Electrical

The electronics on the final robot are relatively simple in their implementation. Most of the complicated locomotion electronics were handled by the DENSO controller that controlled the arm. The custom electronics that we implemented included:

• 120V to 240V transfomer box
• Custom PCB to provide:
  • LED Strip control
  • Pressure vessel pressure monitoring and control
  • Firing system firing
  • Ball Sensing

For the 120V to 240V conversion, we used a transformer that we found in the applied robotics lab. It was wired up to robustly (and safely) provide the power that we needed for the robot.

Our custom PCB allowed us to use locking connections to create reliable wiring harnesses. It also allowed us to achieve more power with our servos by providing the closer-to-ideal 6V that hobby servos like. More documentation on our PCB can be found here [link]. The PCB interacts with both a SparkFun Redboard and a Teensy 3.2, allowing us to use advantages of both microcontrollers in parallel.