Autonomous Light Detecting Robot

Objective: Create a robot with the lightest weight possible that can perform the assigned task. Problem: Box-chassis design weighed too much; the initial back-wheel design didn't allow for smooth driving and turning. Solution: Triangle-shaped chassis to reduce weight; back wheel redesigned after shopping-cart casters so it naturally turns in the direction of travel. Built as a project for my engineering 10 class at SJSU. The robot had to seek out light beacons in an arena and push the button on top of two beacons to turn off their lights. After turning off the last one, the robot had to drag the beacon outside the arena. Built primarily from VEX Robotics parts. As the mechanical design lead I went for the lightest weight possible — hence the triangular chassis. One issue I had was the original back-wheel support being centered, which meant the wheel couldn't pivot in the direction the robot turned. Fixing it required offsetting the support so a moment is applied to the wheel's edge in the direction of travel. Final weight came out to 1630g, significantly lighter than the rest of the class.