Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
24 Circular Antweight Battlebot (Shovel/Lifter)
 Junyan Bai
Yuxuan Guo
 Zhuoer Zhang design_document1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
# Circular Antweight Battlebot (Shovel/Lifter)

Team Members:

* Yuxuan Guo (yuxuang7)
* Junyan Bai (junyanb2)

# Problem

ECE 445 antweight (≤ 2 lb) battlebots must be mostly 3D-printed (allowed plastics), include locomotion + an active tool, and be controlled from a PC over Wi-Fi/Bluetooth using a custom PCB (MCU + wireless + motor control). The robot must support manual shutdown and automatically disable on RF link loss.

Many robots fail due to getting stuck, losing traction, or motor stalls that cause brownouts/resets and wireless dropouts. Our problem is to build a compact robot that stays controllable and safe under impacts and stalls while meeting competition shutdown requirements.

# Solution

We will build a circular “UFO-shaped” robot focused on control and robustness. A recessed two-wheel drivetrain sits inside a low-profile circular chassis to reduce snag points and survive collisions. The weapon is a motor-driven front shovel/lifter used to get under opponents and lift/destabilize them for pushing and pinning.

A custom ESP32-based PCB receives PC commands via Wi-Fi (Bluetooth optional) and controls both mobility and shovel actuation. Safety is layered: a manual kill switch, a firmware link-loss failsafe, and hardware current-sense protection that can disable motor drivers during overcurrent/stall events.

# Solution Components

## Subsystem 1 — Control & Communication (ESP32 + IMU + LEDs)

**Function:** Receive PC commands, run safety logic, and output control signals for drive + weapon.

**Components:**

* ESP32-WROOM-32D (Wi-Fi/Bluetooth)
* MPU-6050 IMU (I2C, planned)
* LEDs for power/link/fault

**Key requirements:**

* Control update rate **≥ 50 Hz**
* Link-loss failsafe: if no valid commands for **> 300 ms**, disable all outputs and require re-arm

## Subsystem 2 — Power Supply & Safety (Battery + Kill Switch + Distribution + Current Sense)

**Function:** Provide stable rails and enforce fast shutdown + stall protection.

**Key requirements:**

* Logic rail: **3.3 V ± 5%**, budget **≥ 500 mA**, stays **> 3.0 V** under worst-case load
* Kill switch disables motion quickly (target near-instant motor power removal)
* Overcurrent/stall protection asserts **FAULT** and disables **EN** within **≤ 50 ms** (threshold TBD)

## Subsystem 3 — Drive Motor (Mobility)

**Function:** Provide reliable motion and pushing power with a differential drivetrain.

**Components:**

* Motor driver + **2x** gearmotors (candidate: N20 / 16 mm)
* Recessed wheels

**Key requirements:**

* Speed **≥ 0.5 m/s**
* Push a **1.0 kg** test sled at **≥ 0.1 m/s** for **≥ 2 s** without reset/brownout

## Subsystem 4 — Weapon Motor (Shovel/Lifter Actuation)

**Function:** Actuate the front shovel/lifter for opponent control.

**Components (planned):**

* MG996R servo + shovel linkage

**Key requirements:**

* Lift a **0.9 kg (2 lb)** test block by **≥ 15 mm** within **≤ 0.5 s**, hold **≥ 5 s**
* Jam/stall safety handled via FAULT/EN gating (disable within **≤ 50 ms**)

# Criterion For Success

1. **Weight compliance:** Total mass (including battery) ** 300 ms**).
3. **Reliable operation:** Drive for **≥ 3 min** with no MCU resets; logic rail stays **> 3.0 V**.
4. **Performance:** Push a **1.0 kg** sled for **1 m**, and shovel lifts **0.9 kg** by **≥ 15 mm** within **≤ 0.5 s**.

BarPro Weightlifting Aid Device

Patrick Fejkiel, Grzegorz Gruba, Kevin Mienta

Featured Project

Patrick Fejkiel (pfejki2), Kevin Mienta (kmient2), Grzegorz Gruba (ggruba2)

Title: BarPro

Problem: Many beginner weightlifters struggle with keeping the barbell level during lifts. Even seasoned weightlifters find their barbells swaying to one side sometimes. During heavy lifts, many people also struggle with full movements after a few repetitions.

Solution Overview: BarPro is a device that straps on to a barbell and aids the lifter with keeping the barbell level, maintaining full repetitions and keeping track of reps/sets. It keeps track of the level of the barbell and notifies the lifter with a sound to correct the barbell positioning when not level. The lifter can use the device to calibrate their full movement of the repetition before adding weight so that when heavy weight is applied, the device will use data from the initial repetition to notify the lifter with a sound if they are not lifting or lowering the barbell all the way during their lift. There will be an LCD screen or LEDs showing the lifter the amount of repetitions/sets that they have completed.

Solution Components:

Subsystem #1 - Level Sensor: An accelerometer will be used to measure the level of the barbell. If an unlevel position is measured, a speaker will beep and notify the lifter.

Subsystem #2 - Full Repetition Sensor: An ultrasonic or infrared distance sensor will be used to measure the height of the barbell from the ground/body during repetitions. The sensor will first be calibrated by the lifter during a repetition with no weight, and then that calibration will be used to check if the lifter is having their barbell reach the calibrated maximum and minimum heights.

Subsystem #3 - LED/LCD Rep/Sets Indicator: LEDs or a LCD screen will be used to display the reps/sets from the data measured by the accelerometer.

Criterion for Success: Our device needs to be user friendly and easily attachable to the barbell. It needs to notify the lifter with sounds and LEDs/LCD display when their barbell is not level, when their movements are not fully complete, and the amount of reps/sets they have completed. The device needs to work smoothly, and testing/calibrating will need to be performed to determine the minimum/maximum values for level and movement positioning.