George Tillinghast, Rebecca Stein, Mike Suriani Tom Dinetta, Jon Richardson

BattleBots- The Legacy BattleBots IQ competition April 2007 Integrate engineering knowledge and creativity Contact: Nola Garcia –BattleBots IQ Program Director

Design Problem: To create a battling robot that is both highly maneuverable and formidable in combat. Bot can withstand damage and immobilize opponent

Design Requirements: Must meet all safety requirements Must weigh between 60lbs and 120lbs Must be mobile and remotely controlled Must protect itself Must be capable of inflicting damage

Design Wants: Invertible Tank drive Low center of gravity Multiple weapons Electric motors

Possible Solutions:

Solution Research: Weapon WedgeHammer Saw Spinner Rammer

Solution Research: Drive Element Tank drive -Maximum mobility, ultimate simplicity -Utilizes two separate motors for turning Walking -Consume large amounts of power -Easy to Damage

Solution Research: Electronics Motors -Voltage, power, weight, price Speed Controllers -Range of speeds, tolerance, durability -Popular brands: IFI Robotics, Vantec, 4DQ Radio Controllers -One link for each: motor, weapon, on-off switch

Preliminary Design + = Inverted Wedge Flipping Robot: -Armor -Flipping Arm -Drive Train -Electronics

Design: Armor Materials –Titanium Alloy (Exterior) Withstand largest load, smallest weight Difficult to machine –Aluminum (Interior) Protected by Titanium Lightweight, easy to machine Design –Invertible Parallelogram –Ultimate Defense

Design: Lifting Arm Purpose –Dynamic offensive weapon –Lift and toss an enemy Design –Moves in arc motion –Flush with body Advantages –High offensive damage –“Unlimited” firing cycles

Lifting Arm – Power Linear Actuators –Background Small power screw Limited only by battery –Requirements High load capacity Reasonable speed –Cost Around $100

Lifting Arm - Considerations Engineering analysis –Dynamic analysis Define motion of arm Identify necessary dimensions –Stress analysis Identify points of high stress Choose appropriate material

Design: Drive Train Tank drive –Maximum mobility –Achieve 4 wheel drive Bi-axial support –Wheel protection –Additional support Invertible

Drive Train - Components Motors –Range in power 3hp to 9hp 2000rpm to 5000rpm –Requires speed reduction Chain and sprocket –High efficiency –Low cost –Easy to configure Minimal precision required

Design: Electronics Wireless communication between Operator and Bot Converts user commands into motor operations Senses Bot hardware failure Controls the Bot’s Primary weaponry

Electronics: System Overview

Electronics: Central Control Unit Microchip PIC18F8520 Code written in C or assembly language Dual control unit: –Basic Hardware Functionality –Specialized Hardware Functionality

Electronics: Communications and Speed Control RS-422 Modems –900 MHz frequency channel –5 standard channels and 35 “competition” channels Victor 884 Speed Controller –Controls Bot motor functions –Can output 3%-100% of the input power

Design Schedule and Cost Analysis

Design Schedule

Cost Analysis Shell/Body $1, Lifting Arm $ Drive Train $1, Electronics $ Total $4,140.00

Conclusion Design approach will yield a competitive robot -Impenetrable titanium shell -Deadly lifting arm -Invertible wedge defense -Maneuverability and accuracy