The idea of using a turbine arose when we thought about how to win in a one-against-one situation, meaning that two robots try to push a barrier at the same time. Since the project requirements limited us to only two wheels touching the floor, we came up with an alternative solution generating extra thrust in those situations.

The turbine consists of three parts:

1. The Brushless DC Motor (BLDC) and the Propeller are operated at a voltage of ~15 Volts and consume up to 20 Amperes. That means that at maximum speed (~34,000 RPM), the propeller will be powered with ~300 Watts. At this speed, it generates a thrust of around 950 grams (~2 pounds).

2. The motor is controlled by an ESC (Electric Speed Controller) which takes a DC voltage at input and then generates the three phases needed to power the BLDC motor. Before using the ESC, the programmable settings had to be adjusted, e.g. to allow for a NiMH battery to be connected instead of a LiPo. The ESC itself is controlled by a PWM signal which comes from the Turbine-PIC. A duty cycle of 5% corresponds to the minimum value, meaning that the motor won't spin at all. A cycle of 10% lets the motor rotate at maximum speed. The behavior of the motor being accelerated slowly from 5% to 10% was tested before the integration (see video on the right).

3. For safe operation, the motor-propeller system was encapsulated in a casing (see image T2 and T3). The casing was 3D printed in three separate parts and then assembled (see image T4).  The robot was designed such that the whole turbine would fit into it. The distance between the robot's bottom and middle tier was increased to allow for an unhindered airflow.