The Final Project
Specifications
In this Game of Thrones-themed competition, every team of four is tasked with designing and building a WARRIOR, Well-Aiming Really Really Intelligent, but Obedient Robot, that is capable of several tasks. First, from an initial position designated the "Throne Room" the WARRIOR must navigate the arena to the "Royal Armoury." There it must push a munitions receiver to request wildfire (Nerf foam balls). Then it must leave the armoury and begin firing and knocking over opponent towers placed at various locations around the arena or at a moving target, the Dragon. Every tower knocked over is 1 point while firing a shot through the Dragon's mouth is worth 2 points; the team with the most points after two minutes and ten seconds is the winner.
WARRIOR Requirements
-
Each team is responsible for design, construction, and demonstration of their WARRIOR
-
Each WARRIOR is an autonomous, stand-alone entity capable of meeting all specifications and operating untethered
-
Power supplied by provided 7.2V NiMH batteries, use of Li-ion, LiPo and Lithium primary batteries forbidden
-
Each WARRIOR must have a circuit breaker/switch as a main power shutdown
-
WARRIOR must fit within a 12"x12"x12" cube
-
All control software should be executed from the flash memory of one or more Teensy microcontroller
-
WARRIOR must not be based on commercial or preexisting platform
-
Each team must adhere to a $200 spending limit for materials and parts used in WARRIOR's construction
The Arena
Check-Off & Strategy
To check-off (meet the minimum requirement of functionality) each WARRIOR must "Beat the Brick." This means that the robot must be able to at least: start in the Throne Room then navigate to the Royal Armoury, load at least one wildfire, and attain a net destruction of 1 opponent tower within two minutes and ten seconds.
​
In order to meet check-off, we designed our robot to not follow the lines on the arena but rather use the walls to navigate to the armoury. This required the combination of two sets of omniwheels, one set for forwards/backwards motion and another for left/right motion, to move at 90 degree angles. Sensing the wall and changing direction was done through the combination of limit switches and bumpers. Once our robot received ammunition it would immediately move into a firing position at the corner directly across our opponent's Throne Room. Finally, via a rotating turret, our WARRIOR fired at angles at each of our opponent's towers. This turret allowed us to aim and fire much quicker than having to turn the entire robot to face a tower or move into positions directly across from towers. At its best, our WARRIOR was capable of knocking down three towers within the 2:10 time limit.
Footage of our WARRIOR, lovingly named "Dim Sum" because its turret was inspired by a thrust bearing (AKA a "lazy Susan"), completing check-off on its first try! It was able to knock down at least 1 tower multiple times with pinpoint accuracy.
