More Mounting Ideas, Mount Motors, Nerf Gun Disassembly, Control Box Roof Disassembly - Mike/Patrick

Friday 3/28

Matt volunteered at the First Robotics competition so he was not in class.

Mike and I, Patrick, came up with even more ideas to securely mount the motors since everything we have tried has failed for one reason or another.  I came up with the idea of using the longer angle pieces.  They would be mounted to the side rails leaving enough space for the motors to be mounted to the bottom of the angled pieces.  This didn't work because the cogs couldn't fit between the two angled pieces.  Our current idea is to cut the sides of the shelf off, mount it to the side rails using brackets, and then mount the motors to brackets on the underside of the shelf.  We waited to cut the sides off just because we wanted feedback from Dr. B and Matt.

Mike then disassembled the nerf gun even further since it has to be as small as possible to fit on the gimbal.

I, Patrick, disassembled parts we weren't going to use like the control box roof and also returned the box of parts I had to make components.

Control Box Roof Disassembly

Mike Disassembling the Nerf Gun

Secure Bottom, More Mounting Ideas, Mount Motors - Matt/Mike/Patrick

Tuesday 3/24

Matt drilled holes in the shelf to secure it to the side rails.  He did this so the bottom wasn't held in place by just friction from the side rails.  He first decided on where to drill them so it would strong.  He put one at each end on each side rail; he then drilled another hole a few inches from the end hole on each side/rail.  Patrick helped Matt hold the side rails and shelf while he marked the places he needed to drill and while he drilled.

Mike showed up late.  After Matt had to leave to go to lab, Mike and I, Patrick, came up with more ideas to mount the motors.  These included mounting the motors directly to the inside part of the side rails and/or mounting them to the bottom.  Mounting them to the side rails (inside part) created an issue: the shafts on the cogs and motors were too short to reach beyond the side rails and shelf.  This issue also was present of we mounted the motors to brackets on the shelf.  To fix this, we made the mounting brackets flush with the outer edge of the side rails. The shafts were long enough to reach beyond the side rails.  Doing this though, created a new issue that no one foresaw.  Once the mounting bracket holes were drilled, we realized we couldn't put the nuts on the screws as there was no room.  We tried the GearsEd and Vex screws/nuts and neither worked.  Another issue we found, was the screws/nuts to secure the shelf were close to the screws for the motor mounts.

Shelf Secured to Side Rails

Shelf Bottom Flush W/ Side Rails

Motor Mount Brackets

Motor Mount Screw/Nut Issues

Gimbal Modifications, Make New Chassis, Tread Lengthening, Old Chassis/Nerf Gun Disassembly - Matt/Mike/Patrick

Friday 3/14

Matt mounted the gimbal to Shela and tested it.  He noticed it had too much give and swayed as well.  To account for this he completely redesigned and remade the gimbal.  He geared it down to reduce/eliminate the sway.  Matt then attached the new gimbal and retested Shela.  He also took off the parts for locomotion (to be remounted later).

I, Patrick, decided to make the new chassis bottom the same length as the new side rails, 31 3/8" so they would be flush.  The shelf is 11" wide and the side rails are 1/4".  Th new chassis is 31 3/8" long  x 11 1/2" wide.  I started to cut the shelf that we will use as our new chassis bottom.  Once the shelf was cut and filed down (to reduce risk of cuts), I drilled holes in the shelf so it would be held in place by more than just friction.  I also drilled holes for potential motor mounts positions.  With feedback from Dr. B, I realized the current mounts would not be strong  or rigid enough.  To account for this, Dr. B and I tried to think of ways to reinforce, modify, or create the current mounts or new ones.  One possibility was to cut some robot arms and make holes for the motors.

Mike finished cutting the shelf to the proper length.  He then helped Matt and Patrick take the motors, cogs, mounts, and treads off so they could be mounted on the new chassis.  Since the new chassis is longer than the current one, Mike lengthened the tank treads so we could keep our current layout of them (angled front cogs).  Outside of class, he disassembled the new nerf gun (auto Tommy 20) to get an idea of how it works and research possible modifications.

Gimbal Modification

Mounted Gimbal

New Basic Chassis (Its Rigid Compared to Old Chassis)

Compass Integration, Chassis Reinforcement - Matt/Patrick

Thursday 3/13

Matt modified the program so the robot now uses a compass to retrieve its heading.  The compass we are using is the LSM303D 3D compass and accelerometer carrier with a voltage regulator.  We used this compass because Arduino has a built in library for it, making it easy to to program and use.

I, Patrick, reinforced the front set of cogs (left and right) by using plates instead of a strip.  I also made platforms to connect the motors and mounts.  I did this to reinforce them and to reduce/eliminate how much they bowed.  I connected the front motors together; I did the same to the rear.

Previous Front Cog Reinforcement 

Current Front Cog Reinforcement

Motor Reinforcement Platform

Reinforced Motors and Mounts

GPS/Compass/ Motor Code Sample

Simple Chassis (For Testing), GPS/RC Testing/Refining, Motors/Mounts Strengthening Ideas, Switch Connectors - Matt/Patrick

Tuesday 3/11

Matt started to make a simple eight wheel chassis so he could test the GPS, gimbal, and other components at his apartment.

Mike was not here that day.

Patrick researched potential reinforcements for the motors and mounts of the current chassis. I also connectors for the switch.

Patrick and Matt continued to test and refine the GPS and RC code so it would be accurate and responsive.

Switch Connectors (Short/Long)

Shela Mounting a Curb

Shela Mounting/Dismounting

Shela Climbing Steps

Blogger Issues - Patrick

3/10

For some reason Blogger adds a watermark of the play button to all videos.  Chrome can't upload background images due to an internal error.

Goolge Maps Integration Other GPS Options to Add - Matt

Sunday 3/9

Matt modified the LabVIEW GUI to show the current location of the robot and its destination in real time on Google maps.  This took about twenty minutes.  Matt also decided on more options to include.  These are using an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 controller to control the robot when in RC mode and letting the user add multiple destinations and make them waypoints.

LabVIEW GUI - Google Maps (Robot/Destination)

Chassis Modification, GPS/Movement Testing, New Chassis Design, Nerf Gun DisassemblyMotor - Matt/Mike/Patrick

Friday 3/7

We all helped modify the chassis in one way or another.  Matt and Mike moved the front motors as close the front edge of the chassis as possible.  This was necessary because the first the time the robot tried to mount the curb, the front of the robot was getting caught on the robot.  We also had to have pictures taken for the school 's robotic website so we did simple things like have the robot move, wire the motors, and remount the motors.

Matt tested the GPS and robot with help from Patrick and Mike.  After modifying the chassis a bit, the robot climbed curbs with ease.  The locomotion testing involved Matt using RC (the keyboard) to control the robot.  An issue we were having was the batteries weren't lasting very long.  To account for this, we used various batteries and Patrick bought a brand new battery.  For the GPS testing, the robot "brains" (Arduino boards. Xbee, and GPS) were left off the robot so someone could easily walk around campus acting as the robot.  The GPS testing involved Matt sending the brains a destination and Patrick moving around to see what the robot's heading and location was in relation to the destination.

Mike disassembled the nerf gun to make the the nerf gun as small as possible since all we need from the gun are the dart holder and firing mechanism with motors. An issue we were having in earlier class periods was the treads were either too tight or too loose.  To account for this, Mike was going to add another set of cogs on each side so that they would tight but have some slack in them.  After testing the robot's movement outside, we realized the extra cogs weren't necessary and having more slack actually helped the robot mount curbs easier.

I, Patrick, moved the cogs at the top of the robot down one hole to give the robot treads some slack.  Eventually these were moved forward as previously mentioned.  I then helped Matt and Mike modify the chassis even more and test the robot.  I finalized the new chassis design with help from Dr. B.  It will use a metal shelf roughly 11" wide by roughly 2-3ft long.  It is a little narrower than our current chassis but we will have a stronger and more stable chassis as the tradeoff.  Since the bottom is a shelf, it will have a solid bottom that can be used to mount parts.  This new chassis will use siderails and metal rods similar to Project Palmer's chassis.

Motor Mount Modification

Temporary Sabertooth Mount For Testing

Shela vs. Mike (Size)

Brains Platform (Using 7.2V NiMH)

Disassembled Nerf Gun

Shela Locomotion Testing

More Testing

Shela 1.0

Shela 1.5

Unfortunately due to dead batteries, I did not get a video of the robot mounting the curb.

GUI, Weight Reduction - Matt/Patrick

Thursday 3/6

Matt decided to make a graphical user interface using labview. It has all the same options as the one that uses putty: RC, sentrybot, autobot.  He also added options for pretermined GPS locations including his apartment, Helsel, Eberly.

I, Patrick, reduced the weight of the robot by taking off anything that was unnecessary.  I left the parts I took off intact so that way they could be used again if I wanted to do so.  These pieces include the hinged roof over the control box, center part of chassis floor, motor mount reinforcements (didn't reinforce as much as I thought they would)

LabVIEW Front Panel - GPS GUI

GPS Program Mods, Antenna Mount, New Chassis Idea, Motor Testing- Matt/Mike/Patrick

Tuesday 3/4

Matt refined the GPS program even more.  It is now accurate with in a few degrees.  Since he is done with the basic program, he and Dr. B decided to add a few more options.  Matt added an option for remote control (RC) and sentry only.  The user can now pick 3 options: autobot, RC, and sentry.  The autobot mode allows the user to enter a destination GPS coordinate.  The robot would then try to move to that location, looking for targets along the way and then react accordingly.  The RC mode allows the user to control the robot and "fire" the laser/nerf gun.  The sentry mode as the name implies makes the robot a guard... meaning it stays one spot and "shoots" any threats it detects.  This could be used in a building.

Mike mounted the GPS antenna so the range would be greater.  This antenna mount was not permanent just for testing.  A more stable and sturdier mount will be assembled on a new stronger chassis.  Mike also researched some new potential chassis builds to make "Shela," our robot stronger, (lighter?) and sturdier than our current chassis.  He found some inspiration on Google search for tank chassis. He then researched how to mount and modify the nerf gun.

I, Patrick, refined the basic motor program so the robot would turn only slightly in either direction.  I found the values for motor speed control were not what they should be...
       0 for full speed in one direction, 180 for full speed in opposite direction, and 90 for stop.  It turns out 30 was full speed in one direction, 160 for the other, and 90 for stop.
       Using this information, I made a small test program that had the robot turn roughly 10 degrees in each direction.  This is so the robot can avoid obstacles a bit easier when movie to a new location.  As class continued on, I realized that a new stronger chassis was a must.  I came up with a basic idea to use similar side rails to that of Project Palmer.  Dr.B then went over how to wire a master switch as a refresher.

Antenna Mount Test

Project Palmer's Basic Chassis - New Chassis Idea For Us

Motor Tests, - Matt/Patrick

Monday 3/3

Matt and Patrick tested the motors.  We found that the batteries were delivering inconsistent results.  It turns out the batteries are just old and not as good as they used to be.  We decided to only make a new chassis and use bigger motors if necessary.  TO account for the battery issue, I bought a 12V 12Ah lead acid battery.

12V 12Ah Lead Acid Battery

Make PCB Interface - Matt

Saturday 3/1

Matt made a PCB interface with a 5V rail.  He then attached it to the board and GPS housing.

Boards, GPS, Xbee Housing (W/ PCB)

Motor Integration, Tread Mount, Board Module - Matt/Mike/Patrick

Friday 2/28

Matt integrated the motors to the GPS.  Matt then helped Mike modify the chassis to make it stronger so the treads and cogs would not wobble.  At first, the motor program would not work (using the BaneBots) but then it started to work (using the Sabertooth).  He found that the treads were too tight and the motors could barely move.  We all discussed how to handle this issue.  We decided that a different chassis and motors might improve the motion.

Mike modified the chassis to hold the the treads and cogs and mounted them.  He then started to make an attachment for the GPS antenna.  This consisted of the antenna being wrapped around a structure. This structure then would be mounted to the chassis.

I, Patrick, replaced the wheels that were attached to the motors with the shafts for the treads and cogs.  I bought a platform that could house the Uno and a breadboard.  I modified this to hold the GPS and the Mega by drilling holes in the board.

Mounted Treads (W/ Cogs)

Motor Test

Board & GPS Housing

MASSIVE-ANT Tank (Gimbal Missing)

GPS Code Modification - Matt

Thursday 2/27

Matt changed the GPS format from ddmm.mmmm to dd.dddd.  The first method used degrees and minutes while the second one used degrees and decimal degrees.  This new format is the same as the latitude and longitude format.

Locomotion - Matt

Wednesday 2/26

Matt worked on an algorithm to interface the motors to the GPS.  He did not have to actual motors or motor controllers so he had to wait until Friday to actually test them.

GPS Options, - Matt/Mike/Patrick

Tuesday 2/25

Matt added to his GPS code so that there was an option for a pre-determined GPS location.  He also refined the user interface to make it more user friendly.

Mike researched more potential nerf guns. He selected the Tommy 20 nerf gun (due to its smaller size and motorized firing mechanism) and bought it on Saturday.  He then researched how to modify the nerf gun so it could be interfaced with our robot and Arduino.  Potential modifications include the trigger, mount, and ammo holds.   Finally he made a rough sketch of how to the tread shafts needed to be modified.  He gave this to Dr. B so you could make the modifications.

I, Patrick, made a stationary platform to securely hold the camera and laser gimbal.  This platform had to be rigid so that the camera and laser would not shake.  I also wired the BaneBots motor controllers for motor testing.  Unfortunately, the Uno board I had was not working properly so I couldn't test the motors

Front of Robot (Gimbal Housing Visible)

Side of Robot (W/ Gimbal Housing)

Inside of Gimbal Housing

Control Box (W/Various Components)

Michael Mertz

I have place the order for an electric nerf gun and expect it to be at my house between thursday march 6th and tuesday march 11th. I am researching a way to mount the nerf gun as well as modifying it so the uno will fire the nerf dart from the motor directly.