Through this process a robot was designed that could complete all of the tasks necessary to be an unmanned vehicle used at the Formula EH Grand Prix. The process began with brainstorming ideas for the robot. Calculations were done to decide how to make the robot. In addition, design matrices were made to narrow down all these ideas to just one idea. This idea was then prototyped and eventually built. Code was written for the robot, and the robot was tested to see if it could complete the tasks.
Eventually, the robot successfully competed and completed tasks in both an individual and final competition. In the individual competition, the robot had score of 54, 81, and 83 out of 100 with none of the runs going under 50 seconds. After this competition, improvements were made to the robot’s strategy, skid, and mechanisms. These changes paid off and in the final competition, the robot scored a perfect run in 35 seconds. In addition, its other runs were 73, 92, 39, and 81 out of 100. In addition, these runs were all completed in less than 50 seconds. In the round robin, the robot won one of its heats, and in the head to head competition the robot advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Throughout the entire process, all data, decisions, and progress was documented.
Overall, this robot could definitely be chosen for production. The robot can complete the course in about 35 seconds with moderate consistency. In addition, the robot always drives completely straight, and it also doesn’t rely on RPS which can vary from course to course. Also, its error-compensated mechanisms like the 6 CdS cells and the wheel turner make it a great choice for production.
If future work was done of this robot and it was chosen production, some improvements would need to be made. An improvement that could be made is the speed with which the robot could complete all the tasks. Even though the robot can complete the course in about 35 seconds, at least 5 seconds could be cut off if the program was changed to have the robot not make all 90 degree turns. In addition, the mechanism to pick up the wrench should also be altered. Using an electromagnet to pick up and dispose of the wrench would reduce the inconsistency in disposing the wrench. The robot could also be improved by making it narrower. This would allow the robot to make tighter turns and would make it less likely to run into walls. Along with these changes, a minor improvement that could be made is changing how the wires were organized around the Proteus. Sometimes the robot would get caught in the wires, which caused it to stop on the course or go off course. By taping the wires down, this problem could be solved.