IEEE SoutheastCon Hardware Challenge Cameron McSweeney, Kendall Knapp Brian Roskuszka, Daniel Hofstetter Advisors: Dr. Jing Wang, Dr. Yufeng Lu, Dr. In Soo Ahn
Overview Introduction Review of Literature and Prior Work Subsystem Level Functional Requirements and Specifications Engineering Efforts Completed to Date Parts List Deliverables for ECE 499; Division of Labor; Schedule for Completion Discussion and Future Directions References
Introduction
Introduction Build a fully autonomous competition robot Tasks to be completed: Must fit inside a 12 x12 x12 cube at start of competition No weight requirement Must complete 4 tasks within 4 minutes Electronic component detection Magnetic field sensing Accurate knob turning Dart firing toward target Competition winner based upon points system
Review of Literature and Prior Work
Literature Review Hardware competition is an annual event in SoutheastCon. Students are required to build a small autonomous robot for completing various tasks such as navigation, detection, etc. SoutheastCon 2017 Hardware Competition Rules Robot Requirements Arena Specifications Arena dimensions and construction Task details Scoring system Competition Procedures
Competition Rules - Robot Requirements Starting dimensions must be less than 12 in3 Can later exceed this limit Can have multiple robotic units Must be tethered together Cannot wirelessly communicate between units Cannot exceed arena walls by more than 3 inches Must have clearly labeled start button Must have easily accessible off switch Must not cause harm to spectators or arena May only be accessed by teams to move to arena during match
Competition Rules - Arena Specifications Arena construction materials and details Task placement and construction Parts required Directions and placement Task 1: Discovering the Unknown - Component Identification Task 2: Lightsaber Duel - Magnetic Field Sensing Task 3: Bring Down the Shields - Accurate Knob Turning Task 4: Fire the Proton Torpedo - Dart Firing toward Target Scoring - Max 40 points 10 points - Any movement from robot 30 points - Robot moves outside starting boundary area
Competition Rules - Task 1 Specifics Task 1: Discovering the Unknown Six copper pads; 5 arranged in pentagon around 6th center pad Middle pad is common Five external pads randomly connected to Wire, Resistor, Capacitor, Inductor, Diode Locations of each component must be stored for Task 3 Correct decoding can be shown via LCD Scoring - Max 135 points 10 points - Touch any part of Task 1 15 points - Correctly decode 1 component location 35 points - Correctly decode 2 component locations 60 points - Correctly decode 3 component locations 90 points - Correctly decode 4 component locations 125 points - Correctly decode 5 component locations
Competition Rules - Task 2 Specifics Task 2: Lightsaber Duel Must hit the arena Lightsaber while magnetic field is on Electromagnet - 1A current, 40 turns 20 AWG wire Field is on 5 times in 2 second intervals over 30 seconds Penalty for hitting lightsaber when field is off Scoring - Max 290 points, no negative scores 10 points - Touch any part of Task 2 30 points - Register first hit on lightsaber 60 points - 1 additional, legal hit detected 110 points - 2 additional, legal hits detected 170 points - 3 additional, legal hits detected 250 points - 4 additional, legal hits detected -50 points - Penalty for any illegal hit
Competition Rules - Task 3 Specifics Task 3: Bring Down the Shields Turn knob multiples of 360 Alternate directions (e.g. Clockwise, then Counterclockwise) Number of rotations determined by Component ID task Allowed 15 error each direction Scoring - Max 325 points 10 points - Touch any part of Task 3 45 points - Correctly dial 1 digit 95 points - Correctly dial 2 digits 155 points - Correctly dial 3 digits 230 points - Correctly dial 4 digits 325 points - Correctly dial all 5 digits
Competition Rules - Task 4 Specifics Task 4: Fire the Proton Torpedo Attempt to get a maximum 3 darts into target area Can be done long range or close range Close range requires ascending increasingly steep steps Round is over when last dart is discharged Scoring - Max 210 points 10 points - 1 Nerf dart is discharged 50 points - 1 Nerf dart enters portal 120 points - 2 Nerf darts enter portal 200 points - 3 Nerf darts enter portal
Competition Rules - Competition Procedures At least 2 preliminary matches Robots are sequestered during each round, except when called to compete Cannot be charging 2 minutes allowed to transport robot to arena Returned to sequestration area until round is complete 30 minutes guaranteed between rounds to modify robot in any way Final Round Top 4 teams from preliminaries compete Preliminary scores do not matter
Subsystem Level Functional Requirements
Subsystems Master Subsystem Vision Navigation Component ID Lightsaber Duel Knob Turning Dart Firing
System Level Block Diagram
Master Subsystem Coordinates all other subsystems Relays information between subsystems
Vision Subsystem Calculations done inside subsystem Position data sent to master subsystem
Navigation Subsystem
Component Identification - Task 1 Subsystem
Lightsaber Duel - Task 2 Subsystem
Lock Turning - Task 3 Subsystem
Dart Firing - Task 4 Subsystem Calibrated before competition No aiming necessary Competition ends after darts are fired
Engineering Efforts Completed to Date
Chassis Construction Two 2 ⅝ Drive wheels 12V DC Motors 10 square chassis Rotating top platform 1 Steel ball caster wheels Platform base height: 4 ¾ Clearance height: 3 Platform rotation motor still under consideration
Task 1 - Component Identification Components identified by transient response Increasing/decreasing Voltage level
Task 1 - Component Identification Transient Responses recorded Transient Response: Capacitor Transient Response: Forward Biased Diode
Task 1 - Component Identification Transient Response circuit designed
Task 1 - Component Identification Physical circuit built with FET switches
Task 1 - Component Identification Identification code written - works correctly and consistently Image of connected ATMega128
Task 2 - Lightsaber Duel Magnetic Field Detection InvenSense MPU-9250 Sensor Robot s Lightsaber Hitec HS-322HD Servo Motor Plastic or Rubber Arm Detecting Lightsaber Contact Allegro ACS712 Hall-Effect Current Sensor MEMSIC 2125 Dual-axis accelerometer
Task 3 - Lock Rotation Gripper Arm Purchased a gripper arm and servo motor to grab onto the knob. Arm Rotation DC Motor with rotary encoder to rotate the arm
Task 4 - Dart Firing Nerf guns too bulky and difficult to fire Prototype developed by Nick Schmidt Loaded before competition Metal tube - pull pin to release spring Travels over 10 ft Mechanism needed to pull pin May use spool of string attached to drive motor
Testing Arena
Vision Subsystem Original Image Sobel Edge Detection Blurred Canny Edge Detection
Vision Subsystem Binary image with threshold = 150 Create distance estimate from several data points ~.5 in accuracy Does not work with angles
Navigation Subsystem - Distance Sensors Infrared - not accurate Ultrasonic - accurate to less than.1in Touch - could be used to sense contact with arena wall
Navigation Subsystem - Locomotion Two-wheel configuration 12V DC Motors with Rotary Encoders Caster wheels to support the rear of the chassis
Navigation Subsystem - Locomotion
Parts List
Parts List - Arena Total 2 Quarts Paint Wood Vibration Sensor $3 Rotary Encoder $20 $40 $5 $68
Parts List - General Robot Total 2 8 2 1 1 1 2 1 Drive motors Diodes - voltage protection Caster wheels 4 x8 particle board - platforms Rotating Lazy Susan device Motor Sonar distance sensors Lead Acid battery On hand On hand $6.50 $20 $4.50 On hand On hand $15 $46
Parts List - Task 1 Total 1 6 5 1 1 2 1 1 1 Linear Movement Stepper Motor Springs Logic-level FETs Diode LCD screen Buttons 2.2kΩ resistor Proto-board Dual H-Bridge $20 On hand $5 On hand On hand $1 On hand $3 On hand $28
Parts List - Task 2 Total 1 1 1 1 Standard Servo Motor Hall-Effect Current Sensor Magnetic Field Sensor Plastic or Rubber Robotic Arm On hand $5 $16 $2 $23
Parts List - Task 3 Total 1 1 Gripper Kit Servo Motor $16 $10 $26
Parts List - Task 4 3 Nerf Jolt Guns $20
Parts List - Possible Future Expenses Current Amount Spent: $211 2 1 1 3 Sonar distance sensors Vision System Robot Chassis Dart Launchers Total: $471 $60 $100 $70 $30
Deliverables for ECE 499; Division of Labor; Schedule for Completion
ECE 499 Deliverables Final Project Report Final Project Presentation Final Project Demo Industry Advisory Board Poster Presentation Bradley Student Scholarship Expo
Division of Labor Team Member Functionality Stage Cameron Robotic Controls 1: Component ID Daniel Navigation 2: Lightsaber Swing Brian Circuit Design 3: Turning Knob Robot Chassis Layout/Design Kendall Vision System Help with Navigation Sensors 4: Launching Dart
Schedule for Completion Task Deadline Have moving robot Dec. 6 Individual tasks functioning Jan. 27 (requires work during break) Integrate subsystems Feb. 24 Fine-tune system Mar. 24 Competition Mar. 30
Discussion and Future Directions
Discussion More work needs to be done for each task before integrating them Specific problems to deal with will be identified once robot is built and tested May use distance sensors without camera system Concern for robotic arm positioning Dart accuracy Prioritize points-heavy tasks Need to maximize points at competition
References
References [1] SoutheastCon 2017 Hardware Competition Rules [Online]. Available: http://sites.ieee.org/southeastcon2017/student-program/studenthardware-competition/
IEEE SoutheastCon Hardware Challenge Cameron McSweeney, Kendall Knapp Brian Roskuszka, Daniel Hofstetter Advisors: Dr. Jing Wang, Dr. Yufeng Lu, Dr. In Soo Ahn