Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
11 Antweight Combat Robot
Ryan Middendorf
Teodor Tchalakov
Michael Molter design_document1.pdf
final_paper2.pdf
grading_sheet1.pdf
photo1.jpeg
photo2.jpeg
photo3.jpeg
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
Antweight Combat Robot

Team Members:

Ryan Middendorf (ryanjm8),
Teodor Tchalakov (ttcha2)

Problem

The constraints for Professor Gruev’s competition are as follows:

Must weigh less than 2 lbs
Must be 3D printed in PET(G), ABS, or PLA(+)
Must have controlled movement
Must be controlled over bluetooth or wifi by a PC
Must have a fighting tool to use against other bots
The main challenges involved in this are making a custom control solution and designing a combat robot that will not only survive the 2 minute matches but actually win them by immobilizing the other robot.


Solution

To meet these constraints, we plan to create a custom PCB that contains 3 brushless electronic speed controllers (ESCs) to control the drive and weapon motors and uses a microcontroller to communicate with a PC over bluetooth and control the robot. For the actual robot design we plan to build a vertical spinner which usually performs best in this weight class. The "tool" will be spun by a brushless motor, and so will both sides drive wheels.

Subsystem 1 - Custom PCB and Power

Our first subsystem will be the custom PCB. It has to contain 3 brushless ESCs and interface with a bluetooth enabled microcontroller such as an ESP32 or STM32 that will receive instructions from a PC and turn them into usable PWM signals for the ESCs. It will also have to be powered by a LiPo battery through an XC30 connector and include an integrated screw switch so the robot can be turned on and off simply and safely.

Subsystem 2 - Drive train

Our second subsystem will be the drive train. Our robot will be driven by 2 brushless motors, 1 on each side. Each motor will drive 2 wheels that are connected by a belt so the robot will have a simplified 4 wheel drive in a tank drive configuration.

Subsystem 3 - Weapon/Tool Assembly

Our third subsystem will be the weapon/tool assembly. Our tool will be a robust vertical spinner, most likely a drum/eggbeater style. This type of tool has a lot of success in combat robotics due to its ability to dissipate the force of hitting an opponent into the floor very efficiently. This will be driven by a substantially larger brushless motor than the drive system so it can deliver much more powerful hits.

Subsystem 4 - Chassis

Our fourth subsystem will be the chassis. The chassis has to be very robust and able to withstand all the damage that will be dealt to it throughout a match. It also has to be able to contain all the electronics and prevent them from being damaged. The chassis will be 3D printed out of one of the approved materials listed above but most likely PLA+.

Subsystem 5 - Controlling from PC

Our fifth and final subsystem will be how our robot is controlled by a PC. This will be a program run locally on a PC that takes keyboard inputs and transforms them into instructions that are sent to the microcontroller inside the robot to control it.

Criterion for Success

We would consider our project a success if we are able to communicate with the robot from our computer and successfully drive it around the arena during a match. The commands sent from the pc need to be processed by the microcontroller and the motors need to be powered properly and behave correctly during a match. The robot will also have to be able to shut itself off if the bluetooth gets disconnected for some reason.

Monitor for Dough and Sourdough Starter

Jake Hayes, Abhitya Krishnaraj, Alec Thompson

Monitor for Dough and Sourdough Starter

Featured Project

Team Members:

- Jake Hayes (jhayes)

- Abhitya Krishnaraj (abhitya2)

- Alec Thompson (alect3)

# Problem

Making bread at home, especially sourdough, has become very popular because it is an affordable way to get fresh-baked bread that's free of preservatives and other ingredients that many people are not comfortable with. Sourdough also has other health benefits such as a lower glycemic index and greater bioavailability of nutrients.

However, the bulk fermentation process (letting the dough rise) can be tricky and requires a lot of attention, which leads to many people giving up on making sourdough. Ideally, the dough should be kept at around 80 degrees F, which is warmer than most people keep their homes, so many people try to find a warm place in their home such as in an oven with a light on; but it's hard to know if the dough is kept at a good temperature. Other steps need to be taken when the dough has risen enough, but rise time varies greatly, so you can't just set a timer; and if you wait too long the dough can start to shrink again. In the case of activating dehydrated sourdough starter, this rise and fall is normal and must happen several times; and its peak volume is what tells you when it's ready to use.

# Solution

Our solution is to design a device with a distance sensor (probably ultrasonic) and a temperature sensor that can be attached to the underside of most types of lids, probably with magnets. The sensors would be controlled with a microcontroller; and a display (probably LCD) would show the minimum, current, and maximum heights of the dough along with the temperature. This way the user can see at a glance how much the dough has risen, whether it has already peaked and started to shrink, and whether the temperature is acceptable or not. There is no need to remove it from its warm place and uncover it, introducing cold air; and there is no need to puncture it to measure its height or use some other awkward method.

The device would require a PCB, microcontroller, sensors, display, and maybe some type of wireless communication. Other features could be added, such as an audible alarm or a graph of dough height and/or temperature over time.

# Solution Components

## Height and Temperature Sensors

Sensors would be placed on the part of the device that attaches to the underside of a lid. A temperature sensor would measure the ambient temperature near the dough to ensure the dough is kept at an acceptable temperature. A proximity sensor or sensors would first measure the height of the container, then begin measuring the height of the dough periodically. If we can achieve acceptable accuracy with one distance sensor, that would be ideal; otherwise we could use 2-4 sensors.

Possible temperature sensor: [Texas Instruments LM61BIZ/LFT3](https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/texas-instruments/LM61BIZ%252FLFT3/12324753)

Proximity sensors could be ultrasonic, infrared LED, or VCSEL.\

Ultrasonic: [Adafruit ULTRASONIC SENSOR SONAR DISTANCE 3942](https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/adafruit-industries-llc/3942/9658069)\

IR LED: [Vishay VCNL3020-GS18](https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Vishay-Semiconductors/VCNL3020-GS18?qs=5csRq1wdUj612SFHAvx1XQ%3D%3D)\

VCSEL: [Vishay VCNL36826S](https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Vishay-Semiconductors/VCNL36826S?qs=d0WKAl%252BL4KbhexPI0ncp8A%3D%3D)

## MCU

An MCU reads data from the sensors and displays it in an easily understandable format on the LCD display. It also reads input from the user interface and adjusts the operation and/or output accordingly. For example, when the user presses the button to reset the minimum dough height, the MCU sends a signal to the proximity sensor to measure the distance, then the MCU reads the data, calculates the height, and makes the display show it as the minimum height.

Possible MCU: [STM32F303K8T6TR](https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/STMicroelectronics/STM32F303K8T6TR?qs=sPbYRqrBIVk%252Bs3Q4t9a02w%3D%3D)

## Digital Display

- A [4x16 Character LCD](https://newhavendisplay.com/4x16-character-lcd-stn-blue-display-with-white-side-backlight/) would attach to the top of the lid and display the lowest height, current height, maximum height, and temperature.

## User Interface

The UI would attach to the top of the lid and consist of a number of simple switches and push buttons to control the device. For example, a switch to turn the device on and off, a button to measure the height of the container, a button to reset the minimum dough height, etc.

Possible switch: [E-Switch RA1113112R](https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/e-switch/RA1113112R/3778055)\

Possible button: [CUI Devices TS02-66-50-BK-160-LCR-D](https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/cui-devices/TS02-66-50-BK-160-LCR-D/15634352)

## Power

- Rechargeable Lithium Ion battery capable of staying on for a few rounds of dough ([2000 mAh](https://www.microcenter.com/product/503621/Lithium_Ion_Battery_-_37v_2000mAh) or more) along with a USB charging port and the necessary circuitry to charge the battery. The two halves of the device (top and underside of lid) would probably be wired together to share power and send and receive data.

## (stretch goal) Wireless Notification System

- Push notifications to a user’s phone whenever the dough has peaked. This would likely be an add-on achieved with a Raspberry Pi Zero, Gotify, and Tailscale.

# Criterion For Success

- Charge the battery and operate on battery power for at least 10 hours, but ideally a few days for wider use cases and convenience.

- Accurately read (within a centimeter) and store distance values, convert distance to dough height, and display the minimum, maximum, and current height values on a display.

- Accurately read and report the temperature to the display.

- (stretch goal) Inform the user when the dough has peaked (visual, audio, or app based).

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