NIRV

Hardwork definitely pays off, and NIRV made it to the semifinals again this past year at MRDC. Specifically, NIRV came in 5th place, the best it has ever done. Like last year, NIRV's chassis was completely resigned again. Some new additions include the pneumatic system where the bot has solenoids that shoot out to press buttons and a row of mecanum wheels in front to reel in objects to the center and into the bot. Also, the controller for NIRV was entirely resigned as well. Instead of being just a breadboard, we had a 3D printed mold made to fit our custom designed circuit board that would power all the buttons, switches and potentiometers on the controller.

NIRV's best year yet! This year, NIRV made it to the semi-finals of MRDC, the best that any robot has done at MRDC so far. This year, NIRV's drivetrain and chassis were redesigned from the bottom up. The chassis was updated to accommodate a newly designed two-motor, chain-driven drivetrain that reduces power consumption while maintaining four wheel drive. The chassis was also designed with a gap close to the ground to capture MRDC game pieces. NIRV's remote control system this year was designed and built entirely by members, as a way to practice electronics design and explore radio-control theory.