I am currently in mechanical engineering school, and i am taking a class that requires us to build a device that plays robotic soccer. I know absolutely nothing about robotics and programming. I hate this class so much, and I’m just trying to get by. The device that my team is building is going to revolve around the base of an RC car. We are essentially going to tear an RC car apart and modify it so that it can capture balls and score them during the competition; however in order to get a decent grade we have to incorporate some sort of robotic action. I have attached my CAD drawing to illustrate the concept we are going for. The CAD drawing isn’t exactly accurate, but it gives you the idea. We want to hollow out one side of this wedge so that it will house a robotic arm that can open and close to gather and release balls. From what i have read we will need a micro controller and an actuator i believe? As i said i am completely new to this. the arm should only be able to rotate 90 degrees. Please advise me on everything that i will need to make this work.
You’re on the right tracks. If the action needs to be programmed, you’d need a microcontroller, actuator (likely an RC servo motor) and (to get a decent grade) a sensor.
Since you’re new to robotics, consider using a normal Arduino microcontroller and the built-in servo library. robotshop.com/blog/en/arduin … tware-3640 robotshop.com/en/microcontrollers.html
Ex: robotshop.com/en/lynxmotion- … oller.html
This means no soldering is needed. You power it via VL (changing the jumper from USB to EXT. Be sure to use a 7 to 12V battery pack).
Note that we don’t have a “plug and play” solution where we can simply list parts which will do exactly what you need - it will take some design, assembly and programming.
We were going to activate the arm by wireless remote control. would this eliminate the need for a sensor? which brings me to another question. to add the remote control will there need to be some sort of adaptor or reciever?
It’s really up to you and your teacher to determine what would be considered “robotic”.
RC control requires almost no electronics - it’s standard / old hobby tech. It depends on what your existing vehicle included.
Can you provide a few photos of what you already have and some idea of scale / size?
Can you write what is required in terms of “robotic elements”?
At the moment i have nothing… there is no specifications of robotics either. We were just told that our grade will suffer if we create a device that doesn’t have some sort of robotic actuation, so i thought that creating an arm that opens and closed to keep the ball contained would suffice.
to give some information on the scale, everything that we use in the competition must be able to fit in a box that is 50cm^3 so the device cannot exceed these dimensions.
my plan was to create this wedge with the robotic arm first. then, i would select and RC car that it could be mounted to. i assumed we would probably have to take the body apart on the RC car in order to house the microchip, external batteries, and counter weights for the wedge. I hope this paints a better picture.
i apologize for my ignorance… they just kind of threw this on us without teaching us the first thing pertaining to robots.
That’s quite unfortunate given that there are so many different parts to robotics - mechanical, electronics, programming… It sounds like your teacher may not have realized there was a robotic element required in the curriculum and threw it in last minute.
It sounds like a simple sensor -> microcontroller -> actuator setup would qualify and would certainly be “robotic”. It would also not take a lot of programming. Suggest separating the two systems completely.
now, i understand what the microcontroller and the actuator do, but what part does the sensor play? is this the piece that will receive the command from the remote control to open and close the arm? Also, is there any compatibility issues when selecting a microcontroller/sensor/actuator combo?
No - the sensor (and whatever sensor you choose) is entirely optional. Normally something which has external input (sensor), to a microcontroller, which then “does something” and has an output is indisputably robotic. You might have a distance sensor detect how many balls you have amassed, or even a button which does something. Having the Microcontroller connected to the RC receiver is not necessary and adds complexity. Again, it’s really up to you what “robotic” elements to include, but sensor, MCU and actuator make for a good system.
is there a direct extension that i could reach you by? This is getting cumbersome, and i feel like this could be explained within 5 minutes. I know you probably can’t broadcast this on the forum, but if you can provide a way of contacting you i would greatly appreciate it. if this is possible my email is [email protected]
Unfortunately telephone support is not available. You are really at the “brainstorming” stage of the project, and without clear objectives or requirements, it’s not easy to specify components or a singe solution.
Ask your teacher if the microcontroller + actuator idea would be sufficiently “robotic”. If so, you’re set. If not, ask if adding a sensor would be enough.
Separate the “robotic” part from the RC part entirely.
Everything needed to make this arm rotate 90 degrees:
-servo actuator
-microcontroller
-sensor
i still feel that we are not on the same page with this sensor. i do not need the robot to detect anything. i can only capture one ball at a time. i will simply drive the car to a ball and engulf it with the wedge and then manually close the arm to contain the ball. the microcontroller, actuator, etc. will be entirely external from anything related to the RC car. the RC car is merely a platform to move our device.
i understand the micro controller and actuator, but just by inspection it doesn’t seem a sensor is necessary since i will be manually closing the arm while a team mate drives the RC car during the competition. is this correct?
Next, as i said i want this arm to close by remote control.
What components are necessary to complete wireless remote control actuation?
Not needed - was only a suggestion to make it more “robotic”.
Assuming you opt for an RC servo to open/close the arm, you only need an RC remote control. The microcontroller does nothing. robotshop.com/en/wireless-rc … llers.html
Ex: robotshop.com/en/radiolink-t … eiver.html
Do you have a link to the RC vehicle itself? Are there any spare channels? If so, you don’t need a separate remote control.
Something remote controlled (i.e. operated by a human) rarely needs a microcontroller. We’re back to “is this robotic enough”?
