Pi Wars 2020 PiAPC

Robot Chassis Below is an image of my finished robot chassis (a proper blog-post will follow shortly): (This is also the image that will be in the actual program)

Gripper Test Below is a quick video of a test for my Pi Wars 2020 gripper. In this video, I use a 6 channel digital servo tester as well as an inexpensive robot gripper I found on Robot Shop. I also tested out a vacuum-based gripper system (which I created using a syringe) however this was not as practical. Anyway, this is a video of a test of my gripper, enjoy!

Power Source Previously I had been using AA alkaline batteries, yet after asking around on a few forums, I realised that this was a terrible idea. The problem was that I had lots of 8 * AA battery holders, yet if I were to use the normal rechargeable batteries (which are 1.2V), it would not be enough to power both my pi and my motor controller. Instead, I found out about these new type of batteries produced by a brand named KENTLI. Below is a picture of the product:   Unlike other rechargeables, these actually are 1.5V. Hence I bought 8 of these and now the problem is solved!

Mini Update: My chassis has been fully assembled but the wiring has led to some minor complications that must be sorted out before I can continue. I am using code from both PiBorg and from Github as inspiration for my own code. I will use a ps4 remote and will use the same controls used in normal online games. Another thing that I learnt is that having an organized wiring system is far more important than I had previously thought (because otherwise, it turns into a large nest of random wires!). I will send a proper update soon, but until then I think this is a good summary of my work so far. 

Flywheel  For the 'Zombie Apocalypse' challenge, I am going to be using a flywheel from the 'Nerf N-Strike Elite Stryfe Blaster'. This flywheel will be controlled via an l298n motor controller (as they are fairly cheap) and I will also be using a linear actuator in order to push the bullets (from the cartridge) into the flywheel. Aiming is also very important so I will be using a laser pointer as well as a servo based mechanism (similar to the one used in the camera attachment) which will allow for pan and tilt so that I can shoot down the targets at all locations, thereby allowing me to gain more points. This is an image of what the stryfe flywheel looks like: A linear actuator is simply a component that creates motion in a straight line. I could use a push and pull solenoid instead, however, I have more experience using a linear actuator so it should, therefore, be generally easier for me to use one. I will send a video (hopefully by tommorow) with the fi...

Blog 4 It has been very long since my previous blog post but I decided it was better to send a blog post when I had made a lot more progress.  I have constructed the majority of my chassis which is made out of plywood. Since I do not have a laser cutter I am having to drill everything manually which is taking some time. I have made a camera module as well and I have a robot gripper which will be useful to pick up barrels. My camera module uses two servos. My robot gripper I am making a two-tier robot chassis that has an A4 piece of plywood as a base, with an A5 piece of plywood placed on top as a second tier. I have also found out that velcro tape is very useful when making a modular robot as it makes attachments very easy to use. I have purchased an ultraborg (from piborg) which is really useful for servo and ultrasonic control. I have been doing a bit more of programming, yet that should now be a major focus. I plan to finish my robot in the next few days and I wi...

Blog 3 I have built a prototype for a tank-based robot which I am going to test out:  It was made from spare parts which included foamboard, Raspberry Pi 3B+, L298N motor controller, battery pack, an aluminum tank chassis and two 300rpm dc motors. I controlled it over SSH via my laptop however I hope to soon control it via a PS4 controller or something similar to that.  I decided that I would make both a tracked tank robot as well as a 4wd robot and compare them both to see which one I prefer. The robot that I do not choose will be used as a backup as it will be useful if anything bad happens to my primary robot (ie big mechanical failures). Next, I will build my 4wd robot using the ThunderBorg motor controller. Currently, I believe that the 4wd robot will be more useful this year in the challenges and one major drawback of using this tank is that the tracks are very fiddly and are hard to get right.  I have still have a long time until Pi Wars 202...