Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
15 Antwieght Battle Bot
 Carlos Carretero
Dany Rodriguez
Troy Edwards
 John Li design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
grading_sheet1.pdf
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video
3D-PRINTED BATTLE BOT

Group members:
Daniel Rodriguez (drodr25)
Carlos Carretero (ccarr27)
Troy Edwards (troyre2)


PROBLEM

Our project revolves around Professor Gruev’s Battle Bot Competition. This competition has several requirements as well as limitations which must be adhered to. These requirements include 3D printed construction with predetermined materials, weigh less than 2 pounds, have a PCB that is controlled through Bluetooth or wifi, fighting capabilities, and safety measures for shutting the robot down. Our goal for this project is to have a robot that is capable of competing in the competition meaning that it can be controlled and attack as desired.

SOLUTION

As the project entails this robot will be fighting against other robots which means that our design must revolve around having the ability to disable the opponent's threats or render their robot immobile. In order to accomplish this we will have a 3D-printed chassis made of PLA+ with an ESP32 microcontroller for motor and movement control. This Microcontroller has onboard wifi and Bluetooth allowing us to decide which is best for controlling our robot. In our design, we will use 3 motors, two for movement and one for controlling our battle element which involves a lift to try and flip our opponents over. The motors will be powered by a set of LiPo batteries as they have a high power output in comparison to their size and weight helping with the weight restrictions. The motors used for movement will also have an h bridge that allows for forward and backward movement allowing the robot to turn and have smooth movement. Voltage control circuits will also be implemented in order to account for the different voltages required for the microcontroller and the motors.

SOLUTION COMPONENTS

SUBSYSTEM: CHASSIS

The chassis of the battle bot will be 3D printed using PLA+ material to have a strong and lightweight robot. It will house all the components including the PCB, motors, and power source. Our weapon will also be incorporated into the chassis to ensure that the lifting mechanism is sturdy enough to flip over opponents as well as enclosed enough to prevent damage to the robot. The body will be horizontal with a very low center of mass to avoid others flipping it over. The wheels and all electronic components will also be enclosed to prevent any damage there.


SUBSYSTEM: COMBAT
Our lift system will be integrated into the chassis as a movable ramp that is powered with a motor for raising and lowering the ramp. The ramp will most likely be made of titanium in order to keep a lightweight setup. It is located on the front of the bot allowing us to drive into our opponents while raising the ramp to try and flip over the other bot.


SUBSYSTEM: POWER DISTRIBUTION

Since we will be using LiPO batteries which have higher voltages of either 11.1V or 14.8V we have to design a circuit to step this power down for our lower voltage components like the microcontroller and DC motors for movement. This part of the project will also need some sort of circuit to be able to safely cut power to motors in case of an emergency as required. This type of battery is commonly used in battle bot applications which is why we are using it for our design. The battery will first be connected to a kill switch before anything else to ensure that the robot can be shut down safely.

SUBSYSTEM: CONTROL

The ESP32 microcontroller is a great option for our project as it has wifi and Bluetooth built in allowing us to have a way to control our robot. We can either use the BLE protocol to talk to the microcontroller, due to low power consumption and low latency, and connect an external Xbox controller or use wifi to control them using a pc keyboard.


SUBSYSTEM: MOVEMENT

There will be 2 Brushed DC motors that control the 2 wheels in our robot and we will be looking to use something like the L298N DC motor driver to control those. This will also require voltage convertors as previously mentioned. The wheels will probably made from some high-friction material like rubber to ensure that the robot does not lose traction. The ESP32 has various GPIO ports that will allow us to control the motor drivers. For the motor for the ramp we can use a servo motor in order for precision control since we don’t need more than a 90-degree range of motion.


CRITERION FOR SUCCESS

Our project would be successful if the robot could move around using inputs given by the user externally. Also if the attack mechanisms had movement is the range that we wanted. We also want to ensure that the chassis has enough rigidity to handle the forces from the motors. It should be safe to power on and off. The robot should also be effective at immobilizing other robots.

Interactive Proximity Donor Wall Illumination

Sungmin Jang, Anita Jung, Zheng Liu

Interactive Proximity Donor Wall Illumination

Featured Project

Team Members:

Anita Jung (anitaj2)

Sungmin Jang (sjang27)

Zheng Liu (zliu93)

Link to the idea: https://courses.engr.illinois.edu/ece445/pace/view-topic.asp?id=27710

Problem:

The Donor Wall on the southwest side of first floor in ECEB is to celebrate and appreciate everyone who helped and donated for ECEB.

However, because of poor lighting and color contrast between the copper and the wall behind, donor names are not noticed as much as they should, especially after sunset.

Solution Overview:

Here is the image of the Donor Wall:

http://buildingcampaign.ece.illinois.edu/files/2014/10/touched-up-Donor-wall-by-kurt-bielema.jpg

We are going to design and implement a dynamic and interactive illuminating system for the Donor Wall by installing LEDs on the background. LEDs can be placed behind the names to softly illuminate each name. LEDs can also fill in the transparent gaps in the “circuit board” to allow for interaction and dynamic animation.

And our project’s system would contain 2 basic modes:

Default mode: When there is nobody near the Donor Wall, the names are softly illuminated from the back of each name block.

Moving mode: When sensors detect any stimulation such as a person walking nearby, the LEDs are controlled to animate “current” or “pulses” flowing through the “circuit board” into name boards.

Depending on the progress of our project, we have some additional modes:

Pressing mode: When someone is physically pressing on a name block, detected by pressure sensors, the LEDs are controlled to

animate scattering of outgoing light, just as if a wave or light is emitted from that name block.

Solution Components:

Sensor Subsystem:

IR sensors (PIR modules or IR LEDs with phototransistor) or ultrasonic sensors to detect presence and proximity of people in front of the Donor Wall.

Pressure sensors to detect if someone is pressing on a block.

Lighting Subsystem:

A lot of LEDs is needed to be installed on the PCBs to be our lighting subsystem. These are hidden as much as possible so that people focus on the names instead of the LEDs.

Controlling Subsystem:

The main part of the system is the controlling unit. We plan to use a microprocessor to process the signal from those sensors and send signal to LEDs. And because the system has different modes, switching between them correctly is also important for the project.

Power Subsystem:

AC (Wall outlet; 120V, 60Hz) to DC (acceptable DC voltage and current applicable for our circuit design) power adapter or possible AC-DC converter circuit

Criterion for success:

Whole system should work correctly in each mode and switch between different modes correctly. The names should be highlighted in a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing way. Our project is acceptable for senior design because it contains both hardware and software parts dealing with signal processing, power, control, and circuit design with sensors.

Project Videos