Luminescent Squid Beam Bot
Erik Pomarede
IAT 320 Body Interface
Bio Design
Final squid beam bot. The two tendrils are modeled after the two longest tentacles of the squid. White paper, and reflective metal maximize light from the LED.
Concept:
The firefly squid is so called because it has bioluminescent photophores throughout its body. These appear as dots of light on their surface. The firefly squid uses these lights to catch small fish by flashing them, camouflage light from above them, and attract mates by completely illuminating their bodies. They live in the deep ocean, and only surface to warmer waters during nightime.
As for the movement of the squid, it swims through the water using their fins and jets of water. The fins allow them to move precisely in any direction, whereas the jet of water allow it to move mantle first.
[Firefly Squid] Retrieved from https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/04/27/science/27tb-fireflysquid1/27tb-fireflysquid1-superJumbo.jpg
The beam bot was inspired from this context. It moves mantle first (back first), and has a blinking LED that stands in for the photophores. However it should be noted that it operates on land. This is due to the technical complication of waterproofing it.
Sketches:
Early sketches focused on concept development.
Bot Behavior:
In regards to the bot's behavior it has two main components. Once the bot is started it will continuously, move in quick bursts. As well as continuously emit a blue flash. This inspired, as explained in the concept, by the squids bioluminescence and their movement pattern. It was a conscious choice to power the bot using two, three volt, cell batteries, as it was important that they operate in the dark, like a firefly squid. Furthermore, the pager motors are placed on the body of the bot roughly where the fins on a squid are.
Bot without covering.
Materials:
The materials utilized in the beam bot are:
Three Volt Cell Batteries x2
Cell Battery Switch x1
16v 1200uf Capacitor x1
Transistor 2N3904 x1
Transitor 2N3906 x1
Blinking LED, Blue x1
2.2k Resistor x1
Electrical Solder Material
Electrical Tape
Paperclips (for frame and 2 front tentacles)
Circuit Design:
The circuit is based on the FLED solar engine found beam-online.com
Circuit Construction:
Notes:
The two long tendrils of the bot are modeled after a squid's two longest tentacles. The other tentacles are just additional weight, so they aren't modeled.
The voltage of the bot just covers the usage of 1 blinking LED, and 2 motors. No more LEDs can be added without adversely affecting the mobility or brightness of the LEDs. That's the fundamental trade off. As such, reflective material attempts to maximize light from the one LED.
Citations:
Beam Bot material retrieved from http://www.beam-online.com
Original FLED Solar Engine circuit retrieved Jan 11 from http://www.beam-online.com/Robots/Circuits/circuits.html
[Photograph of Firefly Squid] Retrieved January 15 from
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/04/27/science/27tb-fireflysquid1/27tb-fireflysquid1-superJumbo.jpg
