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Rolling Lantern Bot Brief:
What does physics have to do with your robot?
Physics impacts how your robot moves because of the laws of friction. When something is pressed on top of a surface and is forced to move, it creates friction. Friction is increased when the mass is increased or the grippiness of the ground is increased. Kinetic friction is when two different objects are moving against each other and static friction is when an object is moving against a stationary object. Coefficient of friction is the ratio of the frictional force resisting the motion of two surfaces in contact to the normal force pressing the two surfaces together.
What does physics have to do with my ultrasonic sensor?
My ultrasonic sensor uses physics to work by using ultrasonic sound waves to measure distance. The sensor is able to detect things even when there is no physical touch. The sensor emits ultrasonic waves in response to a signal, which bounces off an object and comes back to the echo pin. This happens because the trigger pin sends the ultrasound pulse, while the echo pin detects the returning sound wave. Once the ultrasound is emitted, the time taken for the sound to travel to the object and back is measured. The speed of sound is 340 meters per second. This is how the robot calculates the distance by measuring the time it takes for a sound wave to travel to an object and back, and the angle of the sensor controls the area it covers.
Formulas that we use for our sensor:
Speed = Distance / Time
Time = Distance / Speed
Distance = Speed x Time
The Ultrasonic Sensor we use:
How our Sensor transmits and receives waves:
Tools:
We used the Glowforge Laser cutter in order to print our 2d designs out. I used it to create the sides on my prototype and final car, as well as my wheels.
This is what Glowforge looks like before we print.
We used the 3d printer to create our casters to hold up our robot prototypes. I also used it to 3d print my car because I wanted to.
We used Mu to create our code for our robot. We wrote our functions, if statements, and sequences in here.
We used Dabble to control our robot with our phone. Our code allows us to make it go forward, backward, left, right, and change the lights.
We used Onshape to create 2d and 3d designs that we were able to print out using the laser cutter and 3d printer.
Here are pictures of my creations in OnShape in order to laser cut all the sides for my final car:
Here's my car made completely in Onshape:
Here is a link to my Final Code. I used functions to make my robot go forward, backward, left, and right with only 1 command each. I used if/elif statements to control my robot with my phone and the direction it went in. I also used if statements to control the lights on the robot and its self driving feature.
Here’s a video to my final robot racing: Race 1 Race 2 Race 3
My robot goes straight when commanded to with no drift. It also goes backwards quickly.
The turning needs to be finetuned though. It only works when more weight is added to the very front of the car.
If I added more weight inside the front of the car it would allow the robot to turn a lot more efficiently.
This is probably the most challenging project I’ve done in any class because of the amount of hard work I had to put into it in class and outside. I spent my time before school, at lunch, in power 45, and after school on building my robot.
If I could change something about this project I would have wanted more available screws that fit for the motors. I had a lot of problems because I couldn't find the right screws.
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