WEEK 3

This week was particularly straight forward. Thankfully, the snow and below freezing temperatures did not affect the meeting times. The CyberTooth practice robot is close to completion. As soon as the practice bot is finished, we will begin assembly of the competition robot.

CAD

Final systems integration and design of the HAB3 mechanism were completed, as well as the upper roller intake for the Cargo game piece. The final detail design of the majority of the structure of the robot, including the main tower structure, arm and HAB3 extensions was completed. The CAD files on the previously mentioned components are now “frozen” in order for us to complete the CAM software for CNC machining of these parts. Next, the flat plates were routed for our practice robot, and this Saturday the team will begin machining the aluminum tubes on the Haas VF4 for the practice bot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cargo Mechanism

The Cargo Mechanism group wrapped up prototyping this week. They began by making a simple claw design out of polycarbonate and 4” compliant wheels. After testing, the ideal distance between the wheels to accommodate maximum and minimum Cargo sizes was determined. Afterward, different wheel stacking heights and configurations were tested with. It was found that increasing the stacking distance between the wheels significantly improved the claw’s ability to obtain the maximum Cargo size, but it was ineffective when tested with the minimum cargo size. Consequently, the group decided that some flexibility with wheel stacking heights on the robot was a quality that the team wanted. So, if Cargo is on the larger side at a competition, our team will be able to easily adjust the claw by manipulating the stacking distance between the compliant wheels.

 

Hatch Panel Mechanism

The team has created a particularly unique design for the Hatch Panel mechanism. In fact, it is so unique that the team has decided to keep it a secret. There has been lots of testing and prototyping in regards to floor pick-up and centering of the Hatch Panel.

Electrical

The electrical layout for the practice robot was completed throughout the week even after some hiccups with a few Anderson connectors. Software is now using the finished drive train to do some testing.

 

 

 

 

 

Software

The software group tested angle view with some new cameras with both the standard and the wide angle lenses by setting up the camera in front of a white board and marking the points on the edge of what the camera could see. Then, some trigonometry was used to calculate the angle. According to the calculations, not much of a difference was found between the two lenses as the default lens had decent range to begin with and the wide angle lens showed about 60 degrees less than advertised. However, it is possible this could be a result of the camera testing website being used, potentially cropping the feed down, so more testing still needs done.

Imagery

The narrowed down theme that our team will be achieving is futuristic space. We are experimenting with ways to make sure the costume is functional along with visible sponsors. The team also decided to have a themed logo for our shirts and merchandise. We are proud to announce, CyberTooth in Space. This exclusive CyberTooth logo may appear on our merch and T-shirts, so stay tuned!

Plans for the upcoming week include finishing the assembly of the practice bot and seeing all of our mechanisms in action!