BattleBot

In this project, we’ll start by learning how to control the motors on our robot.

Next, we’ll focus on driving the robot using a custom app that we’ll design ourselves. This app, built with MIT App Inventor, will connect to the robot via Bluetooth, allowing us to control its movements directly from our phones.

Throughout this process, we’ll document our entire design journey, and this webpage will serve as our digital engineering notebook to showcase our progress and insights.

This year, our goal is to master the basics, laying a solid foundation for building a more advanced and robust robot for next year’s real competition. By practicing these skills now, we’ll be well-prepared for the challenges ahead.

The Training Robot

We are using an Arduino UNO R3 Microcontroller as the "brain" of our robot. We'll use the C++ Programming language to write programs for it.

The Arduino Microcontroller

The L298N Motor Controller

The L298N is used to regulate the battery power to the motors. It uses the output from the Arduino to control the motor direction and speed. Controlling the two motors separately, we can drive the robot forward, reverse and also turn left and right.

PWM

PWM, or Pulse Width Modulation is a way to control the motor speed by switching the motor's power on and off very quickly. If the "off" time is longer, the motor gets less power and spins slower.

The Motors

The hobby motors we use on this robot have little gearboxes that slow down the motor RPM, and therefore increase the torque. This is a reduction gearbox.