Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
47 Combative Hardened Ultra Tumbler
Abhinav Garg
Rahul Ramanathan Krishnamoorthy
Shobhit Sinha
# Combative Hardened Ultra Tumbler - Battlebot

## Team Members
- Abhinav Garg (ag90)
- Rahul Krishnamoorthy (rahulr9)
- Shobhit Sinha (ss194)
---
## Problem
The antweight battlebot competition requires teams to design a combat robot under strict constraints on weight, materials, safety, and electronics. Robots must weigh under 2 lb, be constructed from approved 3D-printed plastics, and use a custom PCB integrating control and motor driving circuitry. Commercial RC receivers are not permitted. The challenge is to design a compact and reliable robot that integrates motor control, power electronics, and wireless communication while operating under high current loads and repeated mechanical impacts during combat.

---

## Solution

We propose to design and build a 2 lb antweight battlebot featuring a spinning drum weapon and a fully custom electronic control system. A custom PCB will serve as the core of the robot and will house an ESP32-C3 microcontroller for computation and wireless communication. The robot will be controlled from a laptop using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Two motors will drive a centered two-wheel drivetrain, while a third motor will power the drum spinner weapon. Power will be supplied by a 14.8 V 4S2P LiPo battery. The system emphasizes reliable motor control, safe power management, and robustness to mechanical shock during competition.

---

## Solution Components

### Subsystem 1: Control and Communication System

This subsystem handles wireless communication, control logic, and overall system coordination. It uses an ESP32-C3 microcontroller, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless communication, and a USB interface for programming and debugging.

---

### Subsystem 2: Motor Control System

This subsystem drives the drivetrain and weapon motors. It uses H-bridge motor driver circuitry controlled through PWM signals generated by the ESP32-C3 and brushless DC motors for drivetrain and weapon actuation.

---

### Subsystem 3: Power Management and Safety

This subsystem distributes power and ensures safe operation of the robot. It uses a 14.8 V 4S2P LiPo battery, on-board voltage regulators for logic power, and battery voltage sensing via a resistor divider. Software-based shutdown is implemented to disable the robot on loss of wireless communication.

---

### Subsystem 4: Mechanical Structure and Weapon

This subsystem provides structural support and offensive capability. It consists of a 3D-printed PLA or ABS chassis, a spinning drum weapon, and a belt-driven mechanical coupling between the weapon motor and drum.

---

### Optional Subsystem: Inertial Measurement and Weapon Optimization

An optional inertial measurement unit (IMU) may be integrated to measure angular motion and vibration of the drum weapon. IMU data can be used to estimate weapon rotational behavior, detect imbalance, and inform software adjustments to improve weapon stability and reliability during operation.

---

## Criterion for Success

The project will be considered successful if the robot weighs less than 2 lb and complies with all competition material restrictions, the custom PCB integrates control, motor driving, and power management circuitry, the robot can be reliably controlled from a laptop using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, the drivetrain provides stable and responsive motion, the drum spinner weapon operates reliably without electrical failure, and the robot safely shuts down when wireless communication is lost.

Iron Man Mouse

Jeff Chang, Yayati Pahuja, Zhiyuan Yang

Featured Project

# Problem:

Being an ECE student means that there is a high chance we are gonna sit in front of a computer for the majority of the day, especially during COVID times. This situation may lead to neck and lower back issues due to a long time of sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, it would be beneficial for us to get up and stretch for a while every now and then. However, exercising for a bit may distract us from working or studying and it might take some time to refocus. To control mice using our arm movements or hand gestures would be a way to enable us to get up and work at the same time. It is similar to the movie Iron Man when Tony Stark is working but without the hologram.

# Solution Overview:

The device would have a wrist band portion that acts as the tracker of the mouse pointer (implemented by accelerometer and perhaps optical sensors). A set of 3 finger cots with gyroscope or accelerometer are attached to the wrist band. These sensors as a whole would send data to a black box device (connected to the computer by USB) via bluetooth. The box would contain circuits to compute these translational/rotational data to imitate a mouse or trackpad movements with possible custom operation. Alternatively, we could have the wristband connected to a PC by bluetooth. In this case, a device driver on the OS is needed for the project to work.

# Solution Components:

Sensors (finger cots and wrist band):

1. 3-axis accelerometer attached to the wrist band portion of the device to collect translational movement (for mouse cursor tracking)

2. gyroscope attached to 3 finger cots portion to collect angular motion when user bend their fingers in different angles (for different clicking/zoom-in/etc operations)

3. (optional) optical sensors to help with accuracy if the accelerometer is not accurate enough. We could have infrared emitters set up around the screen and optical sensors on the wristband to help pinpoint cursor location.

4. (optional) flex sensors could also be used for finger cots to perform clicks in case the gyroscope proves to be inaccurate.

Power:

Lithium-ion battery with USB charging

Transmitter component:

1. A microcontroller to pre-process the data received from the 4 sensors. It can sort of integrate and synchronize the data before transmitting it.

2. A bluetooth chip that transmits the data to either the blackbox or the PC directly.

Receiver component:

1. Plan A: A box plugged into USB-A on PC. It has a bluetooth chip to receive data from the wristband, and a microcontroller to process the data into USB human interface device signals.

2. Plan B: the wristband is directly connected to the PC and we develop a device driver on the PC to process the data.

# Criterion for Success:

1. Basic Functionalities supported (left click, right click, scroll, cursor movement)

2. Advanced Functionalities supported(zoom in/out, custom operations eg. volume control)

3. Performance (accuracy & response time)

4. Physical qualities (easy to wear, durable, and battery life)