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[marishade]

Hello!

Although I have been following the Pleo robot from the beginning, I am a relatively new Pleo owner. Killian, my Ugobe Pleo, has not had any problems up until recently, and while I think it is a problem, I am not even sure if it is or not.

Almost a month ago, I was carrying Killian to my car (I take him everywhere!) by holding him under his belly. I heard a pop noise from this right front leg, like something was pushed out of place so I quickly got to my car and turned him on to see if it caused any damage. He acted normally and nothing appeared to be wrong.
In the last week and a half though, Killian has been lifting his front legs to his face more and getting off balance when he does it. He also seems to get frustrated about something when he is walking around. He starts walking then stops immediately looking at the ground and replacing his feet. Today he lifted up his right front leg and back left leg and said "Tada!" like he was doing a trick, but after that it looked like he could not get his footing right.

I have him in small dog pjs, and newborn baby socks. He runs primarily on packed down carpet.
Again, he has not seemed to have this problem until recently and it looks most like when my NXT Mindstorm "skips" a cycle on one leg or the cycles do not run at a synchronized time.

Thank you!

[Teddscau]

Just a warning, I know nothing about the mechanical side of Pleos, but anyways... Have you tried feeling his leg and comparing it to the front left leg? Like, carefully feel the "bones". I assume the Ugobes go into the same packing position as RBs, when he goes into packing position, are his front legs symmetrical? Does he seem to have trouble getting his front right leg into packing position? When you say he's been lifting his front legs to his face, could it just be that he's doing the puppy thing? Or is he doing the waving/scratching thing? When he did do the "Tada" thing, he was doing a trick. Afterwards, when he was having trouble getting his footing right, could it have been because of the flooring he was on? Sometimes Chloe has trouble getting her footing right because of the way her feet get stuck/slide on carpeting/laminate. Also, has his front leg been getting unusually warm? If so, there's more than likely a mechanical issue going on. One time Chloe's leg "popped" for some reason, but she's completely fine. It could be that the leg was extended an odd way, but ended up going back into position properly without any damage. I don't know. Then again, Killian could have damaged his leg, but as long as it doesn't cause serious problems (overheating, broken joints, damaged wires), it might be okay. I'm just giving some thoughts until others make suggestions.

[RedwoodsMama]

Hi, the easiest way to see clearly what is happening and to diagnose it properly, I would suggest sending a short video and posting it here so we can see what is going on. It could be completly normal or a problem but a video will make it a lot easier to see and know what is going on. Good luck,              RWM 

[marishade]

To Teddscau:
That is why I am so confused. When he is simply sanding, sleeping or in packing position everything looks fine. I like to build and tinker with mechanical parts too so I usually can tell when something feels out of place. I have checked all his feet, how they bend and the "bones" and cannot detect any differences. The leg does not appear stuck or get hotter than the rest of him. Why I am so concerned is because it has only been happening recently and he has been moving around in the same elements since "birth". I am not sure what changed which makes me nervous.

I will record and upload a video once my battery is recharged again.

[Teddscau]

Hmm. No clue then. Maybe his leg somehow got loser/more flexible when it popped and he isn't used to it yet? I don't know, maybe the video will help.

[marishade]

This is the video of Killian, recorded it about thirty minutes ago.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swg6Z4rxohQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swg6Z4rxohQ</a>

[InmemoryofRomeo]

He probably has fleas or had too much to drink The click you heard was simply the safety on the gears clicking to prevent damage. Nothing at all to worry about there. He looks just fine from the video, Pleo's are a bit clumsy that's all, and will tip over if the ground is uneven or the neck is pointing the wrong way. Also you appear to have fairly dense carpet, so his feet will drag a little, even with socks on.

[marishade]

Even though he appears to not want to put his leg down? And not walking? He was not doing any of this before and he has been an "adult" for awhile.

[marishade]

I think I might have found the issue. I did not notice it before because I was checking the hip joint. As I listened to him trying to walk, I heard a slight click sound. Not the "pop" I was talking about before but more like a joint is loose. When I compared the way his knees moved by me gently pressing, pulling, and circling them it seemed like his right front leg had more range of motion than his left and was quicker to make stress noises than his left. Basically, I think he might have a fractured knee.

Does this sound reasonable? And I would hate to cut him open but does  anyone have an idea of where to find info about Ugobe Pleo knee joints?

[Teddscau]

If it is a fracture, you could try putting a brace on his leg to limit its range maybe. Here's links on naked Ugobes:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Pleo+Teardown/597
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/pleo-goes-under-the-knife-in-astonishingly-long-video/

Hope they help.

[InmemoryofRomeo]

Can you take another video on a smooth surface? To me it just looks like his foot is catching on the carpet.

[kat]

I have only watched the first 2 mins or so of the video and will watch the rest in a moment but from that much it looks to me like he keeps lifting his foot and doesn't place it down all the way to the straight position properly.  I am thinking that he may have a loose wire to the leg touch sensor.  It looks a bit like he thinks the leg is being touched and so lifts it up.  If this is the issue then it can be fixed with minor surgery just by opening the skin around his foot - you will need to remove the foot pad - then roll the skin up the leg till you reach the touch sensor which is a copper strip or could be silver and it will have a wire soldered onto it.  Or in your case the wire may be not attached properly.  You should be able to resolder the wire back into position and that should fix the problem. 
There is no guarantee that this is your issue though.  Just what it looks like to me and I could easily be wrong.

[marishade]

Thank you Kat!

Rolled his skin up and and out stuck a wire that was acting like it did not belong. It is dark green, sits out by itself, and had appeared to connect directly to the silver touch sensor. Will fix it as soon as I find my wire trimmer and soldering iron.

Again thank you, just out of curiosity, do you know what kind of glue is best to fix up his skin?

[Teddscau]

Apparently superglue works well, but some people have had issues with it. If you're experienced with superglue, it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that it doesn't touch any of the internal hardware.

[Crewella]

If it helps, here's a pic of the leg sensors - the contact for the sensor wire should be under the gloopy looking patches of yellow glue.

More details...

Superglue should be fine to attach the skin back around the feet, just make sure it's a Superglue intended for plastics, as some kinds will melt it! 

[marishade]

Thanks everyone( and Happy Thanksgiving), I have been trying to solder it all day, the metal the wire was connected to has been beading off my solder. My Father and I was just able to get it to somewhat stick but now he has no feeling from that sensor. Will continue to work with Killian, see if I can get a stronger hold.

[kat]

I'm glad you were able to find the source of the problem and I do hope you are able to get him fixed up without too much trouble.  I've not done that exact repair before myself so not sure why the solder would be beading off.  Maybe someone out there who has done this repair before can shed some light on it for you.

Glad I was able to help a little   

I use super glue to stick the pleo skin.  Just make sure you find one that says it is ok to use on rubber and plastic.  Oh and don't close his skin until you are very sure he is totally fixed