Hardware

Electronics

NI myRio - NI myRIO uses the latest Zynq technology from Xilinx featuring an FPGA integrated with a processor running a real-time OS. This powerful technology coupled with an onboard accelerometer, programmable LEDs, audio I/O, analog and digital I/O, and USB port helps thousands of project ideas come to life. This is the main platform we used to control our robot.
Makerboard- Pre-soldered board with useful connections such as audio and digital I/O pins (some of which are PWM), a USB connection, and an integrated breadboard.
XtPower Battery- 9/12V power supply with multiple USB ports. This served as the power supply for our myRio and our servo motors.
Parallax Continuous Servo- Used to move each of the four Omniwheels responsible for our robot's locomotion.
Parallax 180 Servo- Our method for raising and lowering our sharpies and for rotating the top plate on which the pens were mounted.

Laser Cut Acrylic- We laser cut custom acrylic pieces for multiple components of our project. This included servo horn interfaces, both the top and the base plates, and our servo mounts. This process allowed us to customize our robot without spending large amounts of time machining pieces.
3D Printed ABS- Similar to laser cutting, 3D printing is another rapid prototyping tool. In this case, we created custom pieces that constrained and controlled the position of our sharpies. These pieces allowed us to adjust both the contact position of the sharpie on paper and the effective stroke.
Omniwheel- Besides being ridiculously cool, omniwheels allowed our robot to travel in any direction (in the x,y plane) and even rotate. We used four wheels mounted on servos to provide a mobile yet stable platform for our robot to travel on.
T Slot Bar Stock- Was used to form the frame our of robot. Because of its light weight and high strength, we were able to create a structurally sound robot without needing to resort to higher torque motors.
Sharpie - Our instrument of choice for drawing the picture. By being both uniform in size and easy to apply to paper, the sharpie proved to be a great drawing instrument. Additionally, the variety of colors presented us with a wide choice for our selection.

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