Challenge

ESP32 Final Challenge - Mission to Mars


A consortium of countries have joined Elon Musk to send 2 successful missions to Mars. Canada is among the countries in the consortium and Canadian engineers have built the automatic rovers that can ferry people and supplies around and between the 2 colonies. After spending 10 months in space the intrepid colonists will spend 5 years building bases, habitations and automatic mines for water and metals. Cargo space ships will bring food to the colonists until they can get their own greenhouses running.


After landing at the 2 sites the explorers found that there is a massive electromagnetic field storm between the 2 sites. The storms emit massive amounts of radio waves at around 100MHz. The electronics in the rovers is hardened and therefore unaffected but colonists brains are seriously, but not permanently incapacitated by the storm. The other 2 routes between the colonies are days longer.


The latest food supply ships arrived late and the colonies were short on food. Then, without warning, the second ship crashed and destroyed the supplies. It is imperative that your colony deliver emergency food supplies to the now stricken colony on the other side of the storm. The rover will be teleoperated through the storm.


Now that you have learned some of the basics behind your ESP32 robot it is time to put it all together. Your challenge is to produce a remote control Mars explorer. Your explorer can compete in one or more categories.


Categories


  1. User friendly control interface (Looks good on a computer and a smart phone. (1 RP)

  2. Efficient and easy to understand code. (1 RP)

  3. Accuracy in movement. 2 challenges. (1 RP each)

  4. Incorporating new functionality not covered in the Basics and Web. (1 RP)

  5. Task completion, described below, limitations apply. (2 RP)

  6. Best decoration, limitations apply. Think “themes”. (1 RP)

  7. Drawings and sketches. Can you use Sketch Up or CAD to make your plans? (1 RP)

  8. Wildcard. Completing an interesting task that you design. (1 RP)


3. Accuracy in movement

Challenge 3a. In autonomous mode complete a series of moves that outline a square.

Challenge 3b. In teleop mode complete a series of moves that outline a square.

The start/end point must be marked using green painters tape or other sticky but easily removed material. The operations should be videotaped from directly overhead. No other object or limb should enter the frame.


4. New functionality

Introduce and make effective use of Arduino or ESP32 commands not covered by this web site. Demonstrate that operation and code as a tutorial.


5. Task completion

Your Mars rover needs to deliver food to starving colonists. You need to pick up the food, a lego brick, move 12 inches and then drop off the food (brick). Initially, the brick is suspended from a frame that you design. An arm on your robot can move through a suspension loop to drag the loop off of the frame. After 11 inches (the long dimension of a piece of paper) your robot must be able to guide the loop over another frame and then leave the brick suspended from the receiving frame. If the food (brick) falls into the martian dirt it will become inedible. You must design, on paper first, a mechanism that will “capture” the food (Brick) so that the rover can return to your base for another load. See below.


Limitations

You can use lego and/or found materials (paper, glue, elastic bands, twist ties etc.)

You can attach materials to the robot using hot glue.

You must clean up your robot before returning it in June.


Submissions

Due June 8

You will submit videos and files to a folder in the team Google drive under 2020-2021 FRC / ESP32 Submissions. Create a subfolder named your last name. Create subfolders below that for each submission using the 1 to 8 numbering system described above. You can enter any number of categories. Your entries will be judged by a panel of highly trained and experienced judges who have never judged an event like this before! Be gentle.


Awards

Bragging rights!

Having fun!

We’ll see.

The rover approaches a food brick suspended from the yellow arm at your colony.

The rover has captured the food brick and is moving towards the stricken colony.

The rover approaches the stricken colony's capture arm.

The rover has arrived at the capture arm.

The capture arm worked! The rover moves off to get the next load.


NOTE. This example does not show a capture mechanism. You will need to design a capture arm that holds on to the food brick as the rover reverses away.

Here is an example capture/release arm done using LEGO Digital Designer.