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Our Approach
Our Approach
Our main goal for this OTV was to create a relatively small and lightweight design, in order to completely fit past the obstacles of the arena. Due to this, we focused the design of each individual component around these restrictions. In other words, rather than having our design expand outward, we focused on building up; leading to the use of three layers for the chassis. By doing this, we were able to maximize the surface area needed for the different components (electronics, wiring, etc.) to fit.
Chassis Design
Chassis Design
Each layer of the chassis was made from plywood that was supplied to us, and further cut using a laser cutter. We decided wood would be the best material to use, as it is a cheap, light, and strong resource.
The Bottom Layer
The bottom layer is one of the essential parts of our OTV. This component holds many of the main elements of our OTV, including the battery, motor mount, motors and H-bridge. Along with this, our bottom layer is directly related to the various movements of our OTV. Not only is it directly attached to the wheels and casters, but also the base for our lever arm.
top view of the bottom layer
bottom view of the bottom layer
The Middle Layer
The middle layer of the chassis also contains much of the neccesary components for the function of our OTV. It holds the breadboard, Arduino (with wiring), Wifi Module and kill switch. In regards to the top layer, the Aruco marker is the only thing that remains, allowing for the visions system to connect to our OTV (not shown on the CAD drawing).
The Top Layer
The Arm Design
The Arm Design
Below are visuals of our arm (one that is translucent and one that is not). The translucent one shows the inner workings of the arm and how we incorporated the wires and motor up through the lift and to the magnetic sensor at the bottom of the rack. This design allows for the wires and motor to be stored away properly in order to avoid interference with any of the other components of the OTV. We decided that an arm that moved in a vertical motion allowed for us to easily enter the payload, along with allowing our height to be short enough to clear the endzone.
Navigation
Navigation
One of the main components of our navigation sytem was our decision of using two wheels and casters. Behind our thought process, we decided that two wheels would allow for the OTV to turn smoother, as two wheels reduces the amount of skidding that could occur on the arena. In order to stabilize our two wheel structure, we incorporated the use of ball casters, which maximized the movement the OTV had in any direction. Initially, we were planning on having two casters, one in the front and one in the back, but after some trial and error, we realized we needed two more casters in the front to allow for more support under the lift (visualized below).
Regarding the size of our wheels, as mentioned above, our mission was to create the smallest design of the OTV that we could. Therefore, we found the smallest wheels that were available, which allowed us to follow through with our original dimensions of the OTV and easily pass through the obstacle course.
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