With this robot, I want to fullfill four specific design goals:

1. Visually resemble Bedman / Bedman? in terms of weapon / colors.
   
   
2. Somehow resemble Bedman / Bedman? mechanically, through either ability or control.
   
   
3. Use an unconventional movement method for an extra weight bonus.
   
   
4. Use an unconventional control method for an extra weight bonus.

The first part is easy; Bedman typically uses spinning saw blades as a weapon, so just make a big spinner. Both versions of the character have been able to turn into a massive saw using Task B / Call 4B3, so that seems like the obvious choice.

As for the ability thing? No idea yet.

Currently I want to make it use bristles as movement tools, similar to a hex bug.

For control I am currently undecided, but I know I want it to be WEIRD. Something nobody has ever even tried before.

After speaking to others who have attempted to work with ring spinners, bristles are probably not a workable option for movement. Instead, I am swapping to a shuffler design. It should also just be easier to get working in general.

Today I wanted to satisfy the mechanical similarity as well as control. Obviously I can't add hovering or Deja Vu or timed explosives or anything. So instead, I am attempting to invoke the spirit of Bedman, specifically as he is in Strive's story. To do this, I am utilizing a few different fan theories:

• Romeo's Soul Controls Bedman? - Not true, but lays the foundation for other things.
  
  
• Romeo Literally Puppets The Bedframe - A fun idea I have seen a few times.
  
  
• The Afterlife Has Terrible Internet - The connection to the bedframe is laggy and annoying.

To accomplish this, I am going to use a controller that not only mimics the puppet concept, but also barely functions in the first place: the Reality Quest Glove controller for the Playstation 1. It fits everything I want perfectly.

After thinking it over, I decided to change the weapon to a shell spinner. It is much easier to make as a beginner, and will be easier to create in my very small time frame.

I have once again changed my mind. I think it is possible to make a successful ring.

I have also started modeling in fusion!

I have made more progress. The diameter of the entire ring has expanded, allowing the motors to fit properly.

A bit of progress has been made, most notable by adding a weapon gear and decreasing the number of weapons.

More importantly, I got a large amount of advice on the following aspects:

• Bearing placement / design (horizontal and vertical)
• Gear Generation
• General stability / weight distribution
• Common issues

So these are what I will focus on for the near future.

A lot of things have changed. I completely reworked the gears on both sizes, and started work on the ball bearing holders. I also made it so the gear connects to the motor.

I finally modeled to holders for the lower ball bearings. These will then be flipped up to the top at a later point.

The upper ball bearings are now in, as well as the horizontal ones. The next order of buisiness is the shuffler mechanism. Which I definitely am not trying to avoid modeling.

i have made shufflers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They seem like they would work quite well.

It's been a while.

I made a top plate for the robot. So all that is left is the bottom plate and motor clamps, and then it is basically done (besides all of the programming and stuff).

The entire robot is now feature complete!

...but is also 93g overweight. So besides fixing that, the only thing to do now is print it and program the controller.

With a few small redesigns, the extra weight has been brought down to only 21g.

I have also ordered the parts I will need to program the controller. I am primarily following this tutorial : https://learn.adafruit.com/playstation-spinner-controller/wire-the-playstation-controller

The controller now outputs to my computer's keyboard! The only barrier on the technology side will now be the transmitter / reciever.

The robot is now within the weight limit, with only 0.276g to spare.

I've done some last minute changes to the model, which is now fully complete.

All of the parts needed to build the robot are now on the way. Tomorrow I will start the 3D printing process. The real pain point now is the reciever, which is probably very annoying to set up.

All of the electronics have been ordered. I will be using an esp32 to make control work. I don't know how to program it yet, but I will try.

I have been working on and off on this receiver thing. The problem is that I have a hyper-specific use case, as I need the esp32 to recieve keyboard inputs over bluetooth from my laptop. But all the internet ever gives me is tutorials on how to make a custom bluetooth keyboard.

I started soldering, and it should be done tomorrow. The reciever is now utilizing WIFI instead of bluetooth, which I am currenly having greater success with. This entire project needs to be complete by 11/22 at around 8:00 AM... I'm not sure if I will make it.

This marks the final 12 hours before the competition. My plan is to work on the robot until it is either completely done or the competition starts... I may not be sleeping today.

{8:00 PM} : Finishing up the soldering.
{10:17 PM} : Soldering is done! Now for general assembly.
{10:59 PM} : Assembly done! Incredibly, the robot ended up being 100g less than it was assumed to be... so I am making an even heavier weapon!
{11:32 PM} : The new weapon is complete. Now moving on to the programming...
{12:01 AM} : Complete disaster. Upon plugging in the battery, two of the most important electronics started smoking, destroying them entirely.

So... the end. The deadline was tomorrow, there is no way to get electronics in time.

This was the part of this page that was supposed to be for the final version of the robot, and seeing how it stacked up in the competition. But obviously that won't be happening.

So, what did I learn from this project?

Well, I was reminded of how shitty it is working hardware, a lesson I keep forgetting for some reason.
I did learn a small amount about ESP32s, which I could see coming in handy. Maybe. Probably not.
I am marginally better at CAD now? Maybe?

...or maybe it was all just a waste of my time. It was a cool project. I still really love the concept. But I should have known it wasn't something I was capable of.

Is there a chance I revisit this? Maybe. I can see a future where that happens. Very unlikely though. And for the immediete future my motivation is completely dead.