Mechanisms and QR Code Mount

The purpose of this sub-page is to present all necessary information regarding the task completion mechanisms and the QR Code mount. This will include descriptions of what the mechanisms were made out of, how they functioned on the course, and what programming was necessary to make them function as intended. The mechanisms used were a short switch arm, a long switch arm, a magnetic arm on a servo motor to control the supplies, and a trunnion checkerboard. Additionally, a QR Code mount was necessary in order to allow the robot to receive location and orientation information. The final report contains more information on all of these mechanisms.

Short and Long Switch Arms

The short and long switch arms functioned in exactly the same way, so they will described together with a few key differences noted. The basic idea of these arms was to operate a push only system for the communications switches. The robot would run into the wall, and the arms would fling forward from the rubber band chains to push the switches forward. The long arm was used to push all of the switches forward (except for the blue one if it did not need to be moved) from the bottom of the course, while the short arm was used to push all of the switches back the other way if so desired from the top of the course. The short arm was made out of paper rolled up tightly, while the long arm consisted of erector pieces to provide additional strength and reach. Images of these arms can be seen in the images below.

Magnetic Supplies Arm

The magnetic supplies arm apparatus consisted of erector pieces, magnets, hot glue, a Futaba servo motor, PVC strips, and a prayer. The only reason that we say this is that this was the last mechanism that the team was able to agree on a design for, and it was designed and built in only one day. In the end, it ended up being the most consistent part of the robot on the course.

For this part to function, a few things needed to happen. First, the robot used the RPS to line up with the supplies. Then, a signal was sent by the Proteus to lower the servo arm to a pre-set angle that picked up the supplies. Next, the robot raised the arm, securing the supplies by resting them on PVC strips. To release the supplies, the robot lowered the arm and scraped them off into the receptacle by driving backward with a high speed. An image of the final design of this arm can be found below.

Trunnion Checkerboard

The last mechanism on the robot was the trunnion checkerboard. Essentially, this consisted of two trunnions, one pointing up and the other pointing down, spaced 1 inch apart. To function, the robot would first use the CdS cell to read the color of the fuel delivery light. If the light was red, then the robot would drive into the wall, then forward to press the red fuel light for five seconds. This trunnion was the on facing upward. If the light was blue, then the robot would drive straight to press the blue fuel light for five seconds. This was able to be performed because this trunnion was downward facing and placed directly above the CdS cell. An image of this configuration can be found below.

QR Code Mount

The QR Code mount was intended to be kept relatively simple. It consisted of two equal size erector strips bent at two places at 90° angles. The Code was secured to the robot using an interference fit where four PVC strips served as the hole that it needed to fit into. Although simple, this was essential to our robot’s success. This QR Code provided RPS data to our robot so that we were able to navigate around the course and know the switch order. An image of this can be found below.