Engineering Concepts

Restraints

Stay in the box
Quick enough at it task
accuracy
Name and sort skittles

Engineering Notebook

Final product documentation

Using my Engineering notebook i documented the different process that lead to to the making of my final robot. It includes the trial and error process during the making of our robot and how we made improvements to make it more efficient.

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Sorting Of Every Color

Improvements made: For the final we made few improvements structurally and for our code. First we decided to enclose our sorter to make it more stable as well as make it look better. We painted our bins to match the color of the skittle, Then we changed our ramp to a large starting point so that the skittles have less of a chance of falling behind the ramp. Lastly the code changed a little for each color and we had modify it.

Funnel

Throughout the project we made a total of 3 funnels. The first funnel was unexpectedly to thick for our design and skittles (middle black photo). The second was the correct size but it had broken, and would only work aesthetically for our prototype. Lastly our final design (the last photo) was smaller in size and length and was much more efficient.

Grabber

Originally our grabber was circle with around 6 holes in which we planned multiple skittles would be dropped into different holes in order to be sensed. But we faced a problem with our servo and decided that it would be quicker and more efficient for one hole to go back and forth between the sensor hole back to the funnel so that no more than one skittle can go through without falling. Also due to the positional servo, one it can not go 360 degrees so one hole is the only one that would make sense.

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Servo-Singularize

We switched from a continuous servo to a positional to improve the speed and accuracy of our skittle sorter. In the code we had to set three positions for the servo to go to. The funnel, to under the sensor, and to the hole that drops onto the ramp. It started at its 180 degree positions, 90, then 0. The first two positions lie above the sensor code and the last position is under it so that once the ramp goes to the right position, the singularizer will lastly go above the ramp so the skittle can drop.

Code:

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Sensing

I tested every skittle to see the intensities of every color within each. I then coded each one to print out the correct color based on those intensities.

Code:

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Servo-Ramp

For our final we made a ramp that was to large and had gaps as well as skittles that not land. We created a ramp that make these issues leave by rounding the base and making it thinner. The code worked by make if statements that would work based on what was scanned by the sensor. the sensor sensed a color, I assigned that color with a specific position according to the bin.

Code:

Bins

We colored coded our bins to match the skittle that should be in each one. We placed them after we did the code and changed the code to match the positions as best to our ability.

Reflection Questions:

How has this project compared to other projects you have done?

Compared to other projects I have done, this required a lot more trial and error when. I noticed we had to make a lot of more improvements and changes in order for our skittle sorter to be presentable and accurate.

What is one challenge you have overcome on this project (a technical problem, not a time management problem) and how did you overcome it?

One challenge we had to over come was our continuous servo was a inconsistent way to do our project when it came to sensing and the speed of the singularizing. To overcome this we decided to switch to positional servo to increase our speed and efficiency of our sorter, by letting the hole go to specific spots instead of wanting for skittles to slowly get to the right position.

What are you most proud of about your project?

One part of this project that I am most proud of is the look of it and its functionality. Although many troubles came before we could get to this point, the way the sorting sensing and bins came together make me very proud of the hard work we put in.

Michael Rashad - Face recognition model

Face Recognition Model

Car side Bottom

On-shape: This is a digital design website where we designed our robot by using 3d shapes and measurements to create the individual parts of our robot, after completing them we were able to download them and laser cut them.

3d Printer

Used to create my caster wheel and servo mount

Laser Cutter

Used this to create my sides,and chasse for my robot

Coding:

If my the front arrow if pressed then my robot with go forward
If my back arrow is pressed then my robot will go back
If my left arrow is pressed then my robot will go backwards
If my right arrow is pressed then my robot will go backwards

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Final video

This my final video at the lantern parade where we raced on a path, unfortunately I lost

Functionality:

My robot should be able to forwards, backwards, left, and right. When it comes to Moving forward and backwards, its able to do these pretty well although it has a slight drift when driving. The reason is most likely because one wheel goes slightly faster than the other and this could be changed by altering the speed of one to make it not drift as much. When it comes to turning, my robot does it although it is very slow, the reason it does this is most likely because of the back wheels being on straws which was an improvisation to help the look of the robot. I think it should have four motors for the wheels to go on because of the cardboard material making it hard to drive on rough ground.

Reflection questions: How has this project compared to other projects that you have done in your other classes? Be descriptive and insightful.

Compared to other projects done in other classes I would say this much more creative, required a lot of planning, and forced me to be creative. This means in other classes we don't usually get the opportunity to do something as interactive or something that requires you to use your skills and prior knowledge. Although it was tough to complete with limited class time in a week, it definitely pushed me to go out of my way to get done.

What would you change about your robot if you were to do this project again? Be very descriptive. How could you improve it moving forward.

If I were to do this project again I would make a few changes, for example I would make it smaller. The reason for this is to improve its functionality, with a smaller size and less weight it would be faster and turn most efficiently. Also I would most likely spend more time with painting it to look a little better and not looked a little rushed. Other than that I believe most of the other aspects went well.

What is the top skill that you think you know well enough that you could teach others and why?

One top skill I think I know well enough to teach other is planning and organizing. This is because through the project i learned how to think about the importance of the efficiency of a plan before carrying it out and organizing your time to get the matierials and help you need.

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