Every year Robotics Club of my university participate in a Robotic Contest (RoboCon) organized by the ABU Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. For the year 2015, the theme of the competition was "Robominton." Essentially, the problem statement posed was to develop two badminton playing robots that had to be confined within specific constraints.

Our team of 15 members from different departments developed two semi-autonomous robots within a time-frame of seven months. I was responsible for leading the design team consisting seven students towards designing and fabricating the robots. Our team secured 2nd position in super league matches and was awarded "Best Innovative Design Award."

Salient features of our robots were:

• Three wheel holonomic drive: holonomic drive provides uncoupled 3 degrees of freedom motion, leading to a faster and more intuitive control of the robot on the court.

• 3R1P mechanism based shooting: badminton racket attached to the crank of a 3R1P mechanism was actuated by a pneumatic piston.

• Gun-barrel inspired service mechanism: 99% service accuracy was achieved by this mechanism.

• Automatic actuation: ultrasonic sensor array was used to detect incoming shuttlecocks and subsequently actuate the rackets.