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Overview
Overview
Developed during the Winter Olympics 2026, this robot takes ideas from the beloved sport of curling. It transports pucks on the battlefield autonomously and deploys them right in front of the hog line. The goal is to deploy as many pucks as possible to the center of the target zone
Chassis
Chassis
In order to give us an advantage in speed, the chassis houses 4 high speed DC motors; each outputs 550 RPM at 12 Volts. They are attached to the chassis with customized brackets. Then, with the help of shaft couplers, the motors would drive 97-mm Mecanum wheels, which allow the robot motion to be highly versatile.
Below the front end of the chassis, a curved hammer head is designed. In case pucks are deployed outside the target, we use it to ram into the pucks and push them into the zone.
Ramp & gate system
Ramp & gate system
Extending along the chassis is a ramp structure that serves as the second sub-system of the robot. This is the major platform that loads the pucks for delivery. Each puck is prevented from falling during the transport stage by a gate. These gates are controlled by HS-311 servo motors, so they can open up 90 degrees sequentially at the deployment stage to release the pucks.
We are also proud of a design that adds a spring system to shoot the pucks farther. Specifically, when each puck is loaded, it compresses a spring attached to the gate behind this puck. So, the opening of each gate also lifts away a spring to make way for the next puck. However, the final design did not include the springs because the mechanical energy stored for each puck proved to be sufficient.
Electronics housings
Electronics housings
Thirdly, certain mechanical housings and fixtures were developed to interface with the electrical components. For example, the robot is equipped with ultrasonic sensors in 3 directions to avoid the block of walls; it uses IR sensors to interact with the IR beacons pre-installed on the battlefield for navigation; it also holds readymade tape sensors (as shown below the “smiley face”) to detect the black tapes and hog lines (although technically we only ended up using the IRs for navigation).
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