Bluetoothkiwi documents his LEGO Mindstorms Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT) – it’s a great example of the process of problem-solving.
Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT) is a special self powered autonamous floating robot that locates and destroys small clusters of bugs that float on the top of swimming pools. We used LEGO MINDSTORMS to build this. LEGO TECHNIC wheels are used as floats. The only non TECHNIC part that was used in this project is a can of inspect spray.
The robot uses the light sensor to detect the presence of insect cluster while the Ultrasonic sensor is used to avoid bumping into the side of the pool by telling the steering motor to turn. When the Light sensor detects a cluster of bugs it tells a motor to push the button on a can of Insect spray. Another motor is used to power the SPIT forward. The project was a success and we learned a lot from it – though there are still a lot of room for improvements.
6 thoughts on “LEGO Swimming Pool Insect Terminator (SPIT)”
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The tech is cool, but the end result is very impractical, evident in the video of it in action. I can’t see this thing going around in the pool and you trying to get a peaceful swim. For a proper way to deal with pool bugs see: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some_different_ways_to_get_swimming_pool_bugs_out_of_the_pool
makefan – why not just run it while you’re not in the pool?
in the pool? Where people are going to swim? Hmmmm. I think not.