 Consultant ◦ Mike Zona (Xerox)  Sponsor ◦ Dr. Lamkin-Kennard Chris Anderson, Jon Gibson, Kurt Stratton, Josh Koelle

 Project Requirements  High Level Customer Needs  Engineering Specifications  Concept Summary  System Architecture  Design Summary  Results From Testing  Evaluation of Objectives: Success/Fail  Suggestions for Future Work

 Design and build a fully self-contained biomimetic robotic ant, capable of at least forward locomotion.  Tether could be used for controls and power, but air supply was required to be on-board.  Device must utilize McKibben air muscle technology.  Device must resemble and walk similar to an ant.  Device must be user-friendly and easy to maintain.  Design must be well documented to ensure future projects can build off of our knowledge and concepts.

Functional Module Name Engineering Specifcation Number Engineering Specifcation Description Measure of Performance Preferred Direction Marginal Value Ideal Value Movement a.1Ant Speedft/sUp0.662 a.2Turning RadiusftDown-2 a.3Deviation from Straightin/ftDown20 a.4Operation RangeftUp2050 a.5Muscle Operating PressurepsiTarget-60 a.6Muscle LiftinglbUp2830 a.7Muscle LengthinTarget64.5 Controls b.1Air CapacitygalUp-10 b.2Air Tank RuntimeStepsUp75200 b.3Recharge TimeminsDown 180 b.4 Minimal Number of Control Inputs#Down-3 b.5Air PressurepsiTarget-60 b.6Unit Power SupplyVTarget-24 b.7Number of Air Lines#Target-18 b.8Length of TetherftDpwn-0 Body c.1Weight of UnitlbDown20 c.2Unit LifecyclesUp c.3Number of Body Sections#Target33 c.4LengthinTarget42- c.5WidthinTarget18- c.6HeightinTarget9- Documentation d.1Usage Instructionyes/noTargetyes- d.2 Manufacturing/Mechanical drawings and instructions yes/noTargetyes-

 On-board Air and Power supplies.  Rechargeable Air and Power supplies.  Capable of forward, backward, and turning motions.  Arduino control board.  Touch-sensor controlled.  Self stabilizing springs.  Employs 16 total McKibben Air Muscles.  Two-degrees of freedom legs.  “Sandwich” structure design to house components.

Battery Power Runs Arduino & Solenoids Air Tank releases Air into Solenoids and Muscles Compressed Air is Converted to Motion McKibben Air Muscles and Cables Moves Each Leg Mechanism Leg Mechanisms (6) Move in Specific Pattern Programmed Arduino Board Sends a Digital Output Output Causes A Specific Change in the Solenoid Valves Ant Moves Power & Air System Control System Mechanical System

Muscle Bank 1 “Forward” Rotation Muscle Bank 2 “Backward” Rotation Muscle Bank 3 Leg Lifting Controls Section Air Tank Battery Solenoids and Manifolds

Fspring Fmuscle (lift) Fmuscle (rotate) Bronze Bushing 3/8” Shaft Shoulder Bolt

 Used research done by previous Senior Design teams and Grad Assistant Sylvan Hemmingway.  Chose muscle specifications to closely examine: ◦ Lengths of 4” and 6.5” ◦ OD 3/8”, 1/4” ID. ◦ Tested at 60 psi. arms-biorobotics.html

*Tests were done at 60 psi

Ant Locomotion  Tripod Layout  Ant Cadence html Real-time control of walking By Marc D. Donner

 All actions controlled by the Arduino Mega 2560 micro- controller. This features 54 channels of digital I/O.  The team uses 18 of these to control 18 relay circuits that fire the solenoid valves. Each relay circuit is composed of a diode, transistor, resistor and relay.  Each of these circuits is powered by a 9volt battery via the Arduino micro-controller. The purpose of each circuit is to provide power to the air solenoids from the 24V battery.  The ant also features touch sensor “antennae.” When pressed these sensors will initiate a reverse and turn code sequence.

TestNameRequriemntActual ValueResultComment Test 1Ant Speed2 ft/s Test 2Turning Radius2 ft0 ftPass Stationary turning has no radius Test 3 Deviation from Straight 2 in/ft1 in/ftPass Test 4Operation Range50 ft Test 5 Muscle Operating Pressure 60 psi85 psiPass Muscles Exceed Minimum Requirment Test 6Muscle Lifting30 lbs PassTested up to 30 lbs Test 8Air Tank Runtime100 Steps Not calculated, Team feels that it is close Test 9Recharge Time180 min240 minFail Battery has long recharge time Test 11 System Operating Pressure 60 psi69 psiFail Had to be raised due to regulator Test 12 Unit Power Run Time 7000 Steps Pass Have not had to recharge battery yet

 Present the project at the Imagine RIT Festival.  Fabricate covers for the ant for protection.  Redesign the legs to remove extension.  Improve wiring to achieve better walking motion  Explore options to increase friction on feet while walking (rubber caps)

Thank you for your time and support.