DESCRIPTION

In ME 112: Mechanical Systems Design, the midterm design challenge asked for a Lego robot to crawl along an inclined, bumpy, graveled track to retrieve a toy salamander using fewer than 10J of energy. To meet these design requirements, our team analyzed the theoretical motor capacity, the required torque on the wheels to overcome the bumps, and the ideal gear ratios, and then prototyped and tested several different design types. Our final design shows these distinctive design choices: four-wheel drive, round wheels, worm gear transmission, a source voltage of 6V, a barbed scoop, and wall triggered collection mechanism. Our robot was able to successfully complete the challenge during the competition.

TECHNICAL PROCESSES

• ​Laser cutting

• Motor characterization (MATLAB)

• Gear strength analysis (MATLAB)

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