Final Project: Works-Like & Looks-Like Model

Day 3 (4/15):

Since last class, we have tried to finish making the structure of the Rover using Legos. This was surprisingly a long process because we did a lot of tweaking here and there to minimize the amount of blocks used. After the basic structure was finished, we put the Pico board on top and started to work on the front wheels.

One of the major problems that we faced was making the front wheel 'flexible'. Since we are planning to drive the Rover up and down a hill, it would be best to have wheels that have some flexibility to move up and down. In order to do this, we needed a 'stopper' that would stop the wheel from moving too much, but still allow them to move within the range. 

Michelle and I tried many different methods using the Legos and finally figured out the best way to make the flexible front wheels.

We tested out the wheels by making the rover go up the ramp, and it worked nicely!  

After the wheel was perfected, we decided to work on the claw during the remainder of the class. We spent most of the time trying to figure out the best way to make the claw and testing out different options.

Day 4 (4/18):

Today in class, we decided to continue working on the claw.  Since we only wanted to use one Pico board, we had to make the claw using one motor. This was very problematic because having one moving side of the claw was not sufficient to grab objects.

 

We also decided to place the claw at the back of the Rover, which shifted the center of mass of the Rover and lifted the front wheels. To fix this, we put some weight blocks at the front of the wheel.

After testing different methods, we finally figured out that gears were the key to solving our problem. Using 8 teeth and 24 teeth gears, we made the claw so that both sides of the claw moves, grabbing the object more successfully. We used the 8 teeth gear for the bottom part of the claw, so it could rotate faster and scoop up the object.

We had to spend a lot of time perfecting the claw because the gears would go off track quite frequently. In the end, we decided to use 24 teeth gears for both claws, and we found a way to secure the gears in place so it wouldn't go off track. In addition, the claw worked best when it was attached at the front of the Rover, so we moved the claw to the front, which eliminated the need for weight blocks.

We also made a sample terrain using foam, and glued some foam rocks on it as a part of the looks-like model.