Christening of Multiple Application General Autonomous robot, Rita, with snowplow attachment. Consider this for entertainment purposes only, not a reflection of MAGA-Rita’s actual potential. My wife even suggested that we go to the front sidewalk, but as soon as the camera was turned off and my videographer wife left, Rita got to real work removing several inches of wet snow on top of hard pack (ice) from my driveway. Then she performed the same task on the front sidewalk, all the way from the edge of my neighbor’s driveway, to the opposite end of my own portion of sidewalk; 50 to 60 feet, down to pavement–of course, none of that was caught on camera! So, she has the weight, the thrust and the blade angle to tackle even packed snow.
Her performance in the clip is reflective of the learning curve of my own dexterity. I still have a lead thumb which will with practice become more delicate, more precise in maneuvering the joystick. Since that thumb is paralyzed, the learning curve will be steep, but not insurmountable. It’s February, with Arctic Clippers, Siberian Expresses, marginal Lake Effects from Michigan and Erie, the longest month of the year, despite calendar limitations. There’s plenty of snow yet to come, plenty of practice ahead. The next video will give a more complete picture of her actual performance.
To Evatech, Rita’s makers:
Modifications.
Flasher. The ‘party hat’ is a broken Cree LED forehead lamp in strobe mode and covered with a plastic pill bottle
Counterweight. I clamped and zip-tied a 10lb dumbbell to her tail boom as a counterweight to the plow. The weight is wrapped in old socks to protect the powder coat. The clamps hold the weight to the boom, the zip-ties keep the weight parallel to her chassis.
Hitch pins. As an experiment, I replaced the nuts and bolts on the angle adjustment with cotterless hitch pins to speed the process of changing blade angle. Next time, I’ll try it with nuts and bolts and wrenches to compare results. I might start carrying wrenches in my pocket when I clear snow.