs are protected by copyright.  Please see the usage policy.